The Green Pier Project
Introduction
Water pollution is currently a very important imposing issue in today’s world. Many water-based structures like marinas, piers, and docks contribute to this issue through runoff and manufacturing. The intention of the Green Pier Project is to plan and design a pier, promenade, and chapel solely out of eco-friendly materials. The Green Pier should help in the prevention of water pollution and beach erosion. As the civil engineering portion, this portion of the project deals with the waterline and extends outward. This consists of two extending piers and a bulkhead. Figure 1 shows the layout of the piers, with one 50-foot pier and one 200-foot pier each extending from the opposite ends of a promenade. The railing will extend up the sides of the ramps, despite the fact that the railing is not shown extending up the ramps in the image below.
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| Figure 1- AutoCAD view of the piers |
Systems Engineering
This project relates to the Systems Engineering because the project focuses on how a pier should be designed and built to last during the years of use. The project employs the use of brainstorming, background research, and the design of multiple alternate solutions to solve a problem.
Engineering
The design of the piers incorporated Structural Engineering for the overall structural support and construction schedule, deciding the piling placement on the pier, and determining how to build a structurally sound pier. The project incorporated Environmental Engineering through research and selection of eco-friendly materials, the effects of different materials on the environment, and research on how to further prevent and raise awareness of water pollution. Most importantly, Civil Engineering was incorporated with designing the bulkhead, planning the construction of the piers, and locating the best area to place the bulkhead and piers within the environment.
Renovation
The design planned is a renovation, because the project takes the skeleton of a pier design and fills it with green materials. The project removes all the aspects of pier and bulkhead construction that would be harmful to the environment and replaces them with eco-friendly alternatives like choosing manufacturers that utilize green production methods or materials that are less harmful when placed in water.
Manufacturing
Mass production is necessary for the manufacturing of hardware and green materials that will be used in construction, since all pieces require several of the exact same products. Several kinds of manufacturing categories are involved in the production of the piers, including construction, engineering, and metalworking.
Overall, the piers and bulkhead are part of a system consisting of the chapel, the promenade, the piers, and the bulkhead. These components all working together and all made out of eco-friendly materials will help to prevent further water pollution in the Sandy Hook area.
Science
When building a pier, many different scientific concepts need to be considered- such as erosion, tides, and wave force.
Erosion
Erosion, as geologically deemed by Oliver Goldsmith, is the wearing away of land on the coast from constant water exposure. Bulkheads, as shown below in Figure 2, block the constant water exposure from the coast and prevent the water from eroding the land away. The bulkhead in this case will block Sandy Hook’s shore from being further eroded by the strong tide.
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Figure 2- A view of the bulkhead set up behind the piers |
Tides
Tides are the rise and fall of the sea level due in part to the sun and moon’s gravitational pulls and the Earth’s rotation. Tides affect the height of the pilings and overall underwater support structure involved in the design of the piers. They determine how deep pilings need to be placed (the pilings always need to be at least 1’ over the water at high tide) and help discern water depth charts like the one in Figure 3 made at high tide to aid in the planning process of pier construction.
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| Figure 3- A water depth chart of high tide at the construction site |
Wave Forces
Wave forces are applicable to both deep waves like rip tides and surface waves. Surface waves are generally derived from the wind. The deciding factors on the size of a surface wave are the speed of the wind, the distance the wind has blown, the width of the area the wind has blown over, the amount of time the wind has blown for, and the depth of the water. These factors are all extremely important to consider when deciding on the strength of a pier. The site of construction that we are working on has strong wave force, as the wave force had previously destroyed a timber bulkhead, shown in Figure 4. The strong wave force had geared the project more towards a permanent pile dock-style pier and a strong and sturdy rock bulkhead instead of a timber bulkhead.
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| Figure 4- View of the construction site and the failed timber bulkhead |
Technology
A major part of all the technology used in this product is the green aspect of it all. The problem being solved focuses on eco-friendly practice, so integrating green technology into the project was a top priority.
Trex Deck
The Trex Deck wood substitute being used is safe for the environment and contains no materials that will harm the water or the wildlife. This is a major benefit when compared to many other companies who are heavily involved in deforestation and are harming the environment through their production. Trex Deck uses recycled wood to make eco-friendly planks of wood that are safe to use in any environment. Trex Deck also provides railings made of the same eco-friendly materials. Figure 5 below shows how the Trex Deck will be utilized in the construction.
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Figure 5- View of the individual boards and railings of Trex Deck composing the pier |
Pearson Fiberglass Composite Pilings
Another major contributor to the green movement is the Pearson Company with their fiberglass composite pilings. These pilings are actually stronger than steel wood or concrete and require little to no maintenance. They hardly ever need to be replaced and are easily replaced by installing new pilings over the existing ones. Most importantly, the pilings are made of completely green materials. They contain no harmful chemical coatings and have no deleterious effects on the environment. Figure 6 is a picture of the Pearson Fiberglass Composite Pilings and how they will be used in pier construction.
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| Figure 6- View of Pearson Fiberglass Composite Pilings |
Sound Bulkhead
The rock bulkhead was a tricky construction method to handle. The construction of such a bulkhead can often be taxing to the environment and very costly. Sound Bulkhead provides a service to install a rock bulkhead and does so while maintaining an eco-friendly environment. They use specialized barges to minimize the impact to the property and the shellfish environment by the coast. An example of construction techniques is shown below in Figure 7.
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| Figure 7- View of Sound Bulkhead construction |
Math
Many equations were solved in compiling material lists for the piers. The decking measure at 2” x 6” x 20’ and each board has 3/8” between the other to help drain water. With two piers, one at 50’ and the other at 200’ long, the total number of boards calculates to 550. Rim joists and joists are also the same size decking. Rim joists run parallel on the edges to the piers, requiring a total of 8 rim joists, and joists run perpendicular to the piers and total 75 joists. A view of how the joists are placed can be seen in Figure 8.
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| Figure 8- Joists placement view |
The concrete footings used to support the pilings are 4’ tall and 4’ in diameter. Figure 8 also gives a view of how the footings are placed. An online converter determined that 3770 80lb bags of concrete would be necessary for 56 footings. The pilings are 12” in diameter and vary in length depending on the water depth. They are placed every 10 feet along the dock, totaling 56 pilings. The railings are composed of balusters, railing posts, and a railing. The railing posts are 4” x 4” x 48” and are placed every 5’. This adds up to 108 railings posts necessary. The balusters are 36” in length and 10 balusters are placed between each railing post. They will each be spaced 2” apart. This comes to a total of 200 balusters. The railings are 5’ long and need to cover ¾ of the piers. This means they need to cover 540’, adding up to 108 railings total.
In addition to material calculations, estimations of the amount of necessary hardware were required. Joist hangers are required to hold the joists to the rim joists. 24 total joist hangers are required and each fits 8 10D nails. 24 x 8= 192, which rounds up to about 200 10D nails or about 3.1lbs of nails. 16 corner brackets are required to hold the corners of the rim joists along the sides together. Each corner brackets needed 8 carriage bolts. 16 x 8= 128, which rounds up to 130 bolts. In order to hold the joists together 130 mending braces are required. Each mending brace requires 4 carriage bolts. 130 x 4=520, and 520 + 130=650 carriage bolts total. In order to secure the pilings to the piers, piling hoops are necessary. 56 pilings are necessary which requires 56 piling hoops. Finally, 550 decking planks x 10 nails/decking requires 5500 nails, which rounds up to 6000, or 353lbs of nails as determined by an online converter.
Conclusion
The Green Pier project is a combination of civil, structural, and environmental engineering. The project uses renovation techniques to design a pier and bulkhead along with a chapel and promenade that are structurally safe while still being structurally sound. Mass production is necessary to produce many of the materials like the hardware and Trex Deck. Several kinds of manufacturing categories are involved in the production of the piers, including construction, engineering, and metalworking. The final design of the piers and bulkhead consists of one 50-foot pier and one 200-foot pier and a rock bulkhead. The decking for the pier will be the eco-friendly Trex Deck and the rock bulkhead will be constructed using Sound Bulkhead. Many scientific factors had to be considered in the design of the pier, including erosion, tides, and wave forces. The main calculations that were utilized were those involving the listing of the hardware and the necessary construction materials. The Green Pier project is a revolutionary project that will change the way everyday piers impact the environment, and will implement new and improved products that will contribute to the green movement.
