Australian and German experiences on the use of geotextile containers

Geotextile containers and tubes are used for flood emergency protection in dams and dikes, and also as construction elements for erosion control, bottom scour protection and scour fill artificial reefs, groynes, seawalls, breakwaters and dune reinforcement. New shore protection structures, especially at sandy coasts, are increasingly needed. However, due to the increasing storminess associated with climate changes some of the existing dunes must be protected/reinforced. Hydraulic model investigations were carried out at Leichtweiss-Institute for Hydromechanics and Coastal Engineering (LWI) of the Technical University of Braunschweig, to establish reliable stability formulas for sand containers applied as dune protection/reinforcement subject to storm waves.