BresDefender: The effect of an emergency measure on the phreatic surface of a dike in space and time

New solutions for future flooding problems are becoming more important than ever before. Emergency measures against failure of flood defenses may play an important role in flood risk management and is therefore currently being investigated. One of these measures is the BresDefender, which is a submersible floating pontoon that can be placed on...

Modelling the phreatic surface in regional flood defences

The phreatic surface is an important factor of influence on the stability and therefore the safety of regional flood defences. For stability calculations usually a schematisation of the phreatic surface is used, based on the geometry of the flood defence and the water levels. The influence of precipitation and evapotranspiration is not...

An Analysis of the Phreatic Surface of Primary Flood Defences

PLAXIS study of a primary flood defence in the Netherlands. The influence of water level, precipitation, and wave overtopping on the position of the phreatic surface is being investigated. The hydraulic loads are applied to a clay dike with a cracked top layer and a sand dike with a cracked clay cover. The findings are related to the current...

Assessment of the probability distribution of the phreatic surface in a regional flood defence: Finite element computation for a better understanding of the influence of precipitation on the phreatic surface

A large part of the Netherlands consists of polder area. Therefore the inhabitants have to rely on the Dutch flood defence system to protect them against floods. A vast network of drainage canals ensures that the seepage water and the precipitation water is transported from the polders toward the outside water. There are several mechanisms which...

How To Determine the Phreatic Surface in a Dike during Storm Conditions with Wave Overtopping: A Method Applied to the Afsluitdijk

The most famous dam of the Netherlands, the Afsluitdijk, is in need of renovation. Hydraulic conditions for the year 2050, for some aspects even 2100, must be considered during the renovation of the dam originally constructed 1927-1933. A combination of sea level rise due to climate change and a change in the applied statistical methods result...