This book provides comprehensive guidance on maintaining old waterfront walls, particularly gravity walls constructed with stone masonry, brick, blocks or mass concrete. It will be valuable for all engineers and owners responsible for such structures. Many existing waterfront structures (harbour and dock walls, breakwaters, seawalls, flood defences, skin walls, bridge piers and abutments) are crucial parts of industrial or environmental facilities. Many date back to the 19th Century and earlier, and information on their design and construction is often incomplete. They are often massive structures, and the problems of working over or underwater and on the buried back of the wall means that they are difficult and expensive to investigate and maintain. Yet they represent substantial capital assets and appropriate management and maintenance are essential. Old Waterfront Walls draws together a wealth of information and experience on the types of wall that were constructed up to the early part of this century. It includes numerous hard-to-find drawings and illustrations of these walls, and reviews their performance.
It goes on to identify and describe the most suitable techniques available for their inspection, structural evaluation, repair and rehabilitation. It also includes case histories, a glossary of terms, guidance on factors of safety and geophysical investigation techniques, and many references.