Engineering materials in flood and coastal defences

This project produced a manual about how to use timber to build flood defences, including the different types of timber available and responsible sourcing.

From:
Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research and Development Programme and Environment Agency
Published
16 February 2021
Category:
Whole life asset management
Topics:
Alternative construction materials, Asset maintenance, Asset monitoring, Asset performance, Asset system optimisation, Carbon, Design and build, Deterioration, Ecosystem service benefits, Resilient infrastructure, Sustainability
Project status:
Completed
Project code:
SC010053
Date of completion:
30 June 2005

Documents

Engineering materials in flood and coastal defence: review of current knowledge - summary (33KB) PDF

Engineering materials in flood and coastal defence: review of current knowledge - technical report (496KB) PDF

Manual on the use of timber in coastal and river engineering - summary (34KB) PDF

Manual on the use of timber in coastal and river engineering - technical report (5.5MB) PDF

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email: enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

This new manual described and dealt with the main issues with using timber in engineering. It includes:

  • an introduction to using timber in coast and river engineering
  • a summary of some of the relevant natural characteristics of wood
  • descriptions of the properties of processed timber
  • a framework for selecting and buying timber materials responsibly - including recycled timber
  • discussions of designing and building with timber
  • guidance about different types of timber structures
  • guidance on monitoring and assessing existing timber structures
  • details on maintaining, repairing and enhancing timber structures - including maintenance practices

the appendices include:

  • one page summaries of properties for 76 potential timber species
  • a specification for building models

The project was started in 2001 and completed in 2005.

Updates to this page

Published 16 February 2021
Contents