Location
Arlington, Virginia
Date
14 Aug 2008, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Abstract
Many energetic sources (blasting, pile-driving, seismic exploration, …) near or within a water body may produce destructive, water-borne pressure waves. Pressure waves of sufficient amplitude can impact water-side structures and aquatic fauna. Such energetic sources produce pressure waves and cavitation that can cause concrete to spall, deform metal sheets that are near to the source, kill aquatic organisms, and/or damage hearing of marine mammals at large distances. Any program (energetic systems) that causes pressure waves within the water layer may be conducted in a manner that reduces the pressure waves’ severity. The methodology to reduce pressure waves does not need to reduce the efficiency of the energetic source. Basic physical laws govern the transmission and attenuation of the pressure waves. Exploration of the site’s geology and assessment of potential adverse impacts should be conducted before the specifications for the project are written. Reduction of the pressure waves without other added mitigation differs for each class of sources. Additional mitigation varies by source class, the site’s geology, the water depth at the source and at the protected zone, potential adverse impacts from the pressure waves, needed pressure-wave reduction, and the range of azimuths from the source region requiring protection.
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Meeting Name
6th Conference of the International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
Publisher
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Document Version
Final Version
Rights
© 2008 Missouri University of Science and Technology, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
File Type
text
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Hempen, Gregory L., "Destructive Water-Borne Pressure Waves" (2008). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 5.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge/6icchge/session04/5
Destructive Water-Borne Pressure Waves
Arlington, Virginia
Many energetic sources (blasting, pile-driving, seismic exploration, …) near or within a water body may produce destructive, water-borne pressure waves. Pressure waves of sufficient amplitude can impact water-side structures and aquatic fauna. Such energetic sources produce pressure waves and cavitation that can cause concrete to spall, deform metal sheets that are near to the source, kill aquatic organisms, and/or damage hearing of marine mammals at large distances. Any program (energetic systems) that causes pressure waves within the water layer may be conducted in a manner that reduces the pressure waves’ severity. The methodology to reduce pressure waves does not need to reduce the efficiency of the energetic source. Basic physical laws govern the transmission and attenuation of the pressure waves. Exploration of the site’s geology and assessment of potential adverse impacts should be conducted before the specifications for the project are written. Reduction of the pressure waves without other added mitigation differs for each class of sources. Additional mitigation varies by source class, the site’s geology, the water depth at the source and at the protected zone, potential adverse impacts from the pressure waves, needed pressure-wave reduction, and the range of azimuths from the source region requiring protection.
