Calculation of partial safety factors of breakwater armor stones considering correlation between wave height and wave steepness

Abstract

In the calculation of partial safety factors of breakwater armor stones, it has been assumed that all the design variables are independent one another. However, some of them are not independent but are correlated each other. In the present study, the partial safety factors are calculated by considering the correlation between wave height and wave steepness. Smaller partial safety factors and smaller armor weight are obtained if the correlation is taken into account. The reduction becomes prominent as the probability of failure decreases (or the design armor weight increases). The correlation between wave height and steepness in real sea is also estimated by using the wave hindcasting data along the Korean coast.