Dike safety assessment in Denmark
(ProDeich)
The project "Dike safety assessment in Denmark" dealt with a consistent, overall methodology and calculation of the safety of all coastal (and some estuarine) dikes in Denmark. Triggered by some flood events due to storm surges and heavy rainfalls, the Danish Coastal Authority (DCA) was asked to provide an overall assessment of the existing safety of all Danish dikes.
Objectives
The project aimed to
- provide a consistent approach to dike safety for all coastal dikes in Denmark;
- pre-calculate all possible (extreme) scenarios of water levels, storms, and wave loads on dikes;
- use a time-based approach considering rising and falling water levels during a storm;
- base the calculations on potential failures of sea dikes considering all relevant failure modes and fault trees.
Role of justASK!
justASK! collaborated with DCA on the setup of the methodology, the development of the calculation method, and performing the scenario-based failure mode calculations. All dikes in Denmark were split in segments and sections, depending on various criteria related to the geography and cross-sectional details of the dike, but also the geotechnical information for the dikes as well as hydrodynamic boundary conditions like water levels, wave attack, and storm surges.
What can justASK! do for you?
justASK! can perform assessments of coastal safety using a fault tree and failure mode approach. This is independent on which type of coastal defence is in place (e.g. dikes, breakwaters, dunes) or not (e.g. beaches, cliffs). We will use either deterministic or probabilistic approaches, depending on the requirements and requests of our clients, but also depending on the data available and tools which have been used in the past.
justASK! will assist you in the overall analysis of the coastal area(s). Using all available data (water levels, tidal information, storm surges, bathymetry, and topography, etc.), we can provide you with up-to-date information about the safety of the coastal areas you are interested in. We can also re-design or propose adequate measures in case the safety assessment delivers insufficient degrees of safeties. JUST ASK!