Model Behaviour Shapes Coastal Protection Scheme

ABPmer’s physical modelling facilities include a wave basin that allowed the consultancy’s design team to construct large three-dimensional sections of Blackpool’s seawall, including a scale model of the South Pier.

The model, which is powered by hydraulic wave machines, was able to simulate the response of Blackpool’s famous ‘golden sands’ to various storms and alternative types of seawall.

Working closely with Blackpool Borough Council and their consultants Halcrow, ABPmer has explored how several types of wall respond in the wave flume, with the most promising now receiving further testing in the wave basin.

The physical model testing, funded by Blackpool Borough Council and the British Government’s Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), will form part of a wider development review and define the most appropriate long term coastal protection scheme for Blackpool’s seafront.

Officers from Blackpool Borough Council and owners of key seafront leisure facilities visited ABPmer last month to see the model in action. John Shaw, Head of Technical Services for Blackpool Borough Council, said, ‘The model testing is essential to ensure that the future works preserve the natural coastal processes. In achieving this, it is also vital that the aspirations of Blackpool’s Master Plan, which will deliver the regeneration of this major tourist destination, are taken into consideration. The work undertaken here at ABPmer will enable both of these objectives to be achieved to the satisfaction of DEFRA.’

MJ Information No: 18102