Characterization and properties of breakwater structures modelled by a physics engine

Abstract

The authors examine the question of stability of breakwater structures using the simulation software PhysX. This “physics engine” can be used to construct various packings of breakwater elements, each of which can be used to analyze the damage when these structures are exposed to (wave) forces of varying magnitude. The authors found that the damage is roughly proportional to the force squared, and that there is not a clear transition point where one can talk of the collapse of the structure. A range of packings of breakwater structures and a variety of numerical analyses will be discussed in the paper. Analogies to the analysis of granular media are noted.