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After an adventure of four years of development, Holcim Coastal has pulled it off: its Basalton Quattroblock is the most stable stone settlement at the moment. Reason for construction consortium Levvel to apply this innovative stone settlement to the Afsluitdijk. A first, because the dike is the first application of the Quattroblock.
"The Quattroblock is a further development of the well-known Basalton column, which has been used to strengthen dikes for 45 years," explains Jean-Pierre Quataert, Holcim's managing director. "In the period between 2015 and 2018, we further developed the 'old' Basalton column to achieve even higher stability. The higher the stability, the lower the columns can be. This means less concrete is needed which in turn reduces CO2-reduction results. All this results in a lower MKI value for the entire project." The Quattroblock was tested in Deltares' Delta flume. The experiment concluded with an endurance test in which large waves pounded on the barrier for 24 hours. "The stability factor is very high with a value of 1.64. This value was included in the Stone test by the Department of Waterways and Public Works."
The name Quattro refers to the four Basalton columns that are interconnected into one set. This gives an even stronger and stable covering for the Afsluitdijk. An additional advantage is that it allows them to be placed much faster. No superfluous luxury when you consider that the slope above the cycle path on the Wadden Sea side and part of the slope on the IJsselmeer side have been reinforced with 700,000 m2 Basalton Quattroblocks.
The production of the bricks and logistics were still a big challenge for the people of Holcim, though. "For almost three years we ran extra production. We even built a new factory in Alphen aan den Rijn for it. The challenge was mainly to get the required amount of stones to the various dike sections on time. From Alphen they were transported by ship to the Afsluitdijk. Due to short lines of communication and rapid switching with Levvel, this went well."
The Holcim team is proud of "their" Quattroblock with the Afsluitdijk as the first. "The Quattroblock is the result of continuously developing solutions for our clients. We are always looking for even 'greener' concrete solutions and products that fit within our ecological system. We do this from our innovation center in Lyon, France. For example, we are also developing a so-called bioreceptive concrete mix. Organisms can thus attach themselves more easily to a concrete surface which benefits the flora and fauna on and around the dikes and banks. We are also researching concrete compositions for artificial reefs. Our goal is to make coastal and river areas worldwide safer and more sustainable with our products."
