Alfred Roubos from Port of Rotterdam Authority presented CLARION at the 21st International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ICSMGE 2026) in Vienna, Austria.
He presented the paper “CLARION: Smart & sustainable climate resilient Quay Walls”. The paper focuses on climate resilient quay walls and explains how smart monitoring can support safer and more sustainable port infrastructure.
The work also shows how CLARION combines sensor data, numerical modelling, machine learning and digital twins. Together, these tools can help ports understand how quay walls behave under daily operations and climate-related pressures.
Why climate resilient quay walls matter
Quay walls play a key role in port safety, cargo handling and transport continuity. Therefore, ports need reliable tools to assess their condition and plan future investments.
At the same time, climate change creates new pressure on port infrastructure. Sea-level changes, drought, tidal effects and temperature fluctuations can all influence quay-wall behaviour. In addition, ports must respond to larger vessels, higher cargo flows and the need to reduce environmental impacts.
For this reason, CLARION is working on smart and sustainable solutions for climate resilient quay walls. This work supports better design, stronger assessment methods and more informed maintenance strategies.
Smart quay walls and digital twins
The paper presents work carried out in the Port of Rotterdam, where smart quay walls collect valuable data through advanced sensors.
These sensors help experts monitor structural behaviour, loads and environmental conditions. As a result, engineers can reduce uncertainty in numerical models and improve their understanding of soil–structure interaction.
Moreover, CLARION uses this data to support the development of digital twins. A digital twin can help analyse how a quay wall responds to changing conditions. It can also support predictive maintenance and long-term asset management.
Machine learning adds another important layer. It helps process available data and improve the assessment of subsurface conditions. Therefore, it can support better decisions on future stresses, forces and infrastructure performance.
Supporting smarter port infrastructure
CLARION’s work on climate resilient quay walls shows the value of data-driven and risk-based approaches.
Early findings suggest that sensor data can help calibrate numerical models. This can improve design updates, maintenance planning and future adaptation measures.
In addition, smart quay wall assessment can help extend the service life of existing infrastructure. It can also support higher operational capacity and better preparation for future climate conditions.
Through this research, CLARION contributes to more resilient, sustainable and intelligent port infrastructure. The project also supports Europe’s wider efforts to adapt critical transport infrastructure to climate change.
Sharing CLARION results with the geotechnical community
ICSMGE 2026 offered an important opportunity to share CLARION’s research with the international geotechnical engineering community.
The presentation highlighted how smart quay walls, sensors and digital twins can support safer port operations. It also showed how research can help ports move from traditional assessment methods to more data-driven planning.
CLARION thanks Alfred Roubos and Port of Rotterdam Authority for presenting this work and supporting the dissemination of the project’s research results.
The full paper is available for download on this page.
