Technical note: The beneficial role of a natural permeable layer in slope stabilization by drainage trenches
<p>Slope stabilization through drainage trenches is a classic approach in geotechnical engineering. Considering the low hydraulic conductivity of the soils in which this measure is usually adopted, a major constraint to the use of trenches is the time required to obtain a significant pore...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/24/1669/2020/hess-24-1669-2020.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Slope stabilization through drainage trenches is a classic
approach in geotechnical engineering. Considering the low hydraulic
conductivity of the soils in which this measure is usually adopted, a major
constraint to the use of trenches is the time required to obtain a
significant pore pressure decrease, here called <q>time lag</q>. In fact,
especially when the slope safety factor is small, the use of drainage
trenches may be a risky approach due to the probability that slope
deformations will damage the system well before it will become fully
operative.</p><p>However, this paper shows that the presence of persistent permeable natural
soil layers can provide a significant benefit by increasing drainage
efficiency and reducing time lag. As a matter of fact, any permeable layer
that is intercepted by trenches may operate as part of the global hydraulic
system, reducing the drainage paths.</p><p>A simplified approach to designing a drainage system that accounts for the
presence of a persistent permeable layer is proposed. This approach, which
can exploit solutions available in the literature for parallel drainage
trenches, has been validated by numerical analyses.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1027-5606 1607-7938 |