Author(s): Dongwoo Ko, Joongu Kang, and Yonguk Ryu
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: River levee; Overtopping; Eco-friendly; Biopolymer; Image analysis
Abstract:
River levees are structures that protect lowland areas from flood damage, but levee breaches due to aging of levees worldwide have caused property damage and human casualties following localized torrential rains. To advance as a society, it is essential to pursue meaningful implementations of solutions that prevent the erosion of levees during floods. In this study, hydraulic experiments were carried out to verify the failure characteristics of levees due to overtopping. In addition, the stability and the performance of the proposed levee with application of a new substance, biopolymer, which is an eco-friendly material for the geotechnical engineering, show reduced levee erosion and seepage, improving unstable levees. A semi-prototype levee with a total length of 5 m, slope of 1:2, width of 3 m, crest width of 1 m, and height of 1 m was generated at Andong River Experiment Center in South Korea. By installing an image-measuring system using a number of cameras on site, the surface velocity distributions on he earthen levee and the proposed levee with the new substance applied by LSPIV analysis were compared to analyze the surface scouring and the breached sections. Further, for the quantitative analysis, the images of the levee slope were captured over time, calibrated, and then digitized to determine the range of the breach using a pixel-based analysis by graphic software.
Year: 2019