Influence of various boundary conditions on local buckling of steel tubular piles: Effects of restraints, imperfections and residual stresses

The main focus of this thesis is the influence of different real boundary conditions on the failure mechanism of local buckling of steel tubular piles. The research was started with the theoretical method of describing boundary condition by specifying the degrees of freedom per boundary condition. The method makes use of the radial, meridional...

Risk-based Optimization of Reservoir Emergency Operations

As population levels protected by large dams have risen in the last decades, accurately assessing flood hazard and risk will become increasingly important for developing and sustaining flood mitigation policies. Recent research has shown that the degree of control and protection offered by retaining structures largely depend on their operation...

Spatial integration of dike reinforcements: Development of a method that compares the spatial influence of design alternatives

In the Netherlands, a new assessment method for the required safety level of primary flood defences is introduced in the Water Act. It is estimated that currently roughly 1900 kilometres of flood protection does not meet the safety requirements for the future (Jonkman, Jorissen, Schweckendieck & Van den Bos, 2017). Past flood defence...

A parametric decision model for navigational lock components: With the Prinses Marijkesluizen as case study

More than 50 locks owned by Rijkswaterstaat need replacement or renovation in the coming 40 years. Due to this fact an opportunity for changing the traditional way of building and maintaining navigational locks has arisen. Because of the replacement/renovation of locks in the coming time, implementing a new owning and building strategy is...

Stability of rock-based emergency measures based on the Grave Weir calamity

On the 29th of December 2016 a large Rhine ship loaded with 2000 ton benzene sailed through the weir at Grave, located in the river Meuse in the Netherlands. The accident created a large gap in the weir and within 12 hours the upstream water level decreased by a maximum of 3 meters. Due to this decreased water level shipping was limited,...

Wave loads on vertical walls: Validation of design methods for non-breaking waves of bimodal spectra

During the design process of the new sea lock in IJmuiden the design wave conditions were described by a bimodal wave spectrum. With a spectral calculation method it was observed that a small low frequency component leaded to a large influence in the force spectrum. This observation served as the starting point for this thesis, where different...

Grass revetment reinforcements: A study into the effectiveness of measures applied during critical conditions.

Reinforcement measures are applied by water boards during critical conditions in an ultimate attempt to prevent flooding. However, the effect of these measures on the reduction in flood risk or failure probability of the flood defence is often unknown. This research focusses on the effectiveness of grass revetment reinforcement measures applied...

The conceptual design of a Tidal Power Plant in the Brouwersdam

Zeeland, located in the south west of The Netherlands, has suffered major casualties and damage due to the flood in 1953. After the disaster, the Dutch Government appointed the so-called Deltacomittee, provided with the task of advising on the execution of the Deltaplan. As part of the Deltaplan, North Sea estuaries has been closed off from the...

Research into pile toe failure in Amazonehaven

Extreme folding damage of open-ended tubular piles could occur during piling in onshore practices. Amazonehaven unique quay wall removal gave the opportunity to study king pile’s failure close to toe. King piles are primary piles in a combined wall system, exposed to static and dynamic load. It is argued that the unexpected pile toe failure have...

Quantifying Wave Attenuation by Nature-based Solutions in the Galveston Bay

The main objective of this thesis is to assess the effectiveness of Nature-based Solutions in reducing flood risk in the Galveston Bay by means of wave attenuation. The methodology to answer these questions consists of both literature review and numerical modelling. The wave height reducing capabilities of marsh vegetation, seagrass meadows and...