Sea Engineering is honored to receive the 2025 Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Hawaii for our project, Optimizing Breakwater Repairs for a Changing Climate!
The Hilo Breakwater is a critical defense for Hilo Deep Draft Harbor, protecting it from storm waves. Over time, repeated damage has threatened its integrity. Partnering with the US Army Corps of Engineers (Honolulu District) and Stantec, our team took a cutting-edge approach to predict future breakwater vulnerabilities and optimize repairs.
Key Innovations in Our Study:
✔ High-Resolution Remote Sensing – Lidar topographic data created a precise 3D surface of the breakwater.
✔ Advanced Computational Modeling – Centimeter-scale fluid dynamic simulations analyzed storm waves under rising sea levels.
✔ Reliability Analysis – Identified sections most at risk of failure in the future.
✔ Resilient Design Solutions – Developed repair strategies to enhance long-term stability.
Our novel high-resolution approach to assessing breakwater stability can now be applied to other coastal structures, ensuring better resilience in a changing climate.
We extend our gratitude to USACE Honolulu District for their trust and collaboration. This award reflects our commitment to innovation, sustainability, and coastal resilience.
