Bank undercutting and tension failure by groundwater seepage : predicting failure mechanisms

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)



Description :
The goal of this study was to induce and evaluate seepage failure mechanisms (i.e. reduced soil shear strength, seepage gradient forces, and seepage particle mobilization and undercutting) using varying hydraulic conditions across a range of soil types. The AA. also hypothesized a factor of safety concept to derive a dimensionless seepage mechanism (SM) number and evaluated it based on the ratio of resistive cohesion forces to the driving forces leading to instability including seepage gradients with an assumed steady-state seepage angle. The SM number reasonably predicted the seepage failure mechanism (tension failure versus undercutting) based on the geotechnical properties and assumed steady-state seepage gradients of the physical-scale laboratory experiments. When prevalent, seepage gradient forces should be considered when analyzing bank stability, and therefore should be incorporated into commonly used stability models.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Earth surface processes and landforms, issn : 0197-9337, 2014, vol. 39, n°. 6, p. 758-765, nombre de pages : 8, Références bibliographiques : 35 ref.

Date :
2014

Editeur :
Pays édition : Royaume-Uni, Chichester, Wiley