Safety evaluation of breakwaters based on physical and numerical modelling

This paper highlights an integration of physical and numerical methods in evaluating a soil-breakwater system in coastal engineering. Centrifuge modelling is used to reproduce field phenomena and confirm the effectiveness of numerical methods. Numerical simulation incorporating finite element and limit equilibrium analysis is employed to explain the test results quantitatively and evaluate the deformation and stability of the complex soil-structure system. The results of physical and numerical simulation show that the proposed approaches work well and provide useful basis for potential applications to other coastal structures.