Physical modelling of St. Maarten breakwaters
| Period: | 11/2007-03/2008 |
|---|---|
| Location: | St. Maarten, The Netherlands Antilles |
| Client: | St. Maartens's Port Authority NV (Antilles), represented by Lievense Consulting Engineers (Breda, NL) |
assignment/short description
Over the last years the Netherlands Antilles have experienced a boom in the tourist industry with the increasing need to handle larger quantities of passengers and goods. To that effect the passenger and cargo handling facilities of St. Maarten Port are to be expanded in a $ 60 million port improvement plan. Currently, the port is the embarkation point of more than 1,4 million cruise ship passengers every year.
As part of the port expansion plan the St. Maarten’s Ports Authority N.V. (Antilles), represented by Lievense Consulting Engineers, commissioned Deltares | Delft Hydraulics to perform 3D physical model tests for the inner breakwater. The objective was to verify the stability of the breakwater armour and to provide measurements of the wave load on the cap wall, block wall and pavement. Furthermore, minimum water levels at the harbour side of the structure were assessed and the extent of the overtopping onto the cargo quay.
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