Stability of Armour Units in Oscillatory Flow

As part of a program to study the hydraulics of wave attack on rubble mound breakwaters tests were made on model armour units in a steady flow through a layer laid on a slope. The flow angle has little effect on stability for dolosse or rock layers. The head drop at failure across each type of layer is similar but the dolosse layer is more permeable and fails as a whole. There was no viscous scale effect. These results and earlier tests in oscillating flow suggest a 'reservoir' effect is important in the stability in steep waves