Modelling gas fracturing in saturated clay samples using triple-node zero-thickness interface elements

Geological Disposal Facilities (GDF) for radioactive waste will generally rely on clay-rich materials as a host geological formation and/or engineered barrier. Gas will be produced within the GDF, which can build up significant gas pressure and will activate the migration of gas through the clay materials via different transport mechanisms....

Effect of uncertainties in geometry, inter-layer boundary and shear strength properties on the probabilistic stability of a 3D embankment slope

This paper investigates the influence of three forms of uncertainty on the probabilistic stability of an idealised 3D embankment slope. These are: 1D spatial variability in the external geometry of the slope along its length, 2D spatial variability in the depth of the boundary between the embankment material and the foundation layer, and 3D...

On the reliability assessment of a controlled dyke failure

A reliability-based analysis framework, accounting for uncertainty arising from the spatial variability of soil properties, has been validated for the controlled, well-instrumented slope failure of an historic dyke in the Netherlands. Using soil property statistics derived from the results of laboratory and cone penetration test (CPT) data for...

Modified Semi-Analytical Method for 3D Slope Reliability

An improved method for the reliability analysis of 3D slopes has been proposed based on the semi-analytical method of Vanmarcke (1977). Comparing the predicted responses of an idealised 3D slope obtained by the more general, albeit computationally intensive, random finite element method (RFEM), and the original semi-analytical method showed that...

An improved semi-analytical method for 3D slope reliability assessments

An improved semi-analytical method for calculating the reliability of 3D slopes with spatially varying shear strength parameters is proposed. The response of an existing semi-analytical method has been compared with that of the computationally more intensive, but more general, random finite element method (RFEM), demonstrating that the simpler...

Probabilistic analysis of seepage for internal stability of earth embankments

Internal erosion, or piping, has been attributed as a major cause of dam and embankment failures. Most prediction models for predicting piping use the hydraulic gradient between the upstream and downstream water levels as an indicator. No explicit consideration is made regarding preferential pathways, although piping usually initiates from a...

Sequential reduction of slope stability uncertainty based on temporal hydraulic measurements via the ensemble Kalman filter

A data assimilation framework, utilising measurements of pore water pressure to sequentially improve the estimation of soil hydraulic parameters and, in turn, the prediction of slope stability, is proposed. Its effectiveness is demonstrated for an idealised numerical example involving the spatial variability of saturated hydraulic...

Three Dimensional Discrete Failures in Long Heterogeneous Slopes

Long slopes with variable material properties have a variety of different failure modes that are affected by the correlation distances of the material properties and the geometry and total length of the slope. This work follows previous research examining the consequences of increasing slope length, in which analyses were limited by the...