Sonar brings real-time visualisation to breakwater construction – by David Foxwell

Situated in Galicia and oriented to the Atlantic Ocean, Punta Langosteira in Coruña is exposed to the most extreme conditions, which have been known to produce waves up to 24m in height. Construction of a 3,360m long breakwater, which is armoured with 4m long concrete blocks, will prevent structural damage to the port from Atlantic waves.

Using an Echoscope sonar system, joint venture contractor, La Unión Temporal de Empresas (UTE) Langosteira, is able to place the concrete blocks of the inner part of the breakwater below the water aided by precise real-time visualisation.

The sonar technology of the Echoscope generates over 16,000 beams simultaneously, producing instantaneous three dimensional sonar images of the underwater environment. Visualising the concrete block to be placed using a specially designed crane, even in zero visibility water, enables the operator to align it precisely and in the correct orientation to the blocks already placed.

‘The introduction of the Echoscope system brings considerable advantages to this project, which is prone to extreme weather conditions, said Antonio Girona of Hydroacoustics, the official distributor for CodaOctopus in Spain, which facilitated the sale of the system. ‘Now, with the precise real-time visualisation of the underwater work area provided by the Echoscope system, our customer has already reported improved accuracy and significant time savings.’