Geo-synthetics is the way out

March 07, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:48 am IST - VISAKHAPATNAM:

Building a rigid wall or dumping boulders or tetrapods for that matter will stem the beach erosion for the time being, but it cannot be a permanent solution, pointed out experts at the workshop on beach erosion.

“The moment a wave breaks on the shore, enormous amount of energy is released and we need to absorb that energy. And to do that we need a flexible method, which would not only absorb the energy but also stop the soil erosion. A rigid wall, can only give a temporary solution,” said former professor of civil engineering, IIT-Kanpur, M.R. Madhav. He advocated the use of geo-synthetic technology that would include geo tubes, geo textile fabric and PVC-coated gabion mattress. According to him geo tube technology has been successful world over in arresting soil erosion. “The Jumirah Beach in Dubai is a classic example. And geo fabric and gabion mattress technology was used to arrest soil erosion at the Ankaleshwar beach in Gujarat,” he said.

According to him geo tubes are inflatable tubes filled with slurry, a mixture of sand and water, and placed on the beach as wave breakers. Since they are flexible in nature, the wave energy gets absorbed and does not allow the energy to sweep away the soil.

The tubes can be tailor-made to the requirement and are heavy, they do not slide and have load bearing capacity. “A 20-metre tube can weigh up to 200 MT,” he told The Hindu .

Most essentially, they are synthetic in nature and not prone to sea water corrosion and have long life. Prof. Madhav pointed out that geo tubes can be combined with geo fabric that can be used as the apron and PVC-coated gabion mattress can be used to fasten the boulders to build a porous but a strong wall. “This can give a holistic solution to any erosion problem,” he said.

Quote

Geo-synthetic technology that includes inflatable tubes filled with slurry and sand and water, being flexible in nature, absorbs wave energy and does not allow the energy to sweep away the soil

M. R. Madhav

Former professor, IIT

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