Geo-Congress 2020
Numerical Application of Full Waveform Inversion to Identify a Single Weak Layer in a Slope
Publication: Geo-Congress 2020: Engineering, Monitoring, and Management of Geotechnical Infrastructure (GSP 316)
ABSTRACT
Weak layers in a slope can undermine its stability over time, particularly when the slope is subjected to rainfall and seismic activities. A challenging task for engineers is to properly identify the presence and extent of such layers. Conventional investigation methods such as cone penetration test and standard penetration test only focus on the localized region surrounding the measurement location and may not provide adequate information by which to evaluate the spatial extent of the layer. Nondestructive/geophysical testing methods can overcome this limitation and can assist practitioners with their assessment of the subsurface. In this regard, full waveform inversion (FWI) is a high-resolution seismic method that builds velocity models by minimizing the residuals between observed and synthetic waveforms. In a pure numerical framework, this study presents a case that studied the effectiveness of FWI to identify a single weak layer with a stiffness of 1/3 of that of the competent material of a slope. Results from the FWI approach provided a promising image of the location and geometric extent of the weak layer that aided in assessing the overall stability of the slope.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research includes calculations carried out on Temple University's HPC resources and thus was supported in part by the National Science Foundation through major research instrumentation grant number 1625061 and by the US Army Research Laboratory under contract number W911NF-16-2-0189.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Geo-Congress 2020: Engineering, Monitoring, and Management of Geotechnical Infrastructure (GSP 316)
Pages: 211 - 219
Editors: James P. Hambleton, Ph.D., Northwestern University, Roman Makhnenko, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Aaron S. Budge, Ph.D., Minnesota State University, Mankato
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8279-7
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Feb 21, 2020
Published in print: Feb 21, 2020
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Case studies
- Continuum mechanics
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Geotechnical investigation
- Methodology (by type)
- Numerical analysis
- Numerical methods
- Penetration tests
- Research methods (by type)
- Seismic tests
- Seismic waves
- Slope stability
- Slopes
- Solid mechanics
- Tests (by type)
- Waves (mechanics)
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