Report Advertisement

Reclamation Methods
Reclamation and Ground Improvement
COPYRIGHT 2004 Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd

Chapter 6
Reclamation Methods

6.1 DRY METHOD

6.2 HYDRAULIC RECLAMATION METHOD
6.3 REHANDLING FROM A REHANDLING PIT
6.4 HYDRAULIC FILLING
6.5 SAND SPREADING
6.6 PUMPING INSIDE THE BUNDS

There are several methods of land reclamation, depending upon the type of ll material, foundation soil, topography of the
seabed, the availability of equipment, and allowable ne material for reclamation.

Free Flood Risk Evaluation - Over 30 Years of Experience

Save Money On Your Flood Insurance! Specializing in Loma's and Elevation Certs
ameri oodsolutions.com | Sponsored▼
(https://www.bing.com/aclick?ld=d3iX1rtgRZ1fSXuEIVPcy04DVUCUydXV3hatBb-
_yrKrPbYhuuEzdXY1HeKKAUHAV0MwbjqhubIiMnOUnOHBPSbIbnEj_NwnYVG3sEGtaNWRO_RWSxiJUcMU6xjwAbxupYOUzYiCOuMnffvdblt8fkkRsN3

6.1 DRY METHOD

The dry method is suitable for lling material from land sources, especially rock, hillcut and clay ll. Filling or transporting
clay ll material into the sea would create viscous slurry which would take much longer to become usable land.

As explained earlier, the dry method usually uses a truck or conveyor belt to transport ll material to extend the land
towards the sea (Figure 3.4 and 3.5).

SAP Concur® Expense Software - E-Receipts to Reimbursement

Improve Employee Satisfaction With Faster Reimbursement. Take A Test Drive!
concur.com/Expense_Report/Software | Sponsored▼
(https://www.bing.com/aclick?ld=d39lBwYa91LVDs8WBKuENGcDVUCUxIolmobWJT0Nt-2x3JuAf6TG4HkGUAc1kcJW42g0URc4BFWFHiYSRx0-
7zKIZP0Lgqm5Wxn5xByhbYsjbMW4JtzW7pxAcyN2oAHSssZn2y4zQJPHy3BSRgD449wQrxI8hd24v_kxOfUG3iO1OKiUVS&u=http%3a%2f%2fpixel.eve
76347392860851%3aloc-
149%26ev_crx%3d76347396130191%26ev_mt%3db%26ev_dvc%3dm%26ev_phy%3d149%26ev_loc%3d%26ev_cx%3d276629096%26ev_ax%3d122155
report-
lp%3fpid%3dppc%26cid%3dus_bing_web_br_global_expense_reporting_system%26mkwid%3dts1SHnfK%26pcrid%3d76347396130191%26pmt%3dbb%2

Generally, the dry method works well for foreshore locations with underlying competent seabed soil. If the seabed soil is
weak, a mud wave will be created in front of the ll because of displacement. In that case, a greater quantity of ll material
would be required.

In addition, the dry method usually results in a loose pro le of ll especially when granular soil is used as ll material. A
comparison of the density pro le of granular ll carried out by hydraulic lling and land lling is shown in Figure 6.1. It can
×
be seen that the density pro le of land ll is much lower than hydraulic ll. Therefore, land ll generally requires
densi cation of granular soil.

6.2 HYDRAULIC RECLAMATION METHOD

A wet method of reclamation is implemented when ll material is obtained from an offshore borrow source. However, this
method is only suitable for granular ll, which has good drainage characteristics. As explained earlier, the method of lling is
selected based on the availability of equipment, type of seabed soil, topography of seabed, and the production rate
required.

6.2.1 Direct dumping

Report Advertisement

A direct dumping method is used when the seabed is deep or the underlying seabed soil is soft. A bottom-opening barge
usually carries ll material from the borrow source and either sails with a self-propeller or pushed by the powerful tugboat
to the designated location. At the location, ll material is dumped by opening the bottom of the barge. Suf cient draft and
clearance is required for this method. Generally, a seabed of 6 – 8 meters depth is suitable for bottom dumping. This
method is used not only for granular material but also for stiff clay and soft clay. However, dumping of soft clay is not
appropriate for deeper seabed conditions since soft clay can be dispersed, and the environment can be affected. Bottom-
opening barges usually have a capacity of a few thousand cubic meters and the production rate of reclamation using
bottom-opening barges is largely dependent upon the number of barges used and the distance between the borrow
sources and the reclaimed area. The dumping location is generally controlled by a global positioning system. However,
bottom dumping alone cannot complete the reclamation because it can only operate up to 2 – 3 meters depth below sea
level (/earth-and-environment/geology-and-oceanography/geology-and-oceanography/sea-level). The next level of ll has
to be raised by hydraulic lling or other means. Figure 6.2 shows dumping of ll material by a bottom-opening barge.

6.3 REHANDLING FROM A REHANDLING PIT

Sometimes, if cutter suction hopper trailers are not available or direct dumping is not feasible, a rehandling method is used.
The rehandling method involves transporting sand by barges and dumping the ll material temporarily in the pit for storage.
The pit should have a storage capacity of a few million cubic meters. Rehandling pit locations are generally selected at
natural depressions on a rm seabed or created by dredging. To create a rehandling pit, one needs to consider the stability
of the pit slope. Such an operation would require two stationary cutter suction dredgers, one at the borrow source and
another at the rehandling pit. In that case, sand barges are required to transport sand to the rehandling pit. Alternatively,
one cutter suction hopper dredger dredges the sand at the borrow source and transports it to the rehandling pit, while
another stationary cutter suction dredger will operate at the rehandling pit to ll the reclamation area. Figure 6.3 shows
dredging and loading of ll material at the borrow source, and Figure 6.4 shows transportation of ll materials by a deep
draft cutter suction hopper dredger and dumped at the rehandling pit for storage. Figure 6.5 shows reclamation by
hydraulic lling from the rehandling pit using a stationary cutter suction dredger. The production rate of such reclamation is
dependent upon the stationary cutter suction dredgers and the number of barges used for transportation. Filling up to 2
million m3 per month is possible with this method of reclamation.

6.4 HYDRAULIC FILLING

The hydraulic lling method is suitable for granular ll. Generally, this method is used when lling is carried out from an
offshore source, either from a rehandling pit, as explained earlier, or from a trailer suction hopper dredger. In the case of
pumping from a cutter suction hopper dredger, the ll material is dredged from the× borrow source with its own trailer
suction dredger which is moved adjacent to the reclamation area and then pumped through the discharge pipe. Bulldozers
are used to grade and spread the ll material around the discharge pipe. The discharge pipe is usually set slightly above the
required nished level. Pumping is usually done with a mixture of ll material and water. The ratio of ll material to water is
adjusted according to the grain size of the ll material. A large ratio of material to water would lead to wearing of the inner
walls of the sand transportation pipe. On the other hand, a smaller ratio of material to water will reduce the production
rate. After a certain amount of land has formed, the pipes are extended accordingly. Usually, the diameter of the sand
transportation pipes is about 800 – 1000 m and 10 meters in length. Normally, wearing occurs at the bottom of the pipe,
therefore, frequent rotation of the pipe after usage is necessary. Pipes that have to run above water can be oated with
oaters attached to the pipes.

To carry out direct hydraulic lling from a trailer suction hopper dredger, suf cient draft of the seabed is needed near the
reclamation area. Now as big as 33,000 m3 trailer suction hopper dredgers are available, and either dredging or unloading
can be carried out within two hours. The sailing time is dependent upon the distance between the borrow source and the
reclamation area. If the source is close to the reclamation area, many trips per day are possible. In such a situation, as much
as 4.0 million m3 per month of production is possible with the trailer suction hopper dredger. Figure 6.6 shows a dredging
operation with a cutter suction hopper dredger at the borrow source, and Figure 6.7 shows a hopper dredger sailing with a
full load of ll material. Figure 6.8 shows a dredger pumping sand through a discharge pipe. Figure 6.9 shows the leveling of
dumped sand ll with the help of a bulldozer. If the sand source is less than 5 km from the reclamation area neither a
rehandling pit nor a cutter suction dredger is feasible. Direct pumping from the sand source to the reclamation area is
possible. Pumping through a discharge pipe is possible up to 10 km. Some intermediate booster pumps may be added to
pump over such a long distance. Long distance reclamation using intermediate booster pumps is shown in Figure 6.10. If the
seabed is deeper or the location of the reclamation is far

Away from the dredger location, rainbow pumping is implemented, as shown in Figure 6.11. Rainbow pumping is normally
suitable for underwater lling. Hydraulic lling is not suitable when the seabed is too shallow or the seabed soil is too soft.
In that case, a sand spreading method is applied.

6.5 SAND SPREADING

Sand spreading is implemented when a shallow seabed is encountered or when the seabed soil is too soft. When sand
spreading is carried out, a rehandling pit is generally necessary. The spreader is mounted on a small oating barge. The end
of the discharge pipe is usually closed and several perforations are provided along the last two to three sections of the
discharge pipes. Sand is discharged through the perforations with water. A sand spreader was used in the Changi East
reclamation project, shown in Figure 6.12. Figure 6.13 shows sand spreading in progress. The details on land reclamation
on slurry-like soil using sand spreading method can be found in Bo et al. (1998d). In the Pulau Tekong project in Singapore,
TOA-Jan de Nul JV has fabricated a fully automatic purpose-built spraying pontoon which can discharge the sand at
11,000m3 per hour, in layers of 50 cm thickness (Figure 6.14). Since sand spreading is not stationary and moving from one
end to another is required, moving the spreader is made it possible with a winch system and a heavy duty bulldozer. Sand
deposits using a sand spreading method usually results in a loose pro le (Figure 6.15).

6.6 PUMPING INSIDE THE BUNDS

Reclamation can start from the coastal line and advance towards the sea. However, this type of reclamation may lead to
great loss of ll material because of wave and current action. Therefore, sometimes reclamation is carried out within a
protected area after a bund has been formed around the proposed reclamation area. In this way, losses caused by wave and
current action can be minimized. However, this type of reclamation requires an outlet for the over ow of water and ne
material, otherwise mud can be trapped at or near the corner of the bund. Figure 6.16 shows reclamation carried out in
Singapore after the formation of a bund. Figure 6.17 shows the discharge outlet provided
×
for reclamation with a
containment bund.