Chapter 5
Coastal Structure Models
“The stability of rubble-mound breakwaters is a problem which
cannot be solved by mathematical analysis.” ...H. Oumeraci
(1984)
This chapter discusses hydraulic modeling techniques used in designing
and optimizing common coastal structures. In preliminary design stages,
many coastal structures can be designed using empirical formulae and
nomograms developed from parametric small-scale physical model tests of
generic structures. This initial design is often sufficient to estimate approximate costs or to select the most appropriate type of structure to meet
project needs. However, designs of larger, more expensive coastal structures are usually tested and optimized using a physical hydraulic model.
The relative cost of performing a model study is minor compared to the
expense of an over-designed structure or a structure that requires frequent
repair.
The somewhat provocative quote at the beginning of this chapter is
still true at the time of this writing. However, recent advances in numerical
modeling, coupled with new physical understanding gained from prototype
instrumentation of coastal structures, are starting to make inroads into a
design methodology that has exclusively relied upon physical model testing.
Kamphuis (1991) pointed out the continued need for physical models of
coastal structures by noting the complexity faced in trying to represent
mathematically the interaction between waves and individual structural
units in numerical models of structure stability “... particularly when these
structural members are not rigid but flex or move with the wave action”.
Coastal Structure Models
“The stability of rubble-mound breakwaters is a problem which
cannot be solved by mathematical analysis.” ...H. Oumeraci
(1984)
This chapter discusses hydraulic modeling techniques used in designing
and optimizing common coastal structures. In preliminary design stages,
many coastal structures can be designed using empirical formulae and
nomograms developed from parametric small-scale physical model tests of
generic structures. This initial design is often sufficient to estimate approximate costs or to select the most appropriate type of structure to meet
project needs. However, designs of larger, more expensive coastal structures are usually tested and optimized using a physical hydraulic model.
The relative cost of performing a model study is minor compared to the
expense of an over-designed structure or a structure that requires frequent
repair.
The somewhat provocative quote at the beginning of this chapter is
still true at the time of this writing. However, recent advances in numerical
modeling, coupled with new physical understanding gained from prototype
instrumentation of coastal structures, are starting to make inroads into a
design methodology that has exclusively relied upon physical model testing.
Kamphuis (1991) pointed out the continued need for physical models of
coastal structures by noting the complexity faced in trying to represent
mathematically the interaction between waves and individual structural
units in numerical models of structure stability “... particularly when these
structural members are not rigid but flex or move with the wave action”.