Numerical modeling of small-scale experiments for a coarse sand barrier as a measure against backward erosion piping: (Abstract)

Numerical simulation of the groundwater flow leading to sand boil reactivation in the Po River: (Paper and Abstract)

The reliability of river embankments is essential for flood risk management. The Po River, which flows through the North of Italy, is safeguarded over half of its length by major river embankments. Performance assessment of such water-retaining structures has become a major concern following some significant flood events in the past. Among the...

The influence of the leakage length on the initiation of backward erosion piping: (Paper and Abstract)

The earliest relation describing the risk of backward erosion piping, from Bligh in 1915, calculates an overall gradient over the dike. This gradient should be lower than a certain value depending on the material of the dike foundation for the dike to be safe. Later developments rationalize this number, showing the influence of grain size,...

Pipe measurement in small-scale backward erosion piping experiments: (Paper and Abstract)

Backward erosion piping is an important failure mechanism for water-retaining structures, a phenomenon that results in the formation of shallow pipes at the interface of a sandy or silty foundation and a cohesive cover layer. Although the pipe depth reveals a lot of information on the backward erosion process, it has never been measured...

Piping in loose sands – the importance of geometrical fixity of grains

Piping is one of the possible failure mechanism for dams and levees with a sandy foundation. Water flowing through the foundation causes the onset of grain transport, due to which shallow pipes are formed at the interface of the sandy layer and an impermeable blanket layer. In the past, the mechanism has been investigated predominantly in...