Laboratory Investigation of the Effects of Blanket Defect Size on Initiation of Backward Erosion Piping
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 10
Abstract
Backward erosion piping (BEP) is a leading cause of levee and dam failures and generally occurs when seepage flow breaks through a defect in the downstream low-permeability blanket layer, causing a shallow erosion channel to form and extend toward the seepage source. Unfortunately, to our best knowledge, limited research has been conducted on the effects of blanket defect properties (i.e., size or material properties) on BEP processes because of the existence of a preset exit in most experiments. In this study, a laboratory testing apparatus was designed and constructed to investigate BEP initiation with respect to the blanket defect size. During the BEP initiation process, three failure morphologies were identified within the samples: shear failure; bending failure; and bending–shear failure. The results indicated that the failure morphology and critical gradient were not only a function of the unit weight of the soil and water but also highly influenced by the geometrical proportions and thickness of the defects. The findings of this study identified measures that may be applied in the field for seepage protection against BEP.
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Data Availability Statement
All the data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52308353, 51978282) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2023A1515011571, 2023A1515011683).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 10 • October 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 30, 2023
Accepted: May 9, 2024
Published online: Jul 30, 2024
Published in print: Oct 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Dec 30, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Defects and imperfections
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Erosion
- Failure analysis
- Failure modes
- Forensic engineering
- Geology
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Laboratory tests
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials characterization
- Materials engineering
- Piping erosion
- Seepage
- Shear failures
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Structural engineering
- Tests (by type)
Authors
Metrics & Citations
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