Assessing Piping Risks by Finite Elements
Publication: Geo-Congress 2022
ABSTRACT
Backward erosion piping (BEP) is a leading cause of failure in dams and levees, but uncertainties in erosion progression characteristics and soil properties provide significant challenges to a deterministic analysis approach. For this reason, a risk-based approach to BEP failure is of great interest to engineers. The probability of failure is most commonly determined through the use of event trees and engineering judgment. When using this approach, geologic variability in the subsurface is incorporated into risk analysis through estimates of subjective probabilities regarding the existence of a continuous, erodible layer in the foundation. Recently, however, there have been developments in the random finite element method (RFEM) modeling of BEP progression that have demonstrated alternate means of assessing the probability of pipe progression in spatially variable soils. In this study, an RFEM model for BEP progression is presented. Results are presented to illustrate the influence of soil variability on the probability of BEP progression. Results indicate that the probability of BEP progression increases as the spatial correlation length increases.
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Geo-Congress 2022
Pages: 281 - 289
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Published online: Mar 17, 2022
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