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Applicability of Geobags as a Sustainable Riverbank Protection Measure

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Abstract

Riverbank erosion has become a global concern over the past few decades. Various mitigation measures have been employed globally to counter the same, but the use of sand filled geotextile bags (geobags) as revetment structures have evolved as a sustainable solution because of its low cost, eco friendly nature, ease of installation and technical efficiency. The use of geobags has been reported to reduce the cost of revetment structures by 40–60% as compared to conventional rigid material (such as rock riprap, gabion walls, etc.) because of its easy availability, which in turn considerably reduces transportation cost of heavy aggregates. The flexible nature of geobags allows them to ‘launch’ down the eroded slope when scouring occurs beneath the revetment structures. As a result, geobags have been found to be a viable and sustainable solution to protect toe scouring by protecting the slope and driving the scour away from the bank. Geobags when placed in multiple layers are reported to be more durable in the field, even if the top layer gets damaged. Geobags revetment structure is independent of any specific bond configuration but is dependent upon the friction mobilized between individual geobags due to overlapping. The optimal setup can be achieved by about 50% overlap of geobags. Laboratory investigations by different researchers have revealed that uplifting, turbulent bursting, overtopping, pulling out, internal sliding and toe scours are the different possible modes of failure of these geobags. This paper explores the design aspects of geobags and salient application areas, with an aim to explore the effectiveness of this sustainable technique of riverbank protection for possible field implementation.

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  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Engineeirng Science and Technology, Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal, 711103, India

    Sagnik Guin

  2. Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal, 711103, India

    Dipankana Bhattacherjee

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Guin, S., Bhattacherjee, D. Applicability of Geobags as a Sustainable Riverbank Protection Measure. Indian Geotech J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-024-00895-9

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