Wave overtopping on dikes : the effect of transitions on the flow and dike cover erosion

One of the main failure mechanisms of dikes is wave overtopping. The overtopping flow causes erosion of the dike cover on the dike crest and the landward side of the dike. Once the dike cover is eroded, erosion of the core material of the dike starts resulting in weakening of the dike and finally in a dike breach. Two PhD’s from the Water and Engineering Management Department of the University of Twente started on the challenge of quantifying the effect of transitions in grass covered dikes on the overtopping flow and the resulting dike cover erosion.