The port of Rotterdam was full and new mooring locations were required to host the largest ships in the world. And if there’s no space to expand on land, why not create land in the sea? That is exactly what The Netherlands did by creating Maasvlakte 2. The construction of Maasvlakte 2 started in 2008 and was officially completed on May 22nd , 2013. This research focused on the morphodynamics in the domain between the cube reef and cobble beach at the hard flood defence, which is named "the lagoon". Over the past 5 years a large sand volume propagated into the lagoon. The current sand volume (after 5 years) in the given domain is about four times larger than the predicted value by PUMA. The processes behind the sand layer formation were not fully understood.
This research started by creating a conceptual model with all processes that could contribute to the formation of the sand layer. All processes are divided into hydrodynamic or aeolian transport, whereby hydrodynamic transport is divided into overtopping over the cube reef and transport through the cube reef due to tidal currents. We performed field experiments at Maasvlakte 2 to measure the flow velocity in the lagoon and to measure the aeolian transport capacity. From a sediment budget analysis we observed a sand layer increase during winter periods. This increase is justified with the fact that sand transport towards the lagoon depends on extreme events, which happen mostly during winter periods. Based on the estimated transport volumes we concluded that the main mechanisms that contribute in the formation of the sand layer are overtopping over the cube reef and aeolian transport, whereby overtopping is the largest mechanism. Our estimates indicate a total maximum sand layer volume of 51,000m3 (whereby transport by overtopping = 25,000m3, tidal currents = 8,700m3 and aeolian transport = 17,300m3). Which leaves 20,000m3 of sand unaccounted for compared with our estimated 71,000 m3 volume of sand in the lagoon. The accuracy of each calculation is analysed in order to explain the missing volume compared with the total sand layer volume. Based on this analysis we concluded that only the uncertainty in the overtopping calculation can explain the missing volume of 20,000m3. High wind speeds and high waves will cause for sand transport towards the lagoon. Aeolian transport will always happen if there is a supply of granular material and atmospheric winds of sufficient strength. Moreover, the source for aeolian and hydrodynamic transport is the, southern located, soft protection. Since nourishments are necessary to secure the safety of the soft protection, the supply of sediment will remain. Sand is transported in northern direction along the hard protection by longshore transport. Currently, the water depth northwards of KP2700 is too deep to stir the sediment up and transport it into the lagoon by overtopping. Depending on the foreshore migration in the northern direction, the sand layer will also increase in northern direction. ... Read more

Quidico is a small town, approximately 200 kilometer south of Concepcion. In the bay adjacent to Quidico town, a great number of local fishermen are active. In the current situation, high waves, a strong current and significant sediment transport hamper the effectiveness of the bay as fishing harbour. Also qualitative onshore facilities to support onshore activities of the fishermen, are absent. The Department of Ports of theMinistry of Public Works, developed a preliminary design proposal, to solve these problems. However, after consultation with the fishermen, this proposal was declared unsatisfactory. Therefore, an additional study is performed to develop a new integral design for the bay of Quidico. The desired design consists of onshore buildings, a paved support area, mooring facilities and breakwaters to create shelter for safe mooring of the fishing boats. Furthermore, these breakwaters shouldmitigate the problems related to sediment transport.

To develop a new breakwater orientation and design, wave data is analysed. Waves coming from the south to south-west are most common, but not guiding due to the sheltering factor of IslandMocha, positioned in front of the coast. The guiding wave, which is coming from the north-west, is implemented in models of Delft3D to see what the new orientation of the breakwater should be. Based on the wave analysis, sediment transport analysis and modelling results, a new breakwater orientation is determined, that fulfills all requirements prescribed by the DoP. After defining this new orientation, the influence of the breakwater on sediment and waves is analysed. Due to the new orientation, a new design of the breakwater is made.

The fishing harbour should offer the possibility for the fisherman to unload their goods and berth safely. The DoP proposed the construction of a mooring facility along the south-west shoreline of Quidico Bay. Two types of quay walls for the mooring facilities are proposed, a sheet pile wall and a concrete mass wall. For both types a preliminary design is developed, by making use of the 2D finite element software PLAXIS and hand calculations. The preferred mooring facility design mainly depends on the soil conditions at the specific location. From the boundary conditions it is concluded the bedrock is found at a depth of 60m, the soil above mainly consists of sand. Therefore the construction a sheet pile wall to serve as mooring facility, is recommended.

In the initial design of the Department of Ports, six separate masonry buildings are proposed to accommodate the desired supporting facilities. These buildings cover a large area of the bay and will require a large paved supporting platform. To reduce this paved area, the DoP is interested in a more compact design, that includes all supporting facilities in one multi-storey building. In consultation with the DoP two different designs are developed; a three-storey steel building and a two-storey concrete building. A structural design is developed within the boundaries set by the functional design requirements. Next, a structural analysis is performed by making use of finite element software (ETABS) and a final design is obtained for both buildings. The concrete building is concluded to be the most suitable option for the DoP.

Quick offloading of the boats and smooth transshipment of goods is hindered due to the lack of a good support area and access road. The DoP proposed a design for both pavements in the their preliminary study, but it was requested to evaluate different alternatives. Three different pavement technologies are proposed for the access road: surface treatment, asphalt and concrete slabs. For the pavement in the support area concrete slabs are the preferred solution. To achieve an optimal pavement design that fulfills all structural and serviceability requirements throughout the full design life, slab pavements with different dimensions and thicknesses are evaluated. In conclusion, short concrete slabs are the preferred pavement for both areas. Short slab pavement is an upcoming technology that has great advantages in terms of structural performance and costs.
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Design of a port in Morocco, as part of the design workshop 2017 in Caen, France.
This report includes a design from the new Nador West Med Port near Nador, Morocco. Given requirements are an entrance to the northeast and minimal dredging works to be conducted. A layout of the harbour is made for wave directions during storm from the northeast and northwest. A maximum downtime of the harbour of less than 1% of the year is allowed. The harbour will accommodate smaller vessels, such as ro-ro, general cargo, and container feeders up to larger vessels for bulk transport, crude oil and product tankers, and container mother ships. Structural designs are made for two cross-sections of breakwaters, a rubble mound and a vertical caisson, a mooring structure for tankers with mooring and breasting dolphins, and a typical cross-section of a quay wall.
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