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Conference Highlights Key Coast Defence Issues
01 Jul 2003
The proceedings of a recent conference addressing coastal defences and breakwaters and their design and construction will soon be available on the web, at http: //conzone.org.uk.
Cozone, a body that aims to be the public face of the Coastal Structures network, the Beach Processes network and the Coastal Waters network, acting as a central resource for coastal engineering research in the UK, organised the conference, Beach Structure Interaction, with support from DEFRA, the Environment Agency, HR Wallingford, and the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Many coastal and estuarial defences use rubble structures such as nearshore breakwaters, reefs, groynes, and revetments constructed on beach material.
There are considerable gaps in design tools to describe the interactions between beach materials (principally sand or shingle) and these structures.
The main interactions can be described at two levels: macro - that is, far and near field effects of the structure on beach movement, particularly planshape and profile; and micro - local effects of the structure on sediment movement (local scour), and of the sediment on the structure (foundation support / settlement).
The workshop was organised by the Coastal Structures and Beach Processes networks to inform coastal engineers on recent and current research on coast defences, to assist DEFRA and the UK Environment Agency in the definition of future research needs/activities, and to assist in the development of focused research proposals to EPSRC.
The meeting was attended by engineers working in analysis, design, construction, maintenance and operation of coast defences, but also applicable to those working on wave processes, beach modeling, coastal structure performance, marine / coastal foundation engineering.
Papers given at the conference addressed issues such as designing rubble structures; shaping rock armour; guidance on simplified structures; toe scour in front of coastal structures; and Liquefaction Around Marine Structures (LIMAS).
