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Analysis of development and depth of backward erosion pipes in the presence of a coarse sand barrier

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Abstract

Backward erosion piping (BEP) is a failure mechanism that can affect the safety of water-retaining structures. It can occur when a local anomaly on the downstream side of an embankment causes a concentration of seepage flow at that location. Shallow pipes may then form, progressing in the upstream direction and leading to a collapse of the water-retaining structure. A novel and economically appealing measure against BEP is the coarse sand barrier (CSB), which is now being developed in a multiscale experimental programme in the Netherlands. The method involves placing a trench filled with coarse sand below the blanket layer on the downstream side of the embankment. The CSB prevents the upstream progression of the pipe and significantly enhances resistance to BEP. This paper presents medium-scale laboratory tests involving a range of sands, barrier depths and relative densities. The piping process and the observations of pipe progression in the presence of a CSB are presented, followed by a conceptual model. The presence of a CSB changed the erosion pattern. It resulted in pipe formation perpendicular to the flow direction over the entire width of the barrier before the barrier was damaged. The findings also demonstrate the effect of material properties on pipe initiation, progression and pipe depth. Measurements of the pipe depth are presented and analysed, revealing the significance of pipe depth for understanding the piping process. This analysis shows considerable erosion in the downstream background sand and demonstrates that erosion profiles and measured pipe depths are significantly larger than in BEP tests without a CSB.

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Abbreviations

C u :

Uniformity coefficient, the ratio d60/d10

h cf :

Effective head drop at the critical point in time for failure

RD:

Relative density based on void ratio (emax − e)/(emax − emin)

n :

Porosity of soil

k :

Hydraulic conductivity

l :

Length of the set-up

w :

Width of the set-up

h :

Height of the set-up

d x :

Grain diameter at which x% of sample (by weight) is finer

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Dutch Rivierenland water authority for their support, as well as all the people who helped with these tests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Ghent University, Technologiepark 60, 9052, Ghent, Belgium

    Sepideh Akrami & Adam Bezuijen

  2. Unit Geo-Engineering, Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands

    Adam Bezuijen, Vera van Beek, Esther Rosenbrand, Jarno Terwindt & Ulrich Förster

Authors
  1. Sepideh Akrami
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  2. Adam Bezuijen
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  3. Vera van Beek
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  4. Esther Rosenbrand
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  5. Jarno Terwindt
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  6. Ulrich Förster
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Correspondence to Sepideh Akrami.

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Akrami, S., Bezuijen, A., van Beek, V. et al. Analysis of development and depth of backward erosion pipes in the presence of a coarse sand barrier. Acta Geotech. 16, 381–397 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-020-01053-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-020-01053-0

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