ARMOUR - Artificial Reused Metal Offshore Underwater Reefs

由于气候变化和城市化，世界上超过三分之一的海岸线和英国3000公里的海岸线正在遭受侵蚀。传统的“硬”海岸保护方法，如防波堤和海堤，是用混凝土和岩石建造的，这是不可持续的，而且成本高昂。它们破坏沿海环境，感受到海洋的全部力量，并随着时间的推移而退化。在英国，我们以这种老式的方式保护的海岸线比欧洲任何其他国家都多。CCell设计的电化学法生长的人工珊瑚礁模仿了天然珊瑚礁的波浪衰减特性。它们生长在近海，淹没在水面以下，在波浪到达海岸之前减少了它们的影响。珊瑚礁最初是由轻质钢结构形成的，电解作用使岩石在其周围生长。随着时间的推移，这些结构利用从海水中提取的矿物质建立起来，它们可以从损坏中愈合，最终形成一个自给自足的长期生态系统，保护它背后的海岸线。英国是欧洲最大的废金属出口国，其中很大一部分是钢铁。我们的项目合作伙伴可持续建筑产品联盟(ASBP)对英国的再利用钢铁供应链有广泛的了解。现在有机会重新利用建筑物中的钢材作为CCell礁的基础材料，降低其成本，同时为英国的循环经济做出贡献。以这种方式重复使用金属在理论上是可行的，没有理由不具备足够的导电性和足够的强度来形成CCell礁的基础。该项目旨在解决两个主要挑战：第一，我们将调查旧钢材与新钢材相比的电化学性能，并确定实现最佳岩石生长所需的任何处理。第二，我们将研究将重复使用的钢材形成合适的珊瑚礁形状可能会如何影响其强度，并确定创建足够坚固的珊瑚礁的方法，以履行其海岸保护功能。我们的愿景是在英国各地安装珊瑚礁，提供比传统方法更持久和更有吸引力的海岸保护解决方案，重复使用金属，使其尽可能具有成本效益和可持续发展。

More than?one third of the?world's?coastlines, and 3000km of the UK's, are?suffering from erosion as a result of climate change and urbanisation. Traditional "hard" approaches to coastal protection like breakwaters and sea walls are made from concrete and rock, which is unsustainable and expensive. They disrupt the coastal environment, feel the full force of the ocean, and degrade over time. In the UK, we have more coastline protected in this old-fashioned way than any other country in Europe.CCell designs electrochemically grown artificial reefs that mimic the wave attenuation properties of natural coral reefs. They grow offshore and are submerged below the water surface where they reduce the impact of waves before they reach the shore.The reefs are formed initially from lightweight steel structures, around which electrolysis causes rock to grow. These structures build themselves up over time using minerals extracted from the seawater itself, they can heal from damage, and they eventually form a self-sufficient long-lasting ecosystem that protects the shoreline behind it.The UK is the biggest exporter of scrap metal in Europe, a large proportion of which is steel. Our project partners, The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP), has extensive knowledge of the reused steel supply chain in the UK. There is an opportunity to reuse steel from buildings as the base material for CCell reefs, reducing their cost whilst contributing to the circular economy in the UK.The reuse of metal in this way is theoretically feasible; there is no reason why it would not be conductive and strong enough to form the base of CCell reefs. This project aims to address two main challenges:First, we will investigate how used steel performs electrochemically compared to new and determine any treatment that might be needed to achieve the best rock growth.Second, we will research how the forming of reused steel into an appropriate reef shape might affect its strength and identify methods for creating a reef that is strong enough to carry out its coastal protection function.Our vision is to install reefs across the UK that offer a more long-lasting and attractive coastal protection solution than traditional methods, reusing metals to make them as cost-effective and sustainable as possible.