Shore Reinforcement Works

structures to protect the shores of bodies of water (rivers, seas, reservoirs, canals, and so on) from the destructive influence of waves, currents, pressure from water and ice, and other natural factors. The works are erected to avert the disintegration (washouts) of shores and flooding, as of inhabited areas, industrial installations, roads, bridges, communication lines, valuable forest and agricultural lands, and cultural and historical monuments. In health resort zones, shore reinforcement works are used to preserve, create, and expand beaches. Effectiveness of function and reliability (durability) of structures, simplicity of layout, the possibility for the maximum use of local building materials and for the performance of repair and restorative work, and economy are the requirements made of shore reinforcement works. They are classified (in terms of the nature of interaction with the water current) as active (utilizing the energy of the stream for work with alluvia and the preservation of shore detritus) and passive (opposing only the strength and stability of their construction to the water stream). Active shore reinforcement works on seas and lakes include detritus-retaining dike dams and breakwaters; and on rivers—transverse half dams, regulating levees, and flow-directing shields. Passive works on the sea include breakwater walls and talus made up of large blocks and contoured blocks; on rivers—stone talus, mattresses, gabions, concrete and reinforced-concrete slabs, and so on. The choice of the complex and types of shore reinforcement works is a function of the terrain of the shore and its hydrogeologic regimen and geologic structure; it is based on technical and economic comparisons of several types of works.