Quality Assessment of the Armourstones for Some Black Sea Rubble Mound Breakwaters, Turkey

ABSTRACT O ZDEN , U.A. and T OPAL , T., 2007. Quality assessment of the armourstones for some Black Sea rubble mound breakwaters, Turkey. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 50 (Proceedings of the 9th International Coastal Symposium), 190 – 194. Gold Coast, Australia, ISSN 0749.0208 The Black Sea coastline is a hazardous region in Turkey, especially in winter, due to the dominant wave action. Therefore, rubble mound breakwaters used as ship shelters are vital structures, especially for the fishermen. Construction of the breakwater requires good quality, durable armourstones. Due to the nature of the rubble mound breakwaters, armourstones of various sizes and types are used in the construction of these structures. The deterioration of these armourstones with time may result in the failure of the breakwater. In this study, the quality and durability of the armourstones (mainly limestone, andesite and sandstone) used or to be used in three rubble mound breakwaters are investigated through field and laboratory studies. Among the studied armourstones, the three limestones are found to be good in long-term quality and durability. However, the sandstone displays poor performance, whereas the andesite is marginal. Both static durability index and CIRIA/CUR evaluation successfully predict the long-term durability of the armourstones.