Reinforced Soil Structures in Coastal Protection

The paper concentrates upon the geotextile function of soil reinforcement and highlights the unfulfilled role of reinforced soil structures in coastal protection. The physical properties of polymeric reinforcing grids are presented and by concentrating on their long term behaviour under sustained load, permissible stress parameters are derived for use in design. Reinforced soil structures in the coastal environment are reviewed and the salient stability and porosity features of a hydrodynamically efficient structure are identified. Laboratory work on steep slopes is reviewed with reference to the influence of sub-layer porosity on wave reflection. The paper concludes with a conceptual design of a steep porous revetment based on some state of the art structures.