Iribarren number

The parameter is named after the Spanish engineer Ramón Iribarren Cavanilles (1900–1967),[2] who introduced it to describe the occurrence of wave breaking on sloping beaches.

[4][7][8] The importance of this parameter for so many aspects of waves breaking on slopes appears to justify that it be given a special name.

is the angle of the seaward slope of a structure, H is the wave height, L0 is the deep-water wavelength, T is the period and g is the gravitational acceleration.

The type of breaking wave – spilling, plunging, collapsing or surging – depends on the Iribarren number.

Then the breaker types dependence on the Iribarren number (either ξ0 or ξb) is approximately:[4]

A plot of Iribarren Number as a function of wave height with constant beach steepness.
Iribarren Number ( ξ 0 ) as a function of wave height with constant beach steepness of 7.5 degrees.
Breaker types.