Reliability of long heterogeneous slopes in 3d: Model performance and conditional simulation

Highway embankments, river dykes and sea dykes usually have a uniform cross-section and extend for a long distance in the third dimension. These long soil structures are generally characterised by spatially varying soil properties, i.e. soil heterogeneity. Slope stability failures of these structures may have significant economic and societal...

On reducing piping uncertainties: A Bayesian decision approach

Dikes and levees play a crucial role in flood protection in deltaic areas such as the Netherlands. Internal erosion piping or under-seepage is a major cause of levee failures and a main contributor to the probability of failure of river levees due to the large (mostly geotechnical) uncertainties. The present thesis investigates how geotechnical...