Shoreline protection is the process of constructing a barrier along the shoreline to prevent the shore from being washed away by erosion or scouring activities.

Shore protection can also be adopted for land reclamation where the existing natural shoreline is shifted further into the water to regain additional dry land for various activities.

Various Shore protection methods include:

  • Grassy of the shore
  • Laying of Geomattress/Geofabric
  • Sheet Piling Work
  • Stone Pitching/Laying of Interlocking Sandcrete

Sheet Piling Work

Various materials that can be adopted in sheet piling work include:

  • Steel Sheet Pile
  • Concrete Sheet Pile
  • Plastic Sheet Pile
  • Vinyl Sheet Pile
  • Wooden Sheet Pile
  • Fiberglass Sheet pile

 

The first three (Steel, Concrete and Plastic) are the most commonly used, depending on prevailing factors around the site.

Concrete Steel Plastic
Installation Techniques Cubersome Simple Simple
Maximum Length Limited to 12m Unlimited Limited
Economy Materials –Cheap, installation-High Materials-high, Installation- Cheap Materials-cheap, Installation-Cheap
durability Good Good Good
Self Weight High Medium Light
Aesthetics Poor Good Very good
Speed of Installation Low High High
Leakage of retained materials High Low Low
Strength High High Low

 

Design Considerations

Factors of utmost importance in designing of sheet pile include;

  • Height of retained materials/final dredged level
  • Nature of materials being retained/in-situ underlying soil
  • Activities along the shoreline(Probable loading condition)
  • Chemical nature of water/soil prevailing in the area
  • Anticipated service life
  • Locally available technology/materials
  • Environmental impact

Pre design Requirement

  • Subsoil information
  • Topographical survey
  • Bathymetric survey