Geotextile sand containers (GSCs) have grown substantially in erosion control and scour protection applications. Beachfronts, ports, and property have all gained substantial protection using these “soft armor” solutions. NAUE’s Soft Rock product line is one of the leading brands in this application space. The company has launched a Soft Rock Software program to assist engineers in design.
On a September 15 (9:00 am CEST), engineer Janne-Kristin Pries will present on how to use the software to make GSC calculations, such as estimating container size, and adjusting for the hydraulic conditions of specific sites. The software also provides estimates on rough quantities of materials needed to realize the design, thus offering help to project managers with budgeting.
SOFT ROCK INSTALLATIONS
Soft armor solutions such as geotextile sand containers have a long history of success in shoreline development, flood protection, scour protection, and more. Geosynthetics veteran Georg Heerten even published an article about GSCs in the first volume (1984!) of the renowned geotechnical journal Geotextiles & Geomembranes. His topic? “Geotextiles in coastal engineering—25 years experience.”
The reasons for continuing growth in GSCs are many. Notably:
- They are versatile in how they can be applied as a soft solution in marine, coastal, river, waterway and harbor structures
- Nonwoven geotextiles (such as used for NAUE’s Soft Rock products) can provide excellent tensile strength and elongation characteristics for hydraulic-geotechnical interactions
- Nonwoven geotextiles in these designs provide exceptional interface friction and structural stability
- Long-term abrasion and robustness performance
Geosynthetica has published numerous GSC stories in its 20+ years online, including numerous Soft Rock designs. One of the most read articles in this series pertains to a project in which NAUE’s solution was used to protect a historic golf course in Scotland against sea erosion.
In that project, 850 individual bags were filled on site with imported sand, machine-sewn to seal the open end, and installed in alternate overlapping courses in a brick bonding pattern. The layered structure effectively reclaimed the land which had been eroded and provided protection against future erosion.
The September 15 webinar with Pries will explore uses like this and show how software can assist designs for use of geotextile sand containers.
