Verification and modification of breaker height formulas

This study is undertaken to find out the most reliable breaker height formulas that predict well for a wide range of hydraulic conditions. The applicability of 24 existing formulas, for computing breaking wave heights, is examined by using wide range and large amount of published laboratory data (574 cases collected from 24 sources). It is found that most formulas predict well for the breaking waves on the gentle slope (0<m≤0.07), but the prediction is unsatisfactory for the breaking waves on the steep slope (0.1<m≤0.44). Three formulas are selected and are modified by including the new form of bottom slope effect into the formulas. The new breaker height formulas predict well for wide range of wave and bottom slope conditions.