Thin layer placement for marsh enhancement: Planning, design, construction, and monitoring considerations

Shore & Beach ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 4-12
Author(s):  
Ram Mohan ◽  
Candice Piercy ◽  
Timothy Welp
Keyword(s):  
Thin Layer ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Thin Layers ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Beneficial Use ◽  
High Level ◽  
Development Center ◽  
Design Construction ◽  
Target Elevation

Thin layer placement (TLP) is the purposeful placement of thin layers of sediment in an environmentally acceptable manner to achieve a target elevation or thickness. TLP is used for a variety of purposes, such as sediment management, beneficial use of dredged material (DM), and ecological enhancement. The term “thin” is used to distinguish TLP from other methods of sediment placement in which sediments are applied in layers on the order of several meters thick. In this paper, DM disposal refers to the deposition of sediment in a location and manner where no beneficial use is attained; with DM placement the sediment is used to benefit society and the environment. The application of thin layers of sediment has advantages over more traditional, thicker sediment applications in environments where these thicker layers pose potential challenges to natural resources, infrastructure, navigation, or other assets. Although TLP projects are most often conducted in wetlands, there are open-water applications as well. But because TLP is relatively early in its development, there is a dearth of design and construction information and guidance available to practitioners. This paper provides a high-level summary of pending national TLP guidance being developed by the authors on behalf of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center (USACE ERDC).

Recent Efforts on Blast Damage Mitigation for Dams

2011 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 428-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael K. Sharp ◽  
Yazmin Seda-Sanabria ◽  
Enrique E. Matheu
Keyword(s):  
Homeland Security ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Department Of Homeland Security ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
Damage Prediction ◽  
Blast Damage ◽  
Development Center ◽  
The U.S

This paper describes collaborative research efforts conducted between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The USACE, through its U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), has focused efforts on the development of a collaborative research program to address technical gaps related to risk and blast mitigation for dams. These research efforts involve experimental and analytical tasks designed to improve blast damage prediction capabilities for dams, navigation locks, and levee systems resulting from vehicle and waterborne delivery scenarios. The outcomes from these efforts can inform USACE’s priorities, which include refining the current understanding of the effects of potential attacks, the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of its critical assets to various threat conditions, and the local and regional consequences of those attacks in order to develop appropriate protective measures and recovery technologies.

scholarly journals Brunswick Harbor numerical model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer McAlpin ◽  
Jason Lavecchia
Keyword(s):  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Engineer Research ◽  
Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Navigation Channel ◽  
The Us ◽  
Model Setup ◽  
Hydraulics Laboratory ◽  
Development Center

The Brunswick area consists of many acres of estuarine and marsh environments. The US Army Corps of Engineers District, Savannah, requested that the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, develop a validated Adaptive Hydraulics model and assist in using it to perform hydrodynamic modeling of proposed navigation channel modifications. The modeling results are necessary to provide data for ship simulation. The model setup and validation are presented here.

scholarly journals Response Operations to the Union Faith Release

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (1) ◽  
pp. 291-295
Author(s):  
Michael C. Long
Keyword(s):  
New Orleans ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Tourist Attraction ◽  
Cruise Ship ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
Corporate Office ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACT On August 4, 1999, U.S. Coast Guard Manne Safety Office (MSO) New Orleans pollution investigators responded to a chronic sheen appearing adjacent to the Riverwalk, New Orleans' popular riverfront shopping and tourist destination. The oil eventually was identified surfacing near the middle of the Mississippi River. A bottom survey conducted by the MSO and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) utilizing side-scanning sonar, magnetometers, and fathometers identified a large anomaly that was later determined to be the Taiwanese-flagged freighter Union Faith,. On April 6, 1969, this vessel had been involved in a tragic collision and subsequently sank with an estimated 6,000 barrels of bunker fuel onboard. Removing heavy oil from a badly deteriorated wreck with zero visibility and dangerous currents proved an enormous challenge. Repeated attempts to locate the source of oil within the ship's maze of holds were unsuccessful and internal recovery efforts proved extremely problematic. External hull operations were determined to be the most effective way to remove the oil. This strategy entailed charting the boundaries of the trapped oil and then cold tapping through the hull at strategic locations. A specially designed drilling and pumping apparatus was then subsequently placed at these cold tapped areas. Also, three internal tanks were accessed externally and emptied of their contents. Other obstacles to overcome were staging a diving support platform in the middle of a congested waterway serving one of the busiest ports in the world, sensitivity to a ship designated as a “watery grave” for 26 deceased mariners, and managing a high level of publicity/scrutiny surrounding an effort of this scale underway directly in front of a major tourist attraction, cruise ship moorings, ferryboat landings, and a local TV station's corporate office.

scholarly journals A bathymetric study of the forebay at the Old River Low Sill Structure from 1963 to 2019

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Kelley ◽  
Joseph Dunbar ◽  
Maureen Corcoran
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Engineer Research ◽  
Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Development Center ◽  
Bathymetric Changes ◽  
The U.S

The purpose of this study is to use historical hydrographic surveys to quantify bathymetric changes in the forebay channel area of ORLSS over the last 56 yr. The results from this comparison support an ongoing geotechnical study led by Mr. Lucas Walshire, U.S. Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District (USACE MVN).

Management of Dredged Material Capping Projects: An Example from New England

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 273-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Kullberg ◽  
T. J. Fredette
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Contaminated Sediments ◽  
Disposal Site ◽  
Dredged Material ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Thames River

Capping of contaminated sediments with cleaner sediments is a technique that has been used by the US Army Corps of Engineers, New England Division (NED) since 1979, to avoid or minimize the impacts of contaminated sediments disposed at open water sites. A case study of contaminated sediments from a project on the Thames River, capped at a disposal site offshore of New London, Connecticut, illustrates the application of this technique. Several steps, both regulatory and operational, must be accomplished to ensure proper employment of this technique. First, once it is determined through the permit evaluation process that material to be dredged from a project is not suitable for unconfined open water disposal, the quantity of uncontaminated dredged material needed to achieve a desired cap thickness of 50 to 100 cm must be identified. This quantity may be determined by the use of a computer model - the DAMOS (Disposal Area Monitoring System) Capping Model - which simulates the disposal events and mound formation. Next, the applicant/project proponent must submit a capping plan to NED, which includes provisions for obtaining the necessary quantity of cap material and a schedule for dredging and disposal of both contaminated and cap materials. Upon approval of this plan by NED, the contaminated material may be dredged and disposed at a taut-wire moored buoy located at a specified set of coordinates. The use of such a buoy is critical to the success of capping, since it aids in limiting the distribution of the contaminated material on the seafloor. Post-disposal bathymetric and sediment-profile camera surveys of the contaminated material are conducted to delineate the areal extent of the mound formed during disposal. Several sets of coordinates are then chosen by NED for disposal of the cap material, with the aim of covering all contaminated sediments. The operational success of the capping technique is measured by adequate areal coverage and thickness of the cap over the contaminated material. Thus, following disposal (and sometimes during disposal) of cap material, additional surveys are conducted for this purpose.

scholarly journals MODAL GRAIN SIZE EVOLUTION AS IT RELATES TO THE DREDGING AND PLACEMENT PROCESS - GALVESTON ISLAND, TEXAS

2020 ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Coraggio Maglio ◽  
Himangshu Das ◽  
Frederick Fenner
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Settling Velocity ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Engineer Research ◽  
Beach Sediment ◽  
Fine Sediments ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Return Channel ◽  
Development Center

During the fall and winter of 2015, a beneficial-use of dredged material project taking material from the Galveston Entrance Channel and placing it on a severely eroded beach of Galveston Island was conducted. This material was estimated to have 38percent fines. This operation was conducted again in the fall of 2019 and monitored for estimation of the loss of fines, changes in compaction and color from the dredging source to the beach. The local community and state funded the incremental cost at approximately $8 a cubic yard in 2015, and $10.5 a cubic yard in 2019 to have this material pumped to the beach. The projects were closely monitored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and the USACE Galveston District. The data from this placement project was used to calculate and better understand the loss of fines during the dredging and placement process as well as aid in the generation of an empirical formula to estimate the loss of fine sediments during dredging and beach placement. This formula takes into account: losses due to dredging equipment operations, slope of the effluent return channel at the beach, sediment settling velocity, and sorting parameter.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/VQ36upT2iQo

scholarly journals The Viability and Simplicity of 3D-Printed Construction: A Military Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Jeneé Jagoda ◽  
Brandy Diggs-McGee ◽  
Megan Kreiger ◽  
Steven Schuldt
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Process Efficiency ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Construction Engineering ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
Construction Methods ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Development Center

In November 2019, U.S. Marines, Air Force, and Army Corps of Engineers personnel demonstrated the viability and simplicity of three-dimensionally (3D)-printed construction in a controlled environment at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center—Construction Engineering Research Laboratory in Champaign, Illinois. The tri-service exercise spanned three days and culminated in the construction of three 1 m × 1 m × 1 m (3 ft × 3 ft × 3 ft) concrete dragon’s teeth (square pyramid military fortifications used to defend against tanks and armored vehicles) and several custom-designed objects. The structural components were printed using a custom-built, gantry-style printer called ACES Lite 2 and a commercially available, proprietary mortar mix. This paper examines the viability of using 3D-printed construction in remote, isolated, and expeditionary environments by considering the benefits and challenges associated with the printing materials, structural design, process efficiency, labor demands, logistical considerations, environmental impact, and project cost. Based on the results of this exercise, 3D-printed construction was found to be faster, safer, less labor-intensive, and more structurally efficient than conventional construction methods: the dragon’s teeth were printed in an average of 57 min each and required only two laborers. However, the use of commercially procured, pre-mixed materials introduced additional cost, logistical burden, and adverse environmental impact as compared to traditional, on-site concrete mixing and production. Finally, this paper suggests future applications and areas of further research for 3D-printed construction.

Acoustic Leak Survey of the Underground Potable Water System at a CONUS Army Installation

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 143-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Morefield ◽  
John Carlyle
Keyword(s):  
Distribution System ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Water System ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Construction Engineering ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
Water Meters ◽  
Development Center

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL), and Carlyle Consulting’s John Carlyle conducted a leak detection survey at a U.S. Army Installation. The age of pipes in the distribution system ranged from 20 to 60 years. The thrust of the work was to acoustically survey all of the underground pipelines constituting the installation’s potable water distribution system and find any leaks. The results of the survey were that 6 leaks were discovered in the main lines, 63 leaks associated with fire hydrants, freeze proof hose bibs, water meters, etc., and 33 leaks inside buildings. Over two thousand acoustic measurements were made in order to obtain these results.

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