Resilience of MSE Walls with Marginal Backfill under a Changing Climate: Quantitative Assessment for Extreme Precipitation Events
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 9
Abstract
Climate change is expected to alter statistics of extreme events in the future. Adapting geotechnical infrastructure to a changing climate necessitates quantitative assessment of the potential climate change impacts on the performance of infrastructure. This study numerically investigates the hydromechanical response of a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall constructed with marginal backfill to extreme rainfall events under a changing climate. The need for investigating the effects of extreme precipitation on marginal backfill is more pronounced because larger matric suction can be developed in such backfills. To address this need, this paper compares the performance of an MSE wall using two sets of rainfall intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves, denoted as baseline and projected, for the Seattle area. The baseline IDF curves are provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and currently used for design purposes, and the projected IDF curves are obtained using 20 climate model simulations of the future. The results show that use of the baseline IDFs can lead to underestimation of the wall deformation and loads carried by reinforcements. The results highlight the importance of site-specific assessments to quantify the potential impacts of climate change on the performance of current and future MSE walls. Such consideration gains even more importance considering the increasing interest in using marginal backfills in earth retaining structures due to economic and environmental considerations.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants Nos. CMMI-1634748 and CMMI-1635797. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. We acknowledge the World Climate Research Programme’s Working Group on Coupled Modelling, which is responsible for CMIP, and we thank the climate modeling groups for producing and making available their model output. For CMIP the U.S. Department of Energy’s Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison provides coordinating support and led development of software infrastructure in partnership with the Global Organization for Earth System Science Portals.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 9 • September 2017
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©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 2, 2016
Accepted: Mar 6, 2017
Published online: Jun 1, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Nov 1, 2017
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