Abstract: Present methods for assessing the potential for unsatisfactory levee performance because of underseepage consist of deterministic seepage analyses and simplified reliability methods. Deterministic methods consist of ...

Abstract: A laboratory modeling program has been conducted to evaluate the hydraulic conditions required for backward erosion piping (BEP) to initiate and progress in sandy soils. The first stage of BEP consists of loosening the ...

Abstract: In a vast majority of cases, seepage barriers increase the reliability of dams. However, it is important to recognize that seepage barriers often drastically increase hydraulic gradients around the boundaries of the barrier, ...

Abstract: A procedure is presented for analyzing postconstruction deformation of seepage barriers due to changes in the pore pressure regime after seepage barrier construction. The procedure uses the changes in pore pressures ...

Abstract: Backward erosion piping (BEP) is a leading cause of levee and dam failures and generally occurs when seepage flow breaks through a defect in the downstream low-permeability blanket layer, causing a shallow erosion channel ...