Economic optimization of flood prevention systems in the Netherlands

After the flood disaster of 1953, the Netherlands adopted a rational approach to flood risk management with the use of protection standards determined by means of cost-benefit analysis. Due to scientific and political developments that have recently taken place, an update of the Dutch protection standards is being undertaken. One of the major...

Economic implications of multi-layer safety projects for flood protection

Recent experience of large-scale water disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 has reminded mankind that disasters cannot be ruledout. Unprecedented low-probability events can happen even in the most well monitored areas, causing major social-economic disruption. Failing to prepare...

Optimal inspection planning with time-dependent reliability analysis, application to rubble-mound breakwaters

In order to avoid failure in its lifetime, a breakwater system has to be inspected and, if necessary, has to be repaired. In this paper, a comprehensive maintenance strategy with optimal inspection planning is formulated. Rational maintenance decision-making approaches are discussed. The proposed maintenance strategy combines time-dependent and...

Optimal inspection strategy for rubble-mound breakwaters with time-dependent reliability analysis

This paper presents a comprehensive maintenance strategy with optimal inspection planning and its application to rubble mound breakwaters. In order to fulfil designated functions, a breakwater has to be inspected during its lifetime and has to be repaired if necessary. Actions of inspecting and repairing form a maintenance strategy. In the paper...

Optimisation of Structural Systems by Appropriately Assigning Probabilities of Failure: Application to Rubble Mound Breakwaters

An appropriate assignment of probabilities of failure to subsystems and components in a structural system can bring a minimum of costs and risk. In this paper, a method for economic optimisation of rubble mound breakwaters using pre-assigned probabilities of failure is presented. Application to a design case shows that the proposed method is...

Comparison construction costs conventional rubblemound breakwaters/bermbreakwater

Given a harbour location and a wave-climate, two different types of rubble-mound breakwaters were designed. Using realistic quarry yield curves and prices for production, transport and constmction, the total costs of the conventional statically stable and dynamically stable bermbreakwater designs were compared to each other. This comparison led...