Graduation of Niels van der Vegt

The Impact of Damages on the Stability and Reliability of Pattern-Placed Revetments

• Professor of graduation: Dr. ir. B. (Bas) Hofland (TU Delft)

• Supervisor: Prof. dr. ir. M.R.A. Van Gent (TU Delft), dr. ir. D.J. Peters (TU Delft) and ir. W.J. Klerk (TU Delft)

 The impact of damages on pattern-placed revetments on the outer slopes of dikes is unknown. Therefore, when damage is observed, the planning of maintenance interventions often occurs based upon experience. In order to be able to maintain those revetments more efficiently with the use of risk-based maintenance, it is key first to obtain more insight into the impact of damages. In this thesis, the impact certain common types of damage have on the stability and reliability of pattern-placed revetments is studied. This is done by parameterizing damages based upon data from old flume experiments and creating a finite element model to simulate the physics of damaged revetments. Finally, this study will provide a model to estimate the impact of damages on the failure probability.