Towards emission-free sea dike revetments: Making sustainable design choices by employing probabilistic safety assessment and integrating the environmental cost indicator in the parametric design process of sea dike revetments

Large parts of the Netherlands lay below mean sea level. An extensive network of flood protection measures is in place to prevent flooding. Periodic safety assessment and reinforcement are required to guarantee a resilient system. Currently, in the Netherlands, an extensive sea dike reinforcement program is underway to meet the safety standards...

Sellmeijer in the northern Maasvallei: Assessing the applicability of the Sellmeijer design rule for hydrogeological systems in Limburg

The applicability of the Sellmeijer design rule to Limburg dike sections near Well, Hout-Blerick, Buggenum, and Thorn was investigated in this thesis. This was accomplished by building a finite element numerical model, in COMSOL Multiphysics, to assess the piping in the hydrogeological systems of the research locations. The proposed model is...

A surrogate model approach to study the effect of rainfall through cracks on the macro-stability of canal dikes

Under the current climate change projections, droughts and extreme rainfall events are becoming more common and intense. During sustained droughts, soil cracks can develop in the topsoil of a dike. These soil cracks can enhance the infiltration and drainage of the dike, affecting the dike stability. This study’s main objective is to better...

The capabilities of the Plaxis Shotcrete material model for designing laterally loaded reinforced concrete structures in the subsurface

A hot topic in the Netherlands is the safety reassessment of dikes. Currently several (river)dikes are being reinforced to withstand a given normative high water level. The environment of those dikes is often characterised by small floodplains and urban areas right next to the dike, wherefore standard geo-technical measures cannot be applied....