Introduction
Marine and coastal infrastructure are often vulnerable to marine scour and erosion. However, an in-situ concrete mattress can help protect the structural integrity of infrastructures such as ports, bridges and revetments and is often the preferred solution in marine engineering for erosion control.
Constant Thickness Concrete Mattress
CT Mattress produces slabs of even-thickness plain concrete. The formwork is filled in situ and filled to full thickness on slopes and uneven surfaces.
The formwork is woven 5m wide, and a top and bottom zip joint is used to create shear joints between panels, creating a single slab over large areas.
Constant thickness mattresses can be woven from 100—600 mm thickness, and primary uses are scour protection to:
- Quay Walls
- Pilled Revetments
- Bridges
Open Hole Concrete Mattress
Open hole mattress is a CT Matt with prefabricated holes to provide porosity in wave zones. The hole size and frequency is based upon the locations specific environment, using design references from:
- Yarde & Alsop – 1996
- Hawkswood et al – 2013
The concrete mattress increased porosity protects against a significant 2-3 m wave height. Water is released by the open holes during wave run down, avoiding uplift pressure.
An open-hole mattress can be woven with 100—600 mm thickness, and its primary use is scour protection for revetment slopes.
CT Bulk Concrete Mattress
CT Bulk Mattress is a constant-thickness mattress with large internal ties capable of producing plain slabs up to 1.3m thick. The mattress is made from a double-layer fabric, ensuring robustness, and is bespoke and manufactured for the required concrete height and volumes.
The thickness range is 600 to 1200mm, and common usages are:
- Breaking wave protection to caisson breakwaters
- Protection to wave walls
- Temporary bed protection for tunnelling
Flex Concrete Mattress
Flex mattresses are like CT mattresses but with a grid pattern of reduced thickness. This allows them to flex and cope with soils prone to settlement after mattress installation. The thickness range available is 100mm up to 600mm. The system is helpful for slopes or beds of hydraulic fill that are slow to settle and compact.
Jute Open Hole Concrete Mattress
Open-hole mattresses can be made in jute natural fibre for environmental purposes. The jute fibre decays naturally. The mattress is tailored from strips of jute material. Maximum average thickness is some 200mm and is suitable for wave heights up to 1-1.5m, depending upon the slope angle.
The mattress allows a greater degree of habitat for vegetation and small animals.
Filter Point Concrete Mattress
The double-layer fabric is woven together at regular intervals to join the fabric layers and form filter points, which act as weep holes when the porous mattress is in service. Supplied in panel widths of typically 3 meters.
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Develop a deeper understanding of why maritime engineers are using this technology in their projects.
Contact The Expert
Contact The Expert
George Hawkswood
Engineering Director
