ABSTRACT
Engineers frequently use scale models in conjunction with theoretical analyses. For example, wind tunnel modelling is used routinely by engineers to study the flow of air past vehicles, aircraft and buildings. Hydraulic engineers frequently use models to study the flow of water in river channels, tidal flow in estuaries and wave loading on structures. Scale modelling is used most often when the theoretical solutions contain major simplifications and approximations or when numerical solutions are very lengthy, as is often the case in geotechnical engineering.
