Vm Van Beek

Fine-tuning of the backward erosion piping model through small-scale, medium-scale and IJkdijk experiments

ABSTRACT A semi-theoretical model is available to estimate the effect of backward erosion piping by underseepage in a dike by computing the critical head. The model accounts for the groundwater flow through the subsoil, pipe flow through the erosion channel and a limited particle equilibrium at the bottom of the channel. This model is extended and updated with the results of a wide range of tests presented in the paper of (Van Beek et al., 2011). The small- scale tests are analyzed by means of a multivariate regression in order to identify the level of influence of each variable. The regression outcome for the permeability corresponds precisely with the outcome of the prediction rule. The effect of relative density, uniformity and particle roundness is empirically dealt with. The role of the particle size is adapted in the new empirical formulation.

Observations on the process of backward erosion piping in small-, medium- and full-scale experiments

ABSTRACT Small-, medium- and full-scale experiments are performed to investigate the process of backward erosion piping and to validate the model of Sellmeijer. The observed processes are described in this article and are divided in four phases: seepage, backward erosion, widening of pipe and levee failure. Initially the erosion activity consists of very limited not noticeable sand transport. Increase of hydraulic head results in backward erosion, marked by the occurrence of continuously sand transporting sand boils. The transition from backward erosion to the widening of the pipe cannot be observed by the amount of transported sand or the flow rate. Failure can take place within a short time. The swift transformation of small sand boils to levee failure therefore appears to be extremely hazardous when determining the seriousness of piping underneath a levee.

Analytical Groundwater Flow Calculations for Understanding the Flow and Erosion in a Coarse Sand Barrier

The coarse sand barrier (CSB) is a promising method to avoid ongoing backward erosion piping resulting in increased safety of a dike for this failure mechanism. Experiments are performed at different scales at Deltares, the Netherlands. These experiments show a significant increase in the critical head for structures with a CSB compared to structures without a CSB. The increase of critical head cannot only be ascribed to the lower erodibility of the coarser particles in the barrier, but also to the reduction of hydraulic load on these coarse particles in the barrier, resulting from the permeability contrast of barrier material and surrounding sand. To investigate the influence of a CSB on the flow pattern numerical and analytical calculations have been performed. This paper focusses on the analytical calculations. It will be shown that these can explain the increase in strength and the measured scaling effects.

Scale Effects in Coarse Sand Barrier Experiments

The coarse sand barrier is considered as a promising measure to prevent backward erosion piping from causing failure of embankments. A pipe is allowed to progress backwards until it encounters the coarse sand barrier, which prevents it from progressing unless the head difference over the embankment is significantly increased. A three stage experimental programme supported by groundwater flow modelling is carried out to investigate the feasibility of this method. The hypothesis is that the strength of the barrier is characterised by a local gradient at the interface between the barrier and the pipe. Major questions are: can the horizontal gradient as measured in laboratory tests be used to characterise the strength of the barrier material, over which distance should a horizontal gradient be determined, and is this distance the same for models at different scales? This paper presents the background theory and demonstrates the effects using scale dependent criteria. Preliminary results of small- and medium-scale experiments are used to compare the two approaches.

3D FEM simulation of groundwater flow during backward erosion piping

Backward erosion piping is an important failure mechanism for cohesive water retaining structures which are founded on a sandy aquifer. At present, the prediction models for safety assessment are often based on 2D assumptions. In this work, a 3D numerical approach of the groundwater flow leading to the erosion mechanism of backward erosion piping is presented and discussed. Comparison of the 2D and 3D numerical results explicitly demonstrates the inherent 3D nature of the piping phenomenon. In addition, the influence of the dike length is investigated and discussed for both piping initiation and piping progression. The results clearly indicate the superiority of the presented 3D numerical model compared to the established 2D approach. Moreover, the 3D numerical results enable a better understanding of the complex physical mechanism involved in backward erosion piping and thus can lead to a significant improvement in the safety assessment of water retaining structures.

Investigating the Formation of a Filter Cake in Column Experiments, for Combinations of Filter and Fine Sand in a Coarse Sand Barrier

The coarse sand barrier (CSB) is a single granular filter used to retrofit an existing structure, making it more stable against backward erosion piping. The barrier material should be chosen carefully to retain particles from the sand layer upstream of the barrier, yet provide optimal resistance against backward erosion piping. This means the particles in the barrier should be large, thus difficult to transport, and the barrier should have a high permeability in order to reduce the local hydraulic gradient inside the barrier. However, transport of the fine sand upstream of the barrier into the barrier, may result in less permeable filter cake just inside the barrier. Therefore, a column set-up was designed and experiments were conducted with various sand types, using the same materials as used in small-scale and medium-scale backward erosion piping experiments with at CSB. The aim was to compare the results of different tests and check if the criterion for the formation of a filter cake is the same as the well-known filter rules. Consequently, this paper presents the results of different column experiments. These materials were carefully selected and fulfilled the selected filter rules but one soil composition caused the filter cake formation. This indicates that to avoid filter cake formation for the conditions tested stricter rules apply than the filter rules considered here.