ABSTRACT
This chapter indicates how, and by means of which practical design starting-points, a sound dike design can be obtained. A lot of relevant information for a dike design can be drawn from files and existing maps. In addition to this, a field reconnaissance and a land survey are indispensable, as well as photographic recording of the characteristic points in the area. The hydraulic boundary conditions for the design are: the design water level, wave attack, wind set-up, the water level behind the dike, and the rapid drop in water level following a flood. The necessity of improving the stability of the dike can be based on experience or on a number of stability calculations with roughly estimated soil properties and pore-water pressures. Data on the pore-water pressures or the piezometric head should be available for the design calculations. These data can be determined from groundwater flow models.
