Riprap Revetment

Jungkyu Ahn
Lina Polvi

Stuart Trabant

Outline

Introduction
Where riprap is used
Riprap design
Example design
Types of riprap failure
Design considerations: How to prevent
riprap failure
Examples of riprap failure & success

HYDRAULIC AND SEDIMENT

TRANSPORT MODELING OF SAN
JOAQUIN RIVER, FRIANT DAM TO
MENDOTA DAM

Introduction
Riprap Revetment:
Strengthen riverbanks against erosion
Factors that affect riprap resistance to erosive
forces
stone size
shape
weight
durability
gradation
layer thickness

construction quality
channel alignment
cross section
bank slope
velocity distribution
ground water

Materials : natural stones

Where Riprap Revetment is Useful:

On the outside of
bends
At hydraulic
structures
At flow contractions
In man-made channels
In widening channels
At locations with high
turbulence

HYDRAULIC AND SEDIMENT

TRANSPORT MODELING OF SAN
JOAQUIN RIVER, FRIANT DAM TO
MENDOTA DAM

Outside Bend Riprap, Rapid Crk, SD (MEI)

Riprap Design

1. Stone size
There are two methods to determine stone size.
(1) Shear-stress method

dm =

sin 2 1
*c (G 1) 1

sin 2

where dm : effective rock size (usually, dm d65 1.25d50)

0 : applied shear stress
*c : critical value of Shields number
: specific weight of water
G : specific gravity of riprap
1 : side slope angle
: angle of repose of riprap

Riprap Design
(2) Velocity method

Vc K c

1 sin 2
2(G 1)gd s
2

1
sin

where ds d65 1.25d50

Vc : critical mean flow velocity

4h
K c = log tan
ds

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JOAQUIN RIVER, FRIANT DAM TO
MENDOTA DAM

Riprap Design
Standard Riprap Sizing Methods
(Velocity-Based)
U.S. Corps of Engineers, EM 1110-21601
American Society of Civil Engineers
US Bureau of Reclamation Method
U.S. Geological Survey Method
Isbash Method
California Bank and Shore Protection
Method
Federal Highways HEC-11

Riprap Design
2. Stone shape (should satisfy the following)
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)

Stone shall be predominantly angular

Not more than 30% of stones a/c >2.5
Not more than 15% of stones a/c >3.0
No stone a/c > 3.5
where a : maximum length of long axis
c : maximum length of short axis

3. Stone weight
1/ 3

6W
D% = %
s

where D% : equivalent-volume spherical stone diameter

W% : weight of individual stone having diameter of D%

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TRANSPORT MODELING OF SAN
JOAQUIN RIVER, FRIANT DAM TO
MENDOTA DAM

Riprap Design
4. Filter
d 50 ( filter )
< 40
d 50 (base)

i)

ii) 5 <
iii)

d15 ( filter )
< 40
d15 (base)

d15 ( filter )
<5
d 85 (base)

5. Riprap layer thickness

i) Riprap layer thickness >d100 & >1.5d50
ii) Increase thickness by 50% when placing under water

Riprap Design
6. Revetment toe protection
Toe protection may be provided by two methods
(1) Extend to maximum scour depth
place end of toe below the expected scour depth or
ground it on nonerodible material
(2) Place launchable stone
Windrow : riprap placed at top of bank
Trench-fill : riprap placed at low water level
Weighted riprap toes : riprap placed at intersection of channel bottom and side slope

Windrow

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Trench-fill

Weighted riprap toes

Example Design:
Yuba River, California
Purpose: Protect
outside of bend at
fish ladder exit
Stone sizing
method: Velocity
Method (after Julien,
2002)
Stone Sizing
Equation:
Vc K c

Q
Proposed Riprap

Fish Ladder
Exit

1 sin 2
2(G 1)gd s
2
1 sin

Example Design (cont):

Yuba River, California
From hydraulic
model, Vc~8 ft/s
Use particle stability
diagram (stone size
vs velocity curves)
For bank slope of
2H:1V, ds ~ 0.6 feet
Use D50 = 9 (from
ds ~ 1.25 D50)
Therefore, D10 ~3
and D90 ~16

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JOAQUIN RIVER, FRIANT DAM TO
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Example Design (cont):

Application
Design Flow Depth=22
Freeboard=2
Est. Scour depth=6.6
Thickness=2* D50=18
Length=500
Factor of Safety=2 (for
self-launching toe
riprap)
Total Volume=
H*T*L*FS*sin ~760yd3
= 205 tons

Elevation (ft)

Left Bank at Proposed Riprap

170

Riprap as constructed
Riprap After Scour and Launch*

160

*Assuming riprap lost during launch

Slope =1V:2H

150

Design WSE
140

Riprap Height=24 ft
130

120

Scour Depth=6.6 ft
110
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

90

Schematic of riprap design for Yuba

River with launchable toe (MEI)

Types of Riprap Failure

Particle Erosion:
Causes: Stone size too small, stones removed by
impact, bank sideslope greater than angle of repose
for riprap material, riprap gradation too uniform
Solution: Coarser riprap, reevaluate riprap gradation
& angularity

Slide: Downslope mass movement of stones

Causes: Bank sideslope too steep, excess
hydrostatic pore pressure, loss of material at toe of
riprap blanket
Solution: Strengthen toe of riprap blanket, use larger
stones near channel bed

HYDRAULIC AND SEDIMENT

TRANSPORT MODELING OF SAN
JOAQUIN RIVER, FRIANT DAM TO
MENDOTA DAM

80

Station (ft)

100

Types of Riprap Failure

(cont.)
Slump: Mass movement within riprap
blanket
Causes: Bank sideslope too steep, lack of toe slope
support
Solution: Add coarser material at toes of
embankment, reduce sideslope angle at top of
embankment

Sideslope failure: rotation/gravitational

movement along surface
Causes (related to shear failure of underlying base
material): Excess pore pressure in base material,
sideslopes too steep
Solution: Reduce embankment slope, drain base
material

Design Considerations:
Preventing Riprap Failure
Tieback
Tie upstream and
downstream ends of
blanket into bank

Launching Apron
Horizontal riprap on
foot of revetment

Overlap revetment
Overlap revetment
on opposite banks

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JOAQUIN RIVER, FRIANT DAM TO
MENDOTA DAM

Overlapping riprap on Rapid Creek, SD

General Design Considerations

Overlap riprap when
alternating left and
right banks

Alternating Riprap Design,

Puerco River, NM (MEI)

Use proper drainage

for saturated soils

Riprap with drainage,

Minera Yanachocha, Peru (MEI)

General Design Considerations

(cont.)
Extend revetment
up and downstream
of active erosion
Ensure riprap is
well-graded and
angular
Use tie-back to
prevent flanking

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Tie-back on Merrill Creek, TX (MEI)

Examples of Riprap Failure

Failed riprap
flanking on
Whitnall Park
Creek, WI

Failed riprap on
Tijeras Arroyo, NM
due to poor
gradation

Failed riprap on
Tijeras Arroyo, NM
due to slide or
slump and further
bank erosion

Examples of Riprap Success

Riprap along alternating bends

on Whitnall Park Creek, WI

Revegetation of riprap
along Rapid Creek, SD

HYDRAULIC AND SEDIMENT

TRANSPORT MODELING OF SAN
JOAQUIN RIVER, FRIANT DAM TO
MENDOTA DAM