Chapter 1
Introduction
“When dealing with water, first experiment then use judgment”
... Leonardo da Vinci (Price 1978)
Coastal engineering is a branch of civil engineering that stems from the
first days when man began building engineering works to protect harbors
and improve navigation. It has only been since about 1930, however, that
coastal engineering has become recognized as a distinct profession addressing unique problems.
The field of coastal engineering involves providing reliable and economic
design solutions to support man’s activities in the coastal zone. Coastal
engineers must study and attempt to understand such diverse topics as wave
mechanics and wave climate prediction, shoreline erosion and protection
methods, harbor design and design of protective structures, geological and
geotechnical aspects of foundation design, dredging technology, estuarine
processes, hurricane and storm surge effects, and environmental impacts of
coastal projects. Laboratory investigations play an important role in many
of the above areas.
1.1 Coastal Engineering Design Tools
Coastal engineers rely on three complementary techniques to deal with the
complex fluid flow regimes typical of many coastal projects. These techniques are field measurements and observations, laboratory measurements
and observations, and mathematical calculations. Laboratory studies are
generally termed physical models because often they are miniature reproductions of a physical system. In parallel to the physical model is the
numerical model, which is a mathematical representation of a physical
Introduction
“When dealing with water, first experiment then use judgment”
... Leonardo da Vinci (Price 1978)
Coastal engineering is a branch of civil engineering that stems from the
first days when man began building engineering works to protect harbors
and improve navigation. It has only been since about 1930, however, that
coastal engineering has become recognized as a distinct profession addressing unique problems.
The field of coastal engineering involves providing reliable and economic
design solutions to support man’s activities in the coastal zone. Coastal
engineers must study and attempt to understand such diverse topics as wave
mechanics and wave climate prediction, shoreline erosion and protection
methods, harbor design and design of protective structures, geological and
geotechnical aspects of foundation design, dredging technology, estuarine
processes, hurricane and storm surge effects, and environmental impacts of
coastal projects. Laboratory investigations play an important role in many
of the above areas.
1.1 Coastal Engineering Design Tools
Coastal engineers rely on three complementary techniques to deal with the
complex fluid flow regimes typical of many coastal projects. These techniques are field measurements and observations, laboratory measurements
and observations, and mathematical calculations. Laboratory studies are
generally termed physical models because often they are miniature reproductions of a physical system. In parallel to the physical model is the
numerical model, which is a mathematical representation of a physical