GEOTECHNICAL DESIGN OF BREAKWATERS IN OSTEND ON VERY SOFT SOIL

Julien De Rouck, Koen Van Doorslaer, Jan Goemaere, Hadewych Verhaeghe

Abstract


Two new breakwaters are being constructed to protect the renewed harbour entrance in Ostend, Belgium. In this paper, both the hydraulic design and geotechnical design are discussed. For the hydraulic design, model tests have been carried out in a 2-D wave flume to optimise the cross section. Stability of the final breakwater, with special attention to the crest element and the armour unit HARO, and stability during the construction phases were tested. The geotechnical design, especially of the north-western breakwater, was an engineering challenge since it is located above a thick layer of very soft soil. A combination of building in stages (consolidation time) and providing a strong reinforcement (geotextile) solved this issue.

Keywords


hydraulic stability, HARO, geotechnical stability, geotextile, soft soil, consolidation time

References


De Rouck J., Van Damme L. Overall Slope Stability of Rubble Mound Breakwaters. Proceedings of 25th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, ICCE 1996. ASCE, 1603-1616

Van der Meer J.W., Tutuarima W.H., Burger G. (1996). Influence of rock shape and grading on stability of low-crested structures. Proceedings of 25th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, ICCE 1996. ASCE, 1957-1970

Vanneste D. DBO107/88a Design of Oostende Harbour: Numerical Simulation of Wave Propagation. Inside Area Breakwaters. Ghent University, December 2008.

Verhaeghe, H., Van Damme, L., Goemaere, J., De Rouck, J., Van Alboom, W., 2009. Construction of two new breakwaters at Ostend leading to an improved harbour access, Proceedings of 32nd International Conference on Coastal Engineering, ICCE 2010. ASCE.

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