State-of-the-Art Dikes

CRUX Engineering was one of the first consultancy firms in the Netherlands to apply 'state-of-the-art' geotechnical expertise to the research and design of dikes. In addition, CRUX offers comprehensive support for the design process, the execution of the environmental studies and the inventory of the risk of damage and for limiting this as well as possible.

CRUX has extensively assessed the safety of the KIJK dike (Krachtige IJsseldijken Krimpenerwaard), in particular for outward and inward macro-stability, based on the new flood protection standards in accordance with WBI2017. In addition to the traditional techniques of dike reinforcements, such as the use of support berms, CRUX also has experience with innovative techniques such as dike spiking and optimization for longitudinal structures. In addition, CRUX has been involved for more than two years in developing the Probabilistic Model Macro Stability (PMMS). The objective of the PMMS is to make available a practical, quick and accurate method to determine a reliability level or a failure probability of a flood defence. This is done through a combination of a number of FEM model calculations (usually PLAXIS) and the PMMS, so that minimal effort is required to achieve maximum results.

The PMMS is a further development of the probabilistic model described in the TR Kistdammen and Diepwanden. Some exceptional features of the model are the ability to include geometrical uncertainties in the reliability level based on multivariate statistics and to be able to discount those uncertainties in the shear strength in the PMMS using a FORM analysis from the Shansep model.

CRUX also has the expertise to gather the right information and identify risks, with which the design team can be supported and guided. The information gathered concerns archival investigations, visual inspections of the buildings and the determination of the autonomous subsidence rate of the buildings and the dike based on satellite measurements. For special cases, a detailed mathematical analysis can be performed using the detail data.

CRUX uses the expertise it has gained in the urban construction of construction pits and tunnels. This can be used to determine the risk of damage for individual or multiple buildings, so that the risk of damage of a reinforcement solution can be clearly substantiated. With this experience and expertise development, CRUX is at the forefront of geotechnical testing and design of flood defences in the Netherlands.

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Dike Reinforcement KIJK

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