Laboratory physical models are a valuable tool for coastal engineers. Physical models help us to understand the complex hydrodynamic processes occurring in the nearshore zone and they provide reliable and economic engineering design solutions.This book is about the art and science of physical modeling as applied in coastal engineering. The aim of the book is to consolidate and synthesize into a single text much of the knowledge about physical modeling that has been developed worldwide.This book was written to serve as a graduate-level text for a course in physical modeling or as a reference text for engineers and researchers engaged in physical modeling and laboratory experimentation. The first three chapters serve as an introduction to similitude and physical models, covering topics such as advantages and disadvantages of physical models, systems of units, dimensional analysis, types of similitude and various hydraulic similitude criteria applicable to coastal engineering models.Practical application of similitude principles to coastal engineering studies is covered in Chapter 4 (Hydrodynamic Models), Chapter 5 (Coastal Structure Models) and Chapter 6 (Sediment Transport Models). These chapters develop the appropriate similitude criteria, discuss inherent laboratory and scale effects and overview the technical literature pertaining to these types of models. The final two chapters focus on the related subjects of laboratory wave generation (Chapter 7) and measurement and analysis techniques (Chapter 8).

This is the second volume of a two-volume guide to designing, conducting and interpreting laboratory and field experiments in a broad range of topics associated with hydraulic engineering. Specific guidance is provided on methods and instruments currently used in experimental hydraulics, with emphasis on new and emerging measurement technologies and methods of analysis. Additionally, this book offers a concise outline of essential background theory, underscoring the intrinsic connection between theory and experiments. This book is much needed, as experimental hydraulicians have had to refer to guidance scattered in scientific papers or specialized monographs on essential aspects of laboratory and fieldwork practice. The book is the result of the first substantial effort in the community of hydraulic engineering to describe in one place all the components of experimental hydraulics. Included is the work of a team of more than 45 professional experimentalists, who explore innovative approaches to the vast array of experiments of differing complexity encountered by today’s hydraulic engineer, from laboratory to field, from simple but well-conceived to complex and well-instrumented. The style of this book is intentionally succinct, making frequent use of convenient summaries, tables and examples to present information. All researchers, practitioners, and students conducting or evaluating experiments in hydraulics will find this book useful.