Reliability-Based Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Slope
Publication: Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 21, Issue 2
Abstract
A reliability-based assessment of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill slope is presented in this study, keeping in mind the large variability in MSW constituents and their mechanical properties. Typical slope geometry consisting of several layers of MSW with varying stages/degrees of decomposition is considered in consistence with evolution kinetics. A number of representative snapshots of the evolution in time are considered to capture a pseudotemporal picture of the evolution of the slope reliability. The analysis of slope employs the finite-element method in order to calculate the factor of safety, which is subsequently used in defining the limit state of failure. The limit state is then employed for the assessment of slope reliability. Repeated computation of the safety factor/limit state is avoided by adopting a response surface (RS)-based metamodeling approach. It is observed that the moving least-square-based RS provides an improved estimate of slope reliability than the conventional least-square RS. The study indicates that reliability can decline as a result of degenerating strength properties of the progressively decomposed MSW landfill. The stochastic sensitivity analysis reveals the relative importance of some variables over others in deciding the slope reliability. The effect of varying degrees of parametric uncertainty in the MSW properties is also demonstrated. Critical points are identified with respect to their safety implications that may be incorporated for reliability-based design of such systems.
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Published In
Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 21 • Issue 2 • April 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 25, 2016
Accepted: May 26, 2016
Published online: Jul 19, 2016
Discussion open until: Dec 19, 2016
Published in print: Apr 1, 2017
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