Estimation of Maximum Liquid Head over Landfill Barriers
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 130, Issue 5
Abstract
To properly design a drainage layer for either landfill leachate collection systems or final covers, the designer must be able to estimate the maximum liquid head over the barrier for any proposed configuration. This paper presents four explicit formulas for estimating the maximum liquid head over an impervious sloping barrier. By means of numeric comparisons, McEnroe’s 1993 method is recommended for design of drainage layers for both bottom liners and final covers. Pipe slope is an important parameter that influences the maximum leachate head on the liner. Different combinations of base grade and pipe slope can directly affect the actual drainage behavior. If the pipe slope is steeper than the base grade, it will make a longer drainage distance and cause a high leachate head on the liner. A method for calculating the maximum liquid head in multilayered drainage media (e.g., geosynthetic and soil) is presented in the paper. The key consideration for this case is to determine the equivalent hydraulic conductivity of the combined drainage media under the phreatic surface under unconfined seepage conditions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Bear, J. (1972). Dynamics of fluids in porous media, Dover, New York.
Chapman, T. C.(1980). “Modeling groundwater flow over sloping beds.” Water Resour. Res., 16(6), 1114–1118.
Childs, E. C.(1971). “Drainage of groundwater resting on a sloping bed.” Water Resour. Res., 7(5), 1256–1263.
Fleming, I. R., Rowe, R. K., and Cullimore, D. R.(1999). “Field observations of clogging in a landfill leachate collection system.” Can. Geotech. J., 36(4), 685–707.
Girinskii, N. K.(1946). “Generalization of some solutions for wells to more complicated natural conditions.” Dokl. Akad. Nauk USSR, 3, 54–54.
Giroud, J. P., Gross, B. A., and Darasse, J. (1992). “Flow in leachate collection layers, steady-state condition.” GeoSyntec Consultants Rep.
Giroud, J. P., Zornberg, J. G., and Zhao, A.(2000). “Hydraulic design of geosynthetic and granular liquid collection layers.” Geosynthet. Int., 7(4–6), 285–380.
Harr, M. E. (1962). Groundwater and seepage, McGraw-Hill, New York, 210–226.
Koerner, R. M. (1998). Designing with geosynthetics, 4th Ed., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Koerner, R. M., and Daniel, D. E. (1997). Final covers for solid waste landfills and abandoned dumps, ASCE, Reston, Va.
Koerner, R. M., and Koerner, G. R. (1995). “Leachate clogging assessment of geotextile (and sand) landfill filters.” USEPA Rep. No. CR-819371, Denver.
McEnroe, B. M.(1989). “Steady drainage of landfill covers and bottom liners.” J. Environ. Eng.,115(6), 1114–1122.
McEnroe, B. M.(1993). “Maximum saturated depth over landfill liner.” J. Environ. Eng.,119(2), 262–270.
Qian, X. (1994). “Estimation of maximum leachate head on landfill bottom liner.” Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality, Waste Management Division, Lansing, Mich.
Qian, X., Koerner, R. M., and Gray, D. H. (2001). Geotechnical aspects of landfill design and construction, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Rowe, R. K. (1998). “Geosynthetics and the minimization of contaminant migration through barrier system beneath solid waste.” Keynote Lecture, Proc., 6th Int. Conf. on Geosynthetics, Vol. 1, Industrial Fabrics Association International, Atlanta, 27–103.
Soong, T.-Y., and Koerner, R. M.(1996). “Seepage induced slope instability.” J. Geotextiles Geomembranes, 14(7/8), 425–445.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). (1980). “Landfill and surface impoundment performance evaluation.” Rep. No. EPA/536/SW-869-C, Cincinnati.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). (1983). “Landfill and surface impoundment performance evaluation.” Rep. No. SW-869, Revised Ed., Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). (1989). “Requirements for hazardous waste landfill design, construction, and closure.” Rep. No. EPA/625/4-89/022, Center for Environmental Research Information, Office of Research and Development, Cincinnati.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 130 • Issue 5 • May 2004
Pages: 488 - 497
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 30, 2001
Accepted: May 17, 2002
Published online: Apr 15, 2004
Published in print: May 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.