Geotechnical Screening of Linear Earth Structures: Electric and Seismic Streamer Data for Hydraulic Conductivity Assessment of the Arignano Earth Dam, Italy
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 12
Abstract
River embankments and small earth dams are linear retaining structures commonly used to protect densely populated areas from flood phenomena and to provide water reservoirs for human or agricultural use. Their continuity and uniformity are fundamental to their structural efficiency. Due to their significant length and the localized nature of potential weakness points, their characterization cannot rely only on local geotechnical investigations: it requires the application of efficient and affordable investigation methods. The need for new screening tools is becoming increasingly important worldwide because most river embankments and small earth dams are reaching their design life limit due to aging. This study used a new electric streamer and a seismic streamer for the combined measurement of resistivity and shear wave velocity to investigate the Arignano earth dam (Piedmont Region, northwestern Italy), a historical reservoir used for agricultural purposes. A procedure is also proposed to assess hydraulic conductivity from the measured geophysical parameters. The results of this assessment were compared with available geotechnical investigations and also used for calibrating the proposed procedure. Results are in good agreement when compared with local geotechnical investigations. The proposed procedure can therefore provide engineers and local authorities with information to plan maintenance or urgent measures for reducing flood risk.
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Data Availability Statement
Data and codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work has been funded by FINPIEMONTE within the POR FESR 14/20 “Poli di Innovazione—Agenda Strategica di Ricerca 2016—Linea B” call for the project Mon.A.L.I.S.A. (313-67). The earth dam investigated is one of the case studies of the “ReSba” (Resilienza degli Sbarramenti) project supported by the European Union for regional development (Interreg-ALCOTRA) for the French-Italian Alps. Authors are grateful to R. Del Vesco, D. Patrocco, G. Bodrato, and S. La Monica from Piedmont Region Administration for their support. The authors thank Daniele Negri for helping during surveys. The authors are also thankful to the Handling Editor, Prof. Catherine O’Sullivan, for her precious and constructive comments and the Associate Editor and two anonymous reviewers’ suggestions for helping us to improve our paper.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 12 • December 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Mar 5, 2021
Accepted: Jun 24, 2022
Published online: Sep 19, 2022
Published in print: Dec 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Feb 19, 2023
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- Federico Vagnon, Cesare Comina, Alessandro Arato, Evaluation of different methods for deriving geotechnical parameters from electric and seismic streamer data, Engineering Geology, 10.1016/j.enggeo.2022.106670, 303, (106670), (2022).