Introduction

XBeach, an open-source model that computes wave transformation, currents, sediment transport, dune erosion and dune overwash during storm situations (Roelvink et al., 2009, Coastal Engineering) has been under development since 2007 with funding from the U.S. Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, EU and Rijkswaterstaat, among others. Information about the model is provided at xbeach.org .

XBeach has three modes:

  • XBeach-stationary in which the wave forcing is held constant over a sea state, and steady set-up, wave conditions and currents are computed which drive sediment transport.
  • XBeach-surfbeat in which short wave amplitude variations on the wave group scale are computed which drive infragravity wave motions, as well as steady setup and currents. This is the most used mode.
  • XBeach-nonhydrostatic, which resolves both the short and infragravity waves. It has only for been coupled with sediment transport for gravel coast applications.

The development of XBeach has drawn the interest of engineering firms and contractors who use the software for consultancy work both in the Netherlands and abroad. These activities have resulted in questions (about use and applications) and requests (for further development and validation). Currently there is no platform for addressing these requests.

Objective

The objective of this project is to establish an XBeach Joint Industry Project to create a community of private (engineering firms and contractors) and public parties (UNESCO-IHE, TU Delft and Deltares) joining together to:

1         Share experiences in use and application;

2         Share the latest developments (obtained in projects for the Dutch government but also in EU projects and contract research financed by American parties) with the private sector;

3         Develop formulations and modules specifically needed for application by the private sector.

 

Work method

The project will be executed using so-called Sprint Session, in which developers come to Delft and work on different aspects of the model.

Sprint session 1 

The first session, the kick-off, was held on July 7th, 2015, where based on presentations by partners who presented on most needed developments, a first prioritization was made in an interactive setting. The agenda is below.

 

The attendants list was as follows:

  • Arcadis: Henk Steetzel
  • Boskalis: Jaap van Thiel de Vries
  • Fugro: Martin van der Meer, Peter Geisenhainer, Carolin Briele
  • Grontmij: Jana Steenbergen-Kajabová
  • HKV: Hermjan Barneveld
  • IMDC: Annelies Bolle
  • Royal Haskoning DHV: Mark Klein
  • Svašek Hydraulics: Bas van Leeuwen
  • Van den Herik: Auke Terlouw
  • Van Oord: Peter Brandenburg
  • Witteveen+Bos: Willem Bodde
  • Flanders Hydraulics: Joris Vanlede
  • TU Delft: Ad Reniers
  • UNESCO-IHE: Johan Reyns
  • Deltares: Ap van Dongeren, Pieter van Geer, Arnold van Rooijen, Kees Nederhoff, Joost den Bieman.

Sprint session 2

The second session was held on October 3rd, 2015, where we developed six topics to develop XBeach on. These topics are:

  1. Sandy coast – longshore
  2. Sandy coast – cross shore 
  3. New computational methods                                         
  4. Structures                                                                         
  5. Hydrodynamics in ports                                                                            
  6. Support/IT   

Sprint session 3                        

This session is to be held on January 29th 2015.

 

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