Development of an innovative breakwater armour unit

Abstract

A new interlocking breakwater armour unit has been developed by Delta Marine Consultants during the past two years. The development is based on extensive review of existing breakwater armour concepts, consulting of contractors and designers, desk studies and physical model tests. A randomly placed single layer interlocking armour unit turned out to be the best technique for breakwater protection under severe environmental conditions. The new armour unit is called Xbloc® and has a simple, bulky shape. Hydraulic model tests (2-D and 3-D), a numerical structural strength analysis (FE calculations) and prototype drop test have been performed. The test results demonstrated the large hydraulic stability and the easily achieved interlocking (automatic interlocking) of the Xbloc® as well as its very high structural stability. Therefore the Xbloc® is a promising alternative for conventional single layer armour units. Significant cost savings can be achieved due to easy fabrication, fast placement and low concrete demand.

Introduction

A new interlocking breakwater armour unit, which is called Xbloc® has been developed by Delta Marine Consultants [DMC] during the past two years. The Xbloc® development is based on extensive review of existing breakwater armour concepts (Muttray et al., 2003), consulting of contractors and designers, desk studies and physical model tests. The background and the final outcome of the DMC armour unit development will be presented in this paper. Preliminary results from hydraulic model testing and tests on structural stability are included. A cost comparison between conventional armour layers and Xbloc® armour layers is presented and finally some recommendations for the application of Xbloc® armouring will be given.

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