Floodwaters devastate billions of dollars of property and claim thousands of innocent lives each year. This project is aimed at reducing the damage caused by floodwaters as a result of utilizing geotextile tubes to construct flood protection barriers. Geotextile tubes can be constructed rapidly with less than sandbags. However, there is little information regarding the proper design of a flood control barrier using geotextile tubes, an emerging technology, which has not been fully investigated.

The following tasks will be conducted in this project: (1) Centrifuge experimental verification of a numerical model that predicts the shape and stress caused by filling geotextile tubes, (2) Analytical assessment of the stability of dikes, (3) To develop filtration criteria to optimize the selection of a geotextile tube that will drain water rapidly while retaining the soil particles inside, and (4) To develop rational design method for geotextile tubes used as flood control barriers will be developed.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI)
Application #
9812790
Program Officer
Juan M. Pestana
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
1999-01-01
Budget End
2003-12-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
1998
Total Cost
$273,850
Indirect Cost
Name
Lehigh University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Bethlehem
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
18015