Abstract
Geotextile Sand Containers (GSCs) are used for the construction of coastal structures as a low cost and softer alternative to expensive and hard structures made of concrete or rubble. However, the hydraulic stability of GSC-structures still needs to be investigated for a better understanding of the processes and the parameters of GSCs, which cause the failure. This study focused on the effect of the geotextile material, the sand fill ratio, and the inclination in GSC placement towards the hydraulic stability of submerged GSC structures. Four sets of specifically designed laboratory model experiments were carried out to study the influence of aforementioned parameters on the GSC stability. A new failure mode of GSCs was identified through the model experiments and named as “uplift and drift”. From the test results (wave and damage analysis), new stability curves were developed and compared with each test scenario. The influencing parameters were quantified and the relative importance of each parameter for the hydraulic stability of submerged GSC structures was assessed. Finally, it was concluded that the sand fill ratio is the key influencing parameter among all considered parameters. For the tested sand fill ratios, the hydraulic stability increases, when the sand fill ratio increases. Furthermore, it was concluded that the stability of inclined GSCs is higher than horizontally placed GSCs. However, stability decrement was concluded for GSC made from the woven geotextile material comparative to the nonwoven GSCs. Hence, the type of the geotextile material and the inclination of GSC placement were found to be two important aspects that need to be considered, when designing GSC-structures.
Highlights
Use of Geotextile Sand Containers (GSCs) provides much softer, cost effective, flexible and reversible construction alternatives than coastal structures made from rubble and concrete
This paper refers to the study that carried out to investigate the hydraulic stability of submerged GSC structures with respect to identified influencing parameters such as the sand fill ratio of GSC, geotextile material, and the inclination of GSC placement
Relationship between stability number and surface similarity parameters could be derived based on the data from the model experiments. 6.1 Failure Mechanisms When forces exerted on the GSC due to wave is more than the threshold value of stability, and but not strong enough to detach the GSC completely from the structure, incipient motion could be observed
Summary
Use of Geotextile Sand Containers (GSCs) provides much softer, cost effective, flexible and reversible construction alternatives than coastal structures made from rubble and concrete. It is noted that parameters such as types of geotextile material, fill material types, sand fill ratio, slope of the structure, and deformability of GSC are interrelated. The effect of each parameter on the stability of the GSC structure should be investigated with utmost care in order to distinguish the independent relationship or the sensitivity of the parameter. This paper refers to the study that carried out to investigate the hydraulic stability of submerged GSC structures with respect to identified influencing parameters such as the sand fill ratio of GSC, geotextile material, and the inclination of GSC placement
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