Isothermal Dual-Phase Flow Modeling to Assess the Impact of Gas Collection on Geotechnical and Hydraulic Performance of Landfills
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 8
Abstract
Liquid addition to landfilled municipal solid waste (MSW) is a practice employed to accelerate the biodegradation of the organic fraction of MSW and ensuing gas generation. Pore landfill gas (LFG) and leachate pressure from the added moisture and enhanced gas generation are expected to impact the geotechnical stability of landfill slopes. The impact of moisture addition and gas collection on the stability of landfills was numerically modeled using transient isothermal dual-phase flow and slope stability modeling. The temporal variation in the factor of safety (FS) for slope stability analysis was estimated for the simultaneous flow of LFG and leachate with and without gas collection and leachate recirculation for varying LFG generation rates and waste moisture contents. A significant decline in the FS for landfill slope stability was observed when recirculating leachate without active gas collection. Even without pressurized leachate recirculation, a significant decline in the FS value was observed for landfills with relatively high in situ moisture content without active gas collection. In some modeled scenarios without LFG collection, the FS value was lower than 1. The analysis suggests that the landfill side slope stability analysis should incorporate LFG generation and the resultant pressure for landfills containing high-moisture-content waste and for the landfill with pressurized leachate recirculation. The analysis suggests that an efficient gas collection system plays a critical role in the geotechnical stability of the slope of wet landfills and the performance of leachate recirculation trenches.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer
The USEPA, through its Office of Research and Development, funded and managed the research described here. This manuscript was subjected to EPA internal reviews and quality assurance approval. The research results presented in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency or its policy. Mention of trade names or products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 8 • August 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 16, 2022
Accepted: Mar 24, 2023
Published online: May 29, 2023
Published in print: Aug 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Oct 29, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Continuum mechanics
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Environmental engineering
- Flow (fluid dynamics)
- Fluid dynamics
- Fluid mechanics
- Gas flow
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Hydrologic engineering
- Landfills
- Leachates
- Models (by type)
- Municipal wastes
- Numerical models
- Pollutants
- Pore pressure
- Pressure (type)
- Slope stability
- Slopes
- Solid mechanics
- Thermal effects
- Thermodynamics
- Waste management
- Waste sites
- Waste treatment
- Wastes
- Water and water resources
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