50 Years Of Hanbar Concrete Units In Australia And New-Zealand: Lessons Learned From Physical Modelling Studies And Recently Built Structures

Abstract

During the last 50 years, numerous breakwaters along the eastern coast of Australia, and more recently in New Zealand, have undergone construction, repairs, or upgrades using Hanbar concrete armour units. These units are distinct to Australasia, and there is limited information about their properties in standard coastal engineering literature. This paper first provides a survey and timeline of all known projects using Hanbars. An overview of the Hanbar concrete unit features and manufacturing method is then provided. The paper presents a summary of results of previous modelling studies of Hanbar applications to specific breakwaters, as well as recent research programs completed at WRL, and provides placement density guidelines as well as recommended damage coefficient (Hudson K_d) for design.

The paper concludes with a brief overview of two recent case studies which have successfully capitalized on the economical, robustness and manufacturing simplicity of the Hanbar concrete units. The first case study is on the Opotiki Harbour Development (“OHD”) in New Zealand. The OHD scheme comprises twin 400 m long training wall breakwaters to train a dynamic river mouth. A multi-stage approach to physical modelling was adopted by conducting 2D modelling of key sections of the training wall trunks, quasi-3D modelling of the breakwater head, and full 3D modelling of complete structures.

The second case study presents the results of a field trial investigating the potential for high-density geopolymer concrete (GPC) coastal armour units. This resulted in the casting and placing of thirteen 16 t GPC Hanbar units (SG 2.6) on the Port Kembla northern breakwater in NSW. The trial proved the viability of production of geopolymer armour units, and allowed long-term monitoring of the integrity of the concrete in the aggressive marine environment.