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The Role of Geotextile in Delta Works

FROM DISASTER TO World Wonder When a massive storm in the North Sea created devastating flooding across the Netherlands in 1953, Dutch engineers began the difficult task of creating a way to hold back the sea permanently so that a disaster of that magnitude would never threaten again. Geotextiles developed by TenCate allowed the creation of the Oosterschelde Flood Barrier, a prestigious engineering solution. The Rhine THE NETHERLANDS Rotterdam NORTH SEA Meuse River Haringvliet Grevelingen Bay Direction of the storm Eastern Scheldt Bay Land flooded in 1953 Western Scheldt Bay 1.385 sq. km Antwerp BELGIUM Fabric of an idea In response to the floods, the textile technology company TenCate developed a line of woven nylon sandbags in 1956. This landmark discovery was first deployed for flood control in De Pluimpot estuary in the Eastern Scheldt Bay in 1957. Flexible solution By 1963 TenCate had pioneered making geotextiles out of polyethelene (a now common plastic) with a monofilament fiber that enabled different types of fabric to be made with adequate water permeability to permanently protect waterfront structures like dams from the wave energy that threaten them. Effective deployment Geotexiles would have to face their greatest challenge while constructing the Oosterscheldekering, a dam that blocks off the entire Eastern Scheldt Bay from the North Sea. The dam is composed of 66 concrete pillars that are about 40 meters high. A massive barge deployed 200 x 42 meter sheets of geotextiles to serve as the foundation for each pillar. The pillars were then surrounded by geotextiles, holding together stones and gravel, to protect the pillars from waves and water pressure. Foundation of a World Wonder TenCate's geotextiles form the foundation for this massive dam - the largest structure to ever successfully hold back the ocean over such a large distance. Sea gates They're movable to allow saltwater for the ecosystem but can be closed to prevent flooding Geotextiles Geotextiles Textiles that stand the test of time To be able to endure the harsh environment of the ocean floor, geotextiles need to be manufactured efficiently out of durable materials. Geotextiles manufacturing in the TenCate factory in Nijverdal, The Netherlands Invention of geotextiles made the Delta Works in the Netherlands a successful project The Rhine THE NETHERLANDS NORTH SEA Meuse River •Delta Works projects featuring geotextiles Eastern Scheldt Bay Western Scheldt Bay BELGIUM 1962 Today TenCate Geosynthetics Geotextiles by TenCate PO Box 9 7440 AA Nijverdal, The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)546544811 Geotextiles were invented as a response to floods in 1953. Today this technology is widely used for marine structures, dewatering and other applications. To learn more about TenCate geotextile technologies, please visit www.geotube.com Fax: +31(0)546544490 Email: [email protected] www.tencategeosynthetics.com ver Scheldt River

The Role of Geotextile in Delta Works

shared by Brandomni on Apr 14
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Delta Works is a name of the project of several dams and barriers to protect the South-West of the Netherlands from floods. It’s really quite amazing what the Dutch have done. The infographic tells ...

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