Innovative tsunami and storm defense using high-tensile steel mesh revetments

Climate and non-climate events have placed unprecedented pressure on the built environment and human communities, resulting in significant damage and fatalities in recent years. Notable examples include the 2023 Storm Ciarán in the UK (Heidarzadeh et al., 2025a) and the 2024 Noto tsunami in Japan (Heidarzadeh et al., 2024). As an island nation exposed to numerous storms each year, the UK faces significant impacts from climate change compared to many other countries. Coastal defense plays a central role in the nation’s efforts to address these challenges, with approximately 18% of its coastlines currently protected by defense structures. This is part of a broader global trend, as many countries with vulnerable coastlines are prioritizing similar measures to safeguard their populations and infrastructure.

Among various coastal defense methods, revetments are the most widely used, constructed from materials such as rock, concrete, gabions, and wood. While revetments are cost-effective and utilize simple technologies, they come with drawbacks, including high maintenance costs, environmental risks, and limited beach accessibility. To address these issues, it is essential to explore innovative approaches to revetment construction. A promising alternative is high-strength steel mesh mattresses, known as TECCO CELL revetment, which showed superior performance compared to rock armour in a recent study conducted by Heidarzadeh et al. (2025b). A TECCO CELL revetment involves enclosing small rocks in steel mesh mattresses, eliminating the need to transport large rocks, as required for traditional rock armor revetments. These steel meshes are highly resistant and durable, thus reducing maintenance costs. This report presents the results of the second phase of our laboratory modeling using pneumatic piston-made solitary waves. We compare the hydraulic performance of TECCO CELL revetment with that of traditional rock armor revetments. Our results indicate that the TECCO CELL system outperforms traditional rock armor in reducing wave run-up. This research is ongoing, and additional tests are planned. Results of the first phase are published in the study by Heidarzadeh et al. (2025b).

References:

Heidarzadeh, M., Šepić, J., Iwamoto, T. (2025a). Long-duration storm surges due to 2023 successive UK Storms Ciarán and Domingos: generation, field surveys, and numerical modelling. Ocean Modelling, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2024.102487.

Heidarzadeh, M., Sheibani, M. & Luis-Fonseca, R.J. (2025b). Coastal Storm Risk Reduction Using Steel Mesh Revetments: Field Application and Preliminary Physical Experiments. Pure Appl. Geophys. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-024-03621-x.

Heidarzadeh, M., Ishibe, T., Gusman, A.R., Miyazaki, H. (2024). Field surveys of tsunami runup and damage following the January 2024 Mw 7.5 Noto (Japan Sea) tsunamigenic earthquake. Ocean Engineering, 307, 118140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.118140.