Destructive Field Tests
How strong are our current flood defences? What is the impact of environmental elements such as the weather, the presence of vegetation or man made objects on our flood defences? And how can we solve any weakening factors?
Status and strength testing
Numerous destructive field tests are carried out to learn more about the status and strength of our flood defences and the impact of environmental elements.
Destructive field testing of levee
During destructive field tests a levee is exposed to increasing loading conditions, imitating an extreme storm event by the use of pump-driven simulators, generators as well as prevailing tidal conditions until failure occurs.
Test types
The following test types are considered:
- Wave overtopping
- Steady/continuous overflow (with significant flows of water)
- Wave impact
- Breach growth
Research questions
The research questions considered can be categorized as follows:
Failure enhancing phenomena
- Maintenance-related
- Presence of transitions
- Presence of man-made objects (stairs, poles, solar panels, art)
- Presence of trees
- Animal activity
- Extreme drought
- Impact of falling objects (windmill parts, aircraft)
- Excavations
Failure retarding solutions
- Maintenance
- Nature-based design and maintenance of levees
- Herb rich vegetation
- Foreshore development in front of a levee
- Lime treated clay
- Teximat®
- Riprap
- Open Stone Asphalt
- Concrete blocks
- Geogrid
- Temporary cover reinforcement strategies
- Erosion resistant earthfill core (like inside the Prosper levee)
Breach growth
- In depth
- In width
Breach retarding solutions
- Influence of tidal marshes
- Bresdefender®
- other breach control solutions
Repairs
Only provisional solutions to be considered here
- Challenge on repair strategies
- Large emergency response exercise
Overflow tests have started
The Overflow Generator has been installed at the project site. It was quite an operation, see the making of video by Flanders Hydraulics Research.
Updates
Launch Survey activities
Survey plan (T0)
Start of Overflow Test
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