Technical-biological bank protection measures - Design concept for the engineering practice

To improve the ecological condition of inland waterways, extensive bank redesigns are planned over the next few years. More natural bank protection measures using plants are to replace the existing rip rap where possible to create more habitats for plants and animals and more structural diversity. So far, relatively little experience has been gained with technical-biological bank protection measures on waterways with the current shipping impacts. On the basis of various research results and experience from a large-scale nature experiment on the river Rhine near Worms, a first design concept for the engineering practice of the waterway and shipping administration was developed, taking into account the experience on small rivers without shipping. The concept was also integrated into a software. This means that bank protection with plants can now be dimensioned in addition to riprap revetments. The special features of living building materials, the hydraulic effects, the geotechnical failure mechanisms to be investigated and the individual design steps are presented below.