Sandfill-Retaining rubble mound structures: Evaluating the behaviour of sediments at the interface of a rubble mound with a reclamation, by means of physical modelling

Currently, sand retaining rubble mound structures are often constructed with geotextiles, lining the interface between the core material and the sandfill. These geotextiles are placed to make sure the sand from the sandfill is not flushed out through the core by incoming hydraulic forces from the surrounding water. It is proposed that...

Erosion behaviour of gap-graded soils due to upward flow: (Paper and Abstract)

A laboratory study aiming at the evaluation of the suffusion behaviour of coarse gap-graded soils is presented. Six granular gap-graded soils missing the medium-to-coarse sand fraction have been examined. Four soils have no fines, one has 5% of non-plastic fines, and one has 5% of clayey fines (with plasticity index of about 14%). The use of...

Fine-tuning the evaluation of suffusion of silt-sand-gravel soils – a comparative study of LTU and UNSW tests: (Paper and Abstract)

Swedish embankment dams are usually constructed with core soils of glacial till. A widely graded soil sourced from moraine deposits, till comprises many fractions, from silt and sand to gravel and stones, all crushed and mixed by the action of glaciation. Interestingly, this type of soil is remarkably similar to that in other parts of the world...

Experimental assessment of hydraulic load effects on suffusion of glacial till cores: (Abstract)

Large triaxial device for suffusion erodibility and mechanical behavior characterization of coarse soils: (Paper and Abstract)

Suffusion, one of the main internal erosion processes, selectively erodes the fine particles which move through the voids formed by the coarser particles. In the literature, the mechanical consequences of suffusion on soil were investigated by several researchers. However, no general conclusion can be drawn because the already published results...

Optical investigation into the effects of suffusion in a granular medium

The current paper presents a novel experimental method which is able to capture the effects of suffusion by substitution of the fines in a sample by salt of a similar grain size. The setup is tailored to optically capture the change in soil structure behind a glass window in a plane strain strongbox using a digital camera. Subsequently, digital...

Investigation into quantitative visualisation of suffusion

Suffusion is the process whereby seepage water removes fine grains from a soil, which can result in failure of the soil body. This poses a risk for structures founded on soils that are subjected to large hydraulic gradients, such as encountered near hydraulic dams or river levees. Currently, most experimental work on this topic is geared towards...