LDM USA Blog

Coastal protection with Secutex® soft rock

Written by Alejandra Díaz | Apr 18, 2023 3:00:00 PM

Project: Geotextile wall Lubmin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Germany

Product: Secutex® Soft Rock R 601

   

Fig.1 Arrangement of the geotextile sand containers         Fig. 1 Instalation of the geotextile sand containers

Challenge

At the seaside resort of Lubmin (Mecklemburgo-Vorpommern, Germany), the storm surge in 2017 and twi storm surges in 2019 led to a substantial decline of the dune due to erosion, so that short-term action was needed. Due to the cramped conditions on site, the State Office for Agriculture and the Enviroment (StALU) could not construct the coastal protection dune according to its intended cross-section. In case of a imminent complete erosion of the dune in the event of a storm surge, an additional construction had to take over the function as the last barrier against breakthrough.

Solution

The StALU quickly found a solution and used geotextile sand containers (GSCs) in the area that has to remain stable during a storm surge. After the sand had been removed, the geotextile sand containers Secutex sot rock were placed. stacked in an offset manner and inclined towards the land side, they form a so-called geotextile wall. Geotextile walls for dune reinforcement are covered by sand for most of their service life and appear natural. Only after several erosion caused by one or more stor surges, the geotextile wall becomes visible again. After such a storm surge event, the dune is restored in its overall geometry near-natural look.

Around 33.000 GCSs were installed to reinforce 1.8 kilometers of the dune along the coast of Lubmin. Th e executing contractor filled wach container with one cubic meter of sand directly on the beach. A filled sand container weighs approx. 1.2 tonnes. The construction work was completed by the end of 2020.

Conclusion

The mayor in Lubmin reporte that the geotextile wall made of sand containers is precisely the soltion that people of Lubmin have wanted for a long time. The residents are delighted with de coastal protection and are happy  about the improved safety. Comparable coastal protection structures had already been realised in Reril and Warnemünde, Germany.

Fig. 3 Geotextile wall after completion