Title: Levees and dikes constructed on Soft Saturated soil
Abstract: As an introduction of the topic a historical reference to the water defence in the Netherlands will be described, that explains the origin of the Dutch dikes and the different ways that problems have been solved in the past. Second to that the distinction between Sea dikes that are exposed both to high tides and waves and River dikes that are mainly exposed to flood levels, that accompany the seasonal periods of abundant rain in the hinterland, will be put forward. Thirdly some of the limit states that are related to the soil stratigraphy and the groundwater conditions will be discussed in more detail; such as the vulnerability of the dike to overtopping, the uplift of the land behind the dike due to buoyancy and the relation between buoyancy and piping. In addition to that, dike construction is explained considering some of the peculiarities of soil behaviour; i.e. the dependency of the foundation bearing capacity to drainage; making distinction between short term undrained behaviour and long term drained conditions. The influence of consolidation and dissipation of excess pore pressures is explained, leading to customary methods of staged construction for dike reinforcement works. Finally some new developments in the field of dike safety will be described such as the introduction of structural elements, e.g. sheet piles, in order to save residences in inhabited areas if there is too limited space for conventional solutions.
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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