Sea defences Dutch guideline on dike protection

by Krystian W. Pilarczyk
Rijkswaterstaat
Dutch Ministry of Transport and Public Works
Road and Hydraulic Engineering Department April 1987

Sea defences Dutch guideline on dike protection: The increased demand on reliable design methods for protective structures has resulted in the Netherlands in preparing a set of design guidelines for revetments of the sea-, and river-dikes, and for bank protection.

These guidelines are intended for technicians and organizations directly involved in the design and management of protective structures.

Sea defences Dutch guideline on dike protection: In this report a brief review on general design philosophy, different hydraulic and geotechnical aspects and design criteria for various types of revetments is given.

The stability criteria based on small- and large-scale tests are formulated for the following systems: riprap, concrete units, asphalt and grass-mats. Developments for some other systems are also briefly mentioned.

A large part of the Netherlands lies below the mean sea level; it is protected by dikes, daros and dunes (fig. 1 en 2).

The country is therefore dependent on good (safe) sea defences. Driven by the necessity to withstand the water, during centuries the Outch engineers built up their knowledge on hydraulic engineering, and particularly on constructing of dikes and protection measures (revetments).

However, the design of dikes and their revetments was mostly based more on rather vague experience than on the general valid calculation methods.

Due to the increasing demand on reliable design Methode, i.e. as a result of more “hard” safety requirements, the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Public Works (Rijkswaterstaat) and the Technical Advisory Committee on Water Defences have initiated a long-term research program on preparing the guidelines for the design of sea and river defence structures.