Prediction method for grass erosion on levees by wave overtopping: Linking models to experiments

Large areas of the world are protected by flood defence systems. A common part of flood defence systems is a levee with grass cover, with the primary function to protect hinterland against floods. Waveovertopping might lead to erosion of the grass cover, followed by erosion of the inner slope and potentially levee breaching. The wave overtopping...

Opdrijven, opbollen, opbarsten: Improving the uplift model for the assessment of internal erosion

Internal erosion is a frequent cause of dike failure, also known as piping or backward erosion. Uplift is considered a submechanism of internal erosion, together with heave and piping, where all three submechanisms must occur for the dike to reach a failure condition. The principle of the uplift phenomenon is straightforward: it occurs when high...

Modelling dike breach formation: Defining the residual strength of dikes during overflow

Dikes constructed of a sand core, clay cover and natural vegetation as (landside) slope protection are common flood defence structures in the Netherlands. The design parameters, such as the crest height of dikes, are determined through risk assessment to reduce the remaining probability of a failure mechanism, such as overflow. Little is known...

High Velocity Erosion of Sand

Understanding the erosion process of sand will help improve dredging projects. Pickup functions are used to predict the amount of sand that can be eroded by a flow with certain parameters. The most common functions that are used have been validated to data in the low velocity regime (θ < 1). However, modern day dredging processes are in the...