CETN-III-40
REVETMENT
FAILURE - AN AUSTRALIAN LESSON
PURPOSE:
This Technical Note abstracts the field observations
by Smith and Chapman (1982) on the response of coastal revetment
structures under extreme storm conditions on the Gold Coast of
Australia.
Discussions are focused on the observed mode of
structure failure and the significance of toe protection design
to overall structure stability.
MODE of FAILURE:
The typical revetment configuration at the
Gold Coast consists of a double layer of large boulders as the
armor units, a secondary layer, and a filter layer of well
All
weathered quarry overburden as illustrated by Figure 1.
The 20-km
boulder revetments are founded at Mean Sea Level.
revetment constructed for beach erosion protection suffered
various degree of damages during the three extreme storms in
1972, 1974, and 1976. Total structure failure occurred at a
length of 0.8 km (1.3 miles).
SECONDA
R Y ARMOR
BEFORE STORM
Figure 1.
U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Coastal Engineering Research Center
P. 0. Box 631, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180
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