Abstract
In the south of France a breakwater has been constructed with making use of sand encapsulated elements. Through the years now these elements are increasing in their popularity. Especially if in the area of construction site no sufficient rock materials are available for building the structures. Most of the times in the surrounding areas, enough sand is available for building a structure but due to the small particles and the dynamic action of the water steep slopes cannot be constructed. By encapsulating the sand into a textile element the sand can be retained to a larger structure and perfectly being used for a submerged breakwater.
In the paper we will make a design of a conventional rock submerged breakwater. In steps the modeling process of a submerged rock breakwater according to the Rock manual with the wave transmission and energy absorption will being done. Based on the performance data of the conventional breakwater a design of sand encapsulated element structure has been made. For that we have analyzed the scale test performed in the Delta Flume by Deltares in 2008, looking at the wave transmission, reflection and absorption.
In the paper a description is made with the latest information about the design of these elements which are written in the booklet “Geosystems Design rules and applications”.
Next to technical proven solution these elements are shown as very environmental friendly structures. Due to risk of sea level rising the application of low carbon footprint structures is a necessity of governments and local authorities. With a sustainability calculator the difference between the traditional structures can being shown by an expression in the use of lower CO2 emissions.
