Author(s): No Authors

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Natural element modelling; Sibson interpolation; Earth dams and phreatic line

Abstract: The assessment of earthen embankments is very essential in the context of community resilience and disaster prevention. In particular, erosion and piping mechanisms are very critical, as although they show few precursor signs, they can lead to severe damage to the infrastructure. In this paper, we present a novel numerical method for the evaluation of the phreatic line in earthen embankments by means of a mesh-free natural elements method, in which we employ Sibson interpolation to discretize the values of the unknown hydraulic head field without the need for meshing. We present the main features of the modelling technic and compare its capabilities with results from existing methods. The results of this study, demonstrate that the proposed natural element method technic is capable of representing variation in the phreatic line in the earthen embankments. The numerical results of this study evaluate the initiation and progression of the piping phenomenon.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/978-90-833476-1-5_iahr40wc-p1287-cd

Year: 2023