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I. INTRODUCTION
In delta areas the land is protected from floods and high river dike sandboil
tides by dikes. In general these are constructed of
impervious clays and built on a sandy aquifer as subsoil.
Such structures are vulnerable to an erosion effect called
piping.
The actual word 'piping' refers to the development of sand erosion channel
shallow channels in the sand below the dike, which begins
at the downstream side of the structure. Here often a ditch
is situated with a burst bottom due to excess water
pressures. The subsequent erosion process develops
backwards to the high head side. The natural non-
homogeneity in the soil causes the shallow channels to be Figure 1. Geometry of the standard dike
irregularly shaped.
critical gradient were applied with some theoretical
Below a critical value of the hydraulic head over the backup.
structure the erosion process eases down until water only
is transported through the channels. It is common to In the second half of the previous century extended
observe sand boils behind the dike, which produce water programs of visual tests were carried out. Based on these
alone. However, if a critical head difference is reached, observations numerical models were developed.
the erosion process continues and the structure may in the References [6] through [16] represent the activities during
end collapse. this period.
The simple piping rules for the critical gradient are
II. HISTORICAL NOTES meant for ordinary consultancy. These rules are easy to
handle and provide results instantaneously. They are
During the beginning of the previous century the piping applicable to a standard dike, shown in Figure 1. The sand
phenomenon has been intensively studied. References [1] is considered to be homogeneous and the geometry
through [5] show in its perspective the way piping was consists of a horizontal layer with a clay dike on top. Note
considered and understood. Simple empirical rules for the that the dimensions of the erosion channel and sand boil
TABLE I. are exaggerated in order to view them properly.
SOME EXAMPLES OF SIMPLE PIPING RULES Examples of the simple rules are collected in Table I.
CBligh The first two are empirical. They specify the role of the
Bligh fine silty sand 18 soil properties by a characteristic factor. This factor is read
moderate fine sand 15 from a table after classification of the sandy material.
H 1 course sand 12
= The third rule is obtained by calculation by a conceptual
L C Bligh fine gravel 9
course gravel 4 model. A number of specific results is curve fitted and
Lane collected into the rule. This has the advantage that the soil
CLane
fine silty sand 8.5
properties are involved by their parameter values. These
1 Lv
+ moderate fine sand 7 values may be measured or determined by correlation.
H 3 Lh course sand 5
=
Lh C Lane fine gravel 4 III. ADVANCED NUMERICAL PIPING MODELLING
course gravel 3
The simple piping rules are fine for standard
0.28
D: aquifer height consultancy. However, they are insufficient for
geometry D D 2.8
G = L 1 H: hydraulic head complicated problems, where risks are high. Then, a more
Sellmeijer
factor L L: dike width
p refined approach is required.
rolling
R= tan p: unit weight particles
H equilibriu m w w: unit weight water For instance, the rules do not consider the effect of a
= GRS F course gravel sublayer below the sandy layer. Nor a
L sand d : bedding angle
S =
properties 3 L : Whites constant sloping bottom of the dike, the role of a partially covered
d: particle diameter river bottom by slurry, the effect of varying layer
4 force
F = 0.68 0.1 ln (S ) : intrinsic permeability
factor thickness, etc. .
For these cases a versatile numerical tool is required. Conversely, the condition of limiting equilibrium must
Such a model is described in reference [12]. In fact it is be imposed to the balance of forces on a particle. This
used for the derivation of the third simplified piping rule. yields a connection for the forces for a given mode of
The groundwater flow, here, was modeled by the motion. Two modes of motion are feasible: translation and
analytical technique of conformal mapping. For simple rolling. Koenders [17] showed that the rolling mode is
geometries this is possible. preferred. The result is a rule not unlike a Coulomb
For more complex geometries an analytical approach is criterion.
no longer feasible. A numerical model will be presented. In the original work of [12] four distinct forces are
considered for the force balance for a grain at the top of
A. Numerical piping program the interface. The horizontal ones are the drag force due to
The conceptual piping model consists of three areas: the channel flow and the horizontal seepage gradient. The
groundwater flow in the layers, the water flow in the vertical ones are the weight of a particle and a force
erosion channel and the state of limit equilibrium of the associated with the vertical seepage gradient.
particles at the bottom of the channel. However, heterogeneous mixture in steady state shows
The last two areas together form the boundary condition a landscape where the large grains stick out and the small
for the first area. That means that the problem of piping ones are well buried. Between the large grains substantial
may be determined by ordinary groundwater flow open space occurs. The forces due to the seepage
computation with a special piping boundary condition. gradients by no means can affect the grain at the top of the
However, this is a cumbersome condition. It is highly interface.
non linear. It is not operative in a single point of the By implication, two forces should be balanced, see
boundary, but affects the boundary on aggregate. By Figure 2. The force along the sloping channel is the shear
implication, only iteratively this condition may be applied. stress (2) times the equivalent area d2 / . Whites
constant takes care of the substantial open space
B. Condition of continuity in the erosion channel between the top grains. The vertical force is the weight of
The erosion channel appears to be very shallow. This is a spherical particle. The rolling mode balance of these two
observed in the visual tests; see [8], [10], [11], [14], [15]. forces follows from the sine law in geometry:
Results by computation also show extremely shallow
channels; see [12]. Apparently, quite a lot of seepage p
d3 1
w p a d2 .
water may flow off through a small open channel. 6
= 2 (3)
cos sin ( + )
The flow in the channel may be modeled by the laminar
Navier Stokes equations. For a sandy sublayer the flow is
laminar; for course gravel it might tend to become is the slope of the erosion channel.
turbulent. Since the channel is so shallow, the solution of
the Navier Stokes equations is not unlike the formula for D. Boundary condition along the erosion channel
pipe flow. It reads: An appropriate expression for the boundary condition
along the erosion channel follows from (1) and (3). If the
yet unknown height of the channel is eliminated, an
Q.
a 3 p = 12 (1) expression remains with flow features only. It reads:
k
Figure 3. Example advanced piping design Figure 4. Output advanced piping design
disturbance is compensated by a small increase of the
channel length. However, in the right side this would lead
to progressive erosion. The maximum of the curves is
associated with the critical head.
L h h hg1 hg2 k z
= G z1 , z2 , , ,
H H H H H k
g
where,
p sin ( + ) d . (7)
=
3 w cos 3 hz2