Physical Modeling Guidelines for Coastal Harbors: Fid-Bau Portal

Physical Modeling Guidelines for Coastal Harbors

PURPOSE: To provide information and guidelines relative to physical coastal hydraulic modeling that can be used by engineers to enhance and optimize all aspects of the design of their coastal projects. BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional harbor wave action model studies have been conducted at the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES) since the 1940's. These coastal hydraulic models have played a very large and important role as a design tool and source of insight for solving coastal engineering problems in the United States. A recent review of small-boat harbor model investigations indicate that coastal model studies have been conducted at 55 sites in the United States and its territories since the early 1940's (Bottin 1992a). Of the 55 harbor sites modeled, 25 projects have been constructed in the prototype. Site spec􀀅fic performance of these completed projects also have been evaluated to determine if they were constructed as recom111ended, and if they have functioned successfully in the prototype as predicted by the model studies (Bottin 1992a). These reviews and study efforts have resulted in a summary of lessons learned relative to small-boat harbor design (Bottin 1991, 1992a, 1992b; CETN- 111-49). Results of the above mentioned studies indicate that physical coastal model studies are excellent tools for studying and optimizing the design of coastal projects.