Probabilistic analysis of backward erosion piping in an embankment dam considering the spatial variability of soil properties

Probabilistic analysis of backward erosion piping in an embankment dam considering the spatial variability of soil properties | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Probabilistic analysis of backward erosion piping in an embankment dam considering the spatial variability of soil properties Fengdong CHI, Claudio CARVAJAL, Pierre BREUL, Laurent PEYRAS This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3951312/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The spatial variability of soil seepage parameters is an essential component of the uncertainty of earth dams. This paper presents a method for probabilistic backward erosion analysis that considers the spatial variability of seepage parameters in earth dams to assess the distribution of the Factor of Safety (FoS) and the failure probability ( P f ). In this study, the Karhunen-Loeve method is used to generate Random Fields (RFs) of soil hydraulic properties, and Monte Carlo simulations (MCs) are used to generate realisations of these RFs, which are then introduced into the numerical model to assess the spatial variability of the seepage analysis results. The hydraulic gradient distribution is compared with the critical hydraulic gradient to assess the FoS and the P f due to backward erosion at each point of the dam. This study also presents the effect of water level H , permeability anisotropy coefficient ξ , and RFs parameters (permeability covariance COV Ks , correlation length L h & L v ) on the FoS and P f of Backward Erosion Piping (BEP). The results illustrate that the failure probability P f increases with H , COV Ks and ξ . The failure probability P f is not sensitive to the vertical correlation length, but may decrease with the horizontal correlation length. Additionally, the study discusses on the potential location of the initiation of internal erosion as well as the results obtained with criteria based on the local and global hydraulic gradient. random fields failure probability random finite element method reliability analysis backward erosion piping seepage analysis embankment dam Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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This paper presents a method for probabilistic backward erosion analysis that considers the spatial variability of seepage parameters in earth dams to assess the distribution of the Factor of Safety (FoS) and the failure probability (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ef\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e). In this study, the Karhunen-Loeve method is used to generate Random Fields (RFs) of soil hydraulic properties, and Monte Carlo simulations (MCs) are used to generate realisations of these RFs, which are then introduced into the numerical model to assess the spatial variability of the seepage analysis results. The hydraulic gradient distribution is compared with the critical hydraulic gradient to assess the FoS and the \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ef\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e due to backward erosion at each point of the dam. This study also presents the effect of water level \u003cem\u003eH\u003c/em\u003e, permeability anisotropy coefficient \u003cem\u003eξ\u003c/em\u003e, and RFs parameters (permeability covariance COV\u003csub\u003eKs\u003c/sub\u003e, correlation length \u003cem\u003eL\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003eh\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u0026amp; \u003cem\u003eL\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ev\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e) on the FoS and \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ef\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e of Backward Erosion Piping (BEP). The results illustrate that the failure probability \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ef\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e increases with \u003cem\u003eH\u003c/em\u003e, COV\u003csub\u003eKs\u003c/sub\u003e and \u003cem\u003eξ\u003c/em\u003e. The failure probability \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ef\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e is not sensitive to the vertical correlation length, but may decrease with the horizontal correlation length. Additionally, the study discusses on the potential location of the initiation of internal erosion as well as the results obtained with criteria based on the local and global hydraulic gradient.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Probabilistic analysis of backward erosion piping in an embankment dam considering the spatial variability of soil properties","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-02-14 06:34:45","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3951312/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"817710f8-2bd3-4da1-81bf-aa0684018d9d","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 14th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-02-15T17:42:04+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-02-14 06:34:45","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3951312","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3951312","identity":"rs-3951312","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}