Analysis of Staged Construction of Containment Levees for Sidoarjo Mudflow
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 7
Abstract
Mudflows from the ongoing eruption of a mud volcano near Sidoarjo (East Java, Indonesia) have continued for more than 15 years and now cover an area of to a depth of more than 15 m. The mudflows are contained within a system of perimeter earthen levees/dykes that were constructed as a series of temporary defenses. The levees have marginal stability and limited freeboard due to the low shear strength and high compressibility of the 25-m-deep soft clay foundations, which have already resulted in ground deformations exceeding 7 m. In this paper, we analyze the deformations and stability of the downstream staged construction at a critical reach in order to (1) understand causes of a recent failure (2018); and (2) assess the current state of the levee following completion of a fifth construction stage (2019) that included a 35-m-wide, 4-m-high stabilization berm with an array of prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) to accelerate consolidation. Our analyses used large-deformation elastoplastic finite-element analyses to simulate consolidation and lateral spreading of the foundation soils due to levee construction and mudflow loads. Levee stability was evaluated using numerical limit analyses for the deformed geometry and simulating changes in undrained strength with the consolidation state and direction of shearing at each stage of construction. The results were consistent with the magnitudes of the observed levee settlements and mechanism of failure; they also show the potential for an additional settlement over the next 5 years, even without considering creep of the clay or larger-scale processes controlling subsidence around the volcanic caldera. Future construction stages to contain the expected mudflow will require improvement of the mechanical properties of the alluvial clay to ensure adequate long-term freeboard.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
The site investigation data (Fig. 3) and finite-element input data files for the deformation (Plaxis) and stability (Optum G2) analyses are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, who provided funding for this research through the World Class University (WCU) Program managed by Institut Teknologi Bandung and partial support for the two MIT students who conducted the computational analyses (MVM and LB). Travel restrictions during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have prevented travel to visit the site, but the PIs (Andrew Whittle and Ria Soemitro) are deeply appreciative of the help provided by Pusat Pengendalian Lumpur Sidoarjo (PPLS), the Sidoarjo Mud Control Center, Directorate General of Water Resources, Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing of Republic of Indonesia, for supporting site investigation work in the levee reach area (P67–P75) and for providing details of prior levee designs and construction.
References
Abidin, H. Z., R. J. Davies, M. A. Kusuma, H. Andreas, and T. Deguchi. 2009. “Subsidence and uplift of Sidoarjo (East Java) due to the eruption of the Lusi mud volcano (2006-present).” Environ. Geol. 57 (4): 833–844. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1363-4.
Agustawijaya, D. S., K. Karyadi, B. D. Krisnayanti, and S. Sutanto. 2017. “Rare earth element contents of the Lusi mud: An attempt to identify the environmental origin of the hot mudflow in east Java, Indonesia.” DeGruyter Open Geosci. 9 (1): 689–706.
Agustawijaya, D. S., and Sukandi. 2012. “The stability analysis of the Lusi mud volcano embankment dams using FEM with a special reference to the dam point P10.D.” Civ. Eng. Dimens. 14 (2): 100–109.
Bathe, K. J. 1982. Finite element procedures in engineering analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bentley Systems. 2020. Plaxis 2D reference manual: CONNECT edition V20. Delft, Netherlands: Delft Univ.
Davis, E. H., and J. T. Christian. 1971. “Bearing capacity of anisotropic cohesive soil.” ASCE J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 97 (5): 753–769.
Di Stefano, G., G. Romeo, A. Mazzini, A. Iarocci, S. Hadi, and S. Pelphrey. 2018. “The Lusi drone: A multidisciplinary tool to access extreme environments.” Mar. Pet. Geol. 90 (Feb): 26–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2017.07.006.
El Mountassir, G., M. Sánchez, E. Roimero, and R. Soemitro. 2011. “Behaviour of compacted silt used to construct flood embankment.” Geotech. Eng. 164 (3): 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1680/geng.10.00055.
Google Earth. 2020. “Sidoarjo Mud Volcano, Indonesia. 7° 31’ 00.98”S, 112° 43’ 53.47”E, Eye alt 5484 feet [Map].” Accessed October 22, 2020. http://www.earth.google.com.
Hird, C. C., I. C. Pyrah, and D. Russell. 1992. “Finite element modelling of vertical drains beneath embankments on soft ground.” Géotechnique 42 (3): 499–511. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1992.42.3.499.
Hochstein, M. P., and S. Sudarman. 2010. “Monitoring of Lusi mud volcano—A geo-pressured systm, Java, Indonesia.” In Proc., World Geothermal Congress, 9. Bonn, Germany: International Geothermal Association.
Istadi, B. P., G. H. Pramono, P. Sumintadireja, and S. Alam. 2009. “Modeling study of growth and potential geohazard for LUSI mud volcano: East Java, Indonesia.” Mar. Pet. Geol. 26 (9): 1724–1739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2009.03.006.
Jamiolkowski, M. B., D. C. F. LoPresti, and M. Manassero. 2003. “Evaluation of relative density and shear strength of sands from CPT and DMT.” In Vol. 119 of Proc., Soil Behavior and Soft Ground Construction, edited by, T. Germaine, T. C. Sheahan, and R. V. Whitman, 201–238. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Krabbenhoft, K., A. V. Lyamin, and J. Krabbenhoht. 2016. Optum G2 users manuals. Copenhagen, Denmark: Optum Computational Engineering.
Ladd, C. C. 1991. “Stability evaluation during staged construction.” ASCE J. Geotech. Eng. 117 (4): 540–615. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1991)117:4(540).
Ladd, C. C., A. J. Whittle, and D. E. Legaspi. 1994. “Stress-deformation behavior of an embankment on Boston blue clay.” In Vol. 2 of Vertical and Horizontal Deformations of Foundations and Embankments, Geotechnical Special Publication 40, 1730–1759. Reston, VA: ASCE.
La Rochelle, P., B. Trak, F. Tavenas, and M. Roy. 1974. “Failure of test embankment on sensitive Champlain clay deposit.” Can. Geotech. J. 11 (1): 142–164. https://doi.org/10.1139/t74-009.
Lyamin, A. V., and S. W. Sloan. 2002a. “Lower bound limit analysis using non-linear programming.” Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 55 (5): 573–611. https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.511.
Lyamin, A. V., and S. W. Sloan. 2002b. “Upper bound limit analysis using linear finite elements and non-linear programming.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 26 (2): 181–216. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.198.
Mazzini, A., G. Etiope, and H. Svensen. 2012. “A new hydrothermal scenario for the 2006 Lusi eruption, Indonesia. Insights from gas geochemistry.” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 317 (Feb): 305–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2011.11.016.
Mazzini, A., N. H. Svensen, G. G. Akhmanov, G. Aloisi, S. Planke, A. Malthe-Sørenssen, and B. Istadi. 2007. “Triggering and dynamic evolution of the Lusi mud volcano, Indonesia.” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 261 (3–4): 375–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2007.07.001.
McMeeking, R. M., and J. R. Rice. 1975. “Finite-element formulations for problems of large elastic-plastic deformation.” Int. J. Solids Struct. 11 (5): 601–616.
Plumlee, G. S., et al. 2008. Preliminary analytical results for a mud sample collected from the LuSi mud volcano, Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia. Washington, DC: USGS.
Rahardjo, P. P., A. Wirawan, and A. Sugianto. 2017. “Geotechnical site characterization of a mud eruption disaster area using CPTu for risk assessment and mitigation (IPL-195).” In Proc., 4th World Landslide Forum, edited by K. Sassa, et al. 449–471. Kyoto: International Consortium on Landslides.
Roscoe, K. H., and J. B. Burland. 1968. “On the generalised stress–strain behaviour of ‘wet’ clay.” In Engineering plasticity, edited by J. Heyman and F. A. Leckie, 535–609. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Rudolph, M. L., L. Karlstrom, and M. Manga. 2011. “A prediction of the longevity of the Lusi mud eruption, Indonesia.” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 308 (1–2): 124–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2011.05.037.
Saye, S. R. 2003. “Assessment of soil disturbance by the installation of displacement sand drains and prefabricated vertical drains.” In Proc., Symp. on Soil Behavior and Soft Ground Construction, 325–362. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Schanz, T., P. A. Vermeer, and P. G. Bonnier. 1999. “The hardening soil model: Formulation and verification.” In Beyond 2000 in computational geotechnics—10 years of plaxis, 281–290. Rotterdam, Netherlands: A.A. Balkema.
Sloan, S. W. 1988. “Lower bound limit analysis using finite elements and linear programming.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 12 (1): 61–77. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.1610120105.
Sloan, S. W. 2013. “Geotechnical stability analysis.” Géotechnique 63 (7): 531–571. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.12.RL.001.
Sloan, S. W., and P. W. Kleeman. 1995. “Upper bound limit analysis using discontinuous velocity fields.” Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 127 (1–4): 293–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/0045-7825(95)00868-1.
Sungkono, H. A., H. Prasetyo, A. S. Bahri, F. A. Monteiro Santos, and B. J. Santosa. 2014. “The VLF-EM imaging of potential collapse on the Lusi embankment.” J. Appl. Geophys. 109 (Oct): 218–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2014.08.004.
Tanikawa, W., M. Sakaguchi, H. T. Wibowo, T. Shimamoto, and O. Tadai. 2010. “Fluid transport properties and estimation of overpressure at the Lusi mud volcano.” Eng. Geol. 116: 73–85.
Tashiro, M., S. H. Nguyen, M. Inagaki, S. Yamada, and T. Noda. 2015. “Simulation of large-scale deformation of ultra-soft peaty clay ground under test embankment loading and investigation of effective countermeasures against residual settlement and failure.” Soils Found. 55 (2): 343–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2015.02.010.
Tingay, M. R. P., M. L. Rudolph, M. Manga, R. J. Davies, and C. J. Wang. 2015. ““Initiation of the Lusi mudflow disaster.” Nat. Geosci. 8 (7): 493–494. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2472.
Ukritchon, B., and A. J. Whittle. 2000. “Role of undrained strength anisotropy in stability analyses.” In Proc., Booker Memorial Symp., Developments in Theoretical Geomechanics, edited by D. W. Smith and J. P. Carter. Rotterdam, Netherlands: A.A. Balkema.
Whittle, A. J., D. J. DeGroot, C. C. Ladd, and T.-H. Seah. 1994. “Model prediction of the anisotropic behavior of Boston blue clay.” J. Geotech. Eng. 120 (1): 199–224. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1994)120:1(199).
Whittle, A. J., and M. J. Kavvadas. 1994. “Formulation of the MIT-E3 constitutive model for overconsolidated clays.” J. Geotech. Eng. 120 (1): 173–198. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1994)120:1(173).
Whittle, A. J., and Y. Yuan. 2015. “Pitfalls and challenges for reliable numerical analyses of staged construction on soft ground.” In Proc., Int. Conf. on Soft Ground Engineering, Keynote Lecture, 26. Singapore: Geotechnical Society of Singapore.
Williams, V. S., and H. T. Wibowo. 2010. “Lusi mitigation implications of BPLS and other subsidence measurements.” J. Southeast Asian Appl. Geol. 2 (3): 267–274.
Yuan, Y., and A. J. Whittle. 2013. “Evaluation and prediction of 17th Street Canal I-wall stability using numerical limit analyses.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 139 (6): 841–852. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000814.
Zdravkovic, L., D. M. Potts, and D. W. Hight. 2002. “The effect of strength anisotropy on the behaviour of embankments on soft ground.” Géotechnique 52 (6): 447–457.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 7 • July 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 3, 2021
Accepted: Feb 23, 2022
Published online: Apr 29, 2022
Published in print: Jul 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Sep 29, 2022
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.