Case Study: The project that saved the life & livelihood of millions of Venetian people from the floods caused by the Adriatic Sea

1. Case Study of MOSE Project
 Guided by
Mr. APPU JOHN
Asst. Professor
Civil Engineering Department
VJCET, Vazhakulam
 Presented by
SHEEN THOMSON
S7 CIVIL
Roll No: 59
VJCET
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2. CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 CAUSES OF FLOODS
 MOSE SYSTEM
 OBJECTIVES OF MOSE
 OPERATING PRINCIPLE
 ELEMENTS OF BARRIER GATE
 CONSTRUCTION METHOD
 FACTORS CONTROLLING CLOSURE OPERATION
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
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3. INTRODUCTION
Venice  World famous tourist spot.
Located in North East Italy.
Venice is threatened by floods due to the high tides in the Adriatic Sea.
Most severe flooding occurred in 4th November, 1966  6 feet above
M.S.L
In order to protect Venice and its lagoon, MOSE system was adopted.
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4. CAUSES OF FLOOD
 Eustatism  Rise in sea level
 Subsidence  Drop in land level
Source : www.people.umass.edu
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5. WHAT IS ‘MOSE’ SYSTEM?
There are 3 main water inlets to the city  Malamocco, Chioggia, Lido.
MOSE system  temporary closing of all 3 water inlets.
MOSE  ‘Modulo Sperimentale Electromeccanico’ (Experimental
Electro-mechanic Module).
Approved  2002; Work started  September 2003; End of work
foreseen in 2016.
Calculated amount is approximately 7 billion Euro.
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6. MOSE SYSTEM (contd..)
 MOSE consists of rows of mobile gates at 3 inlets.
These gates separate the lagoon from sea during high tide.
Total of 78 gates  Divided into 4 barriers.
Lido inlet  widest  2 rows  containing 21 and 20 elements  linked
by artificial island.
Malamocco inlet  row of 19 gates.
Chioggia inlet  row of 18 gates.
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7. OBJECTIVE OF MOSE
Protect the lagoon, its town,
villages and inhabitants from
floods.
MOSE can protect the city from
tides up to 3m.
Fig. 2: Venice lagoon and location of 3 water inletsSource : www.technital.it
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8. OPERATING PRINCIPLE
Under normal tidal conditions  rest in their housing structures  in sea bed 
gates are full of water.
High tide forecasted  compressed air is introduced into gates  water gets
emptied  rotates about the hinge axis  rises up  separates lagoon from sea.
When tide drops  gates are again filled with water  return to their housing.
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9. Fig. 3: Operating principle of tidal gates
Source : www.wikipedia.org
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10. ELEMENTS OF THE BARRIER
GATE
Gate made of steel.
Hinges (2 for each gate).
Caissons  Gate housing  made of concrete.
Plant tunnels.
Seabed consolidation elements.
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11. Fig. 4: Typical section of barrier gate
Source : www.technital.it
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12. CONSTRUCTION METHOD
 Main elements prefabricated  in basins away from inlet channels.
Use of temporary or permanent sheet piling  reduce the dredging
volumes.
Main concrete structures - precasted in dry basins  floated 
transported to site  sunk into their final position  ballasted.
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13. CONCRETE CAISSONS
Caissons are precast  proper quality control possible.
Concrete grade  more than or equal to 45 MPa  high grade.
Proper curing  dense and durable concrete.
Minimum cover  50 mm.
Prestressed  prevent crack formation  during hardening and curing
process.
Durability  100 years of useful life.
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14. Fig. 5 : Concrete caissons
Source : www.enerpac.com
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15. HINGE CONNECTORS
Gate is connected to the foundation  two hinge connector assemblies.
Connector assembly consists of a spigot (male part) and a socket (female
part).
Spigot  connected to the gate  detachable.
Socket is cone shaped  embedded in the reinforced concrete elements of the
foundation caisson.
Sockets installed  3 to 4 months after the caisson concreting  their correct
position can be controlled.
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16. Fig. 6: Detachable male part of hinge connectorSource : www.technital.it
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17. BARRIER GATES
Gates are 20 m wide  length between 18.5 and 29 m  thickness 3.6 to 5 m.
Can withstand a differential of up to 1.8 m  due to their buoyancy and mass.
For servicing  gate can be transported by crane to a platform on the shore 
replacement gate is substituted.
If silt deposited on the hinge  when a gate has been removed  flushing
system  actuated prior to engagement of a replacement gate.
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18. Fig. 7 : Barrier gates
Source : www.gettyimages.com
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19. FACTORS CONTROLLING
CLOSURE OPERATION
Direct rainfall on the lagoon.
Inflow from the surrounding watershed.
Wind set up in the lagoon.
Flow through the three lagoon mouths during the closure operation.
Flow through gaps in the barriers and from overtopping after closure.
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20. CONCLUSION
“Saving Venice” is an ongoing process  needs interaction between science
and engineering.
Permanent solution for eradicating fear from the minds of the people.
MOSE system can protect Venice from tides of up to 3 meters.
Once ready, the MOSE system will be the largest dam structure in the world
with each barrier measuring 6500 square feet of area.
MOSE is necessary today, but will become indispensable in the future.
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21. REFERENCES
1. Shubham Sharma, Annu Balhara, Megha Bedi , Experimental Electromechanical Module(MOSE) for flood control in Venice ,
International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR), Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2016
2. E. Engindeniz 1,a, P. Giorgi2,b , MOSE" - A Monumental Construction for the Protection of the Venetian Lagoon , International
Congress on Advances in Welding Science and Technology for Construction, Energy and Transportation Systems (AWST - 2011)
24-25 October 2011, Antalya, Turkey
3. P.T. van Westendorp BSc, O. Koster BSc, M. Reijm BSc, MOSE project Italy , Immersion of the Chioggia Flood Barrier, Caissons,
Proceedings of the World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
4. Yamuna Kaluarachchia*, Maurizio Indirlib, Boyko Ranguelovc, Francesco Romagnolid, The ANDROID case study; Venice and its
territory: existing mitigation options and challenges for the future, 4th International Conference on Building Resilience, Building
Resilience 2014, 8-10 September 2014, Salford Quays, United kingdom
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