Coastal defense structure consisting of geotextile containers

• Type: Article in International Conference Proceedings Book
• Date: 2014

Authors

José Cabral (Author) FEUP; Francisco Taveira Pinto (Author) FEUP; Maria de Lurdes Lopes (Author) FEUP

Conference proceedings National

Title: 9ª Jornadas de Hidráulica Recursos Hídricos e Ambiente da FEUP

9ª Jornadas de Hidráulica Recursos Hídricos e Ambiente da FEUP

FEUP, 31 de outubro 2014

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Technological sciences

FOS: Engineering and technology

Associated Projects

ScourCoast - Avaliação dos níveis de segurança associados a erosões localizadas devidas a geossistemas utilizados para controlo da erosão costeira na costa portuguesa

Other information

Abstract (EN): One of the goals of this research was the idealization of a coastal defense structure made with sand geotextile containers capable of withstanding and remain functional before a very energetic wave climate (such as the one in the Portuguese west coast). Among other factors, the stability of coastal defense structures increases when the weight of its elements exposed to sea waves increses. The use of smaller volume geotextile containers has several advantages over the use of larger volume geotextile containers (Oumeraci and Recio, 2010). However, these are much lighter and therefore less stable against severe sea states. The ideal situation would be to combine the advantages of small volume geotextile containers without sacrificing the stability associated with a heavy weight. Thus, it was decided to enclosed several small volume geotextile containers within a closed net. Thereby, as the net ensures the stability of the structure, the self-weight of the structural system (the closed net and the containers contained therein) increases. In this study, 3 different configurations of a breakwater built with 38 cubic elements (each one composed of 16 geotextile containers surrounded by a closed net) and 3 caissons filled with gravel were tested. In each of the 3 configurations, the detached breakwater was lashed by sea states described by the Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum, one after the other, with significant wave heights successively larger, until the collapse of the detached breakwater occurred. Notice that no block was repositioned between successive sea states. The main conclusions from these tests were: • The cubic elements are more stable when they are apart from each other; • For the conditions tested, the cubic elements are stable at least to wave heights approximately equal to 70% of the height of the cubic elements; • The cubic elements behave as cohesive blocks (the net confines the geotextile containers). The tests described in this paper correspond to exploratory tests, as a new structural concept was tested and a set of empirical data was collected. These tests have contributed to the development of a new type of coastal defense structure (not described in this paper), which is now under investigation.

Language: Portuguese

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific