On the Stability of Shore-Parallel Geotextile Tubes for Shore Protection

摘要

Tubes formed from high strength geotextiles, filled with dredged material or otherrnlocal sediments, have been used for shore protection in several differentrnconfigurations. Individual tubes are on the order of 30 feet in circumference andrnabout 6 feet high. Larger or smaller tubes can also be manufactured or the tubes canrnbe stacked to provide higher structures. The tubes are placed either perpendicular tornthe shoreline as a coastal groin or parallel to the shoreline to protect uplandrninfrastructure against wave action and erosion. Often they are used on the upperrnbeach as the core of a sand dune to provide a last line of defense for uplandrninfrastructure in the event the dune is destroyed by a storm. Tubes have also beenrnused on exposed beaches as emergency shore protection since they can be deployedrnrapidly by experienced contractors. The location of a shore-parallel tube structure onrnthe beach profile determines its function and the level of wave attack it canrnexperience. Unfortunately, limited data are available to designers on tube stabilityrnunder wave attack. This paper seeks to develop some of that information for shoreparallelrngeotextile tube structures located above the still water level (SWL) andrnsubjected to some overtopping. Since toe scour plays a significant role in a tube'srnstability, laboratory tests and field evaluations of tube performance are needed. Thisrnpaper presents analyses preliminary to such studies.