Materials performance assessment of protective layer of rubble mound breakwaters, southern coast of Iran

This study aims to examine the performance of the rock materials in the protective layer of rubble-mound breakwaters in southern Iran, from Rostami Port in Bushehr Province to Beris Port in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Field inspections were carried out on a great number of rubble-mound breakwaters built in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea coastal regions to study the protective layer of these breakwaters under ambient conditions as well as to detect the damage caused by factors affecting the failure of the used materials. Subsequently, samples were taken from these rock materials, the specimens were tested in accordance with various quality assessment criteria, and the results were compared with those obtained from international standard tests. The obtained results showed that in most cases, the physical and chemical properties of the local rock materials did not meet standard requirements. As such, these materials are not recommended for use in the construction of breakwaters. In practice, however, these rocks exhibit an acceptable performance in certain cases depending on the position of each rock group in the structure of the breakwater. For this reason, design, construction, and structural considerations can somehow influence the performance of these rock materials in the respective marine structures.