Author(s): Gijs Hoffmans

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Backward erosion; Darcy; Dike/dam; Groundwater; Incipient motion; Shields; Ohm

Abstract: Predicting piping failure is essential to the safe assessment of dikes and dams since erosion is one of the main causes of serious hydraulic system failure. The objective of this paper is to describe the groundwater flow in porous media with the Shields–Darcy piping model, and discuss its differences with the current Sellmeijer model, especially for prototype situations. The solution of the Laplace equation and the hypothesis of Hagen–Poiseuille are typically used to describe groundwater flow and pipe flow. However, in this paper, these flows are solved with Ohm’s law and the continuity equation. The obtained resistance equation is discussed in various ways to define piping. When piping occurs, the pipes below the impermeable dike reach their critical dimensions and grow in the longitudinal and transverse directions to form wide pipes towards the riverside. Some computational results of the critical dike gradient are compared with experimental data obtained from IJkdijk experiments. For field conditions, the Shields–Darcy model and the rule of Bligh yield comparable results.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2020.1786741

Year: 2021