• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.1C
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• pp.1-10
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• 2011

This paper simulates the piping effect, found levees with large difference in coefficient of permeability within the foundation such as the Gim-po Levee, via centrifuge model test which is a model test. We have also conducted a numerical analysis under the same conditions as the centrifuge model test to compare its results. First, we decided to use the centrifuge model based on the Gim-po Levee, and the tests were executed on a model levee with pore water pressure transducers. We have found that most of the water flows through the permeable layer and causes the piping effect. Via video camera footage, we have found that the piping effect occurred at the toe of the model levee. The characteristic of pressure head distribution, obtained from the pore water pressure transducers, also proves the occurrence of the piping effect. The numerical analysis results also showed the same results as the centrifuge model test. We have simulated the piping effect via centrifuge model test and believe that the centrifuge model test is viable for various tests, predictions and evaluation of the levee problems.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.59-68
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• 2010

Piping, a common form of internal embankment erosion, is caused by progressive movement of soil particles through an embankment. The phenomenon commonly occurs with precursory signs of development of fractures in dam structures, but also occurs without any noticeable signs in dams that showed satisfactory dam performance for several years, due to dissolution of soluble material in an embankment. While piping accounts for nearly 50% of the causes for dam failure, few studies have been made for systematic evaluation of the phenomenon. In this study, we attempted to monitor the changes in electrical resistivities of fill-dam material while a saddle dam is dismantled for the construction of emergency spillways of Daechung dam. Two artificial subhorizontal boreholes were drilled into the embankment structure to simulate piping along the two artificial flow channels. Monitoring of changes in electrical resistivity showed an increase in resistivity values during piping. Thus, the investigation of resistivity over time could be an effective method for piping prediction.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.600-608
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• 2017

The presence of piping in a levee body allows water seepage to occur by producing a large cavity or water tunnel within it, ultimately resulting in the failure of the river levee and differential settlement. In order to properly cope with river levee failure due to piping and establish a proper remediation method for this problem, it is necessary to analyze the failure mechanism of the river levee due to piping. Therefore, this study analyzed the shape and mechanism of river levee failure due to piping through small-scale and large-scale models and evaluated the seepage pressure distribution characteristics in the hydraulic well, which has been suggested as a remediation method for piping. According to the results of this study, as the safety factor for the piping in the river levee decreased, the river levee failure shape was more clearly shown through the small-scale model test. In the large-scale model test, the type of local damage to the levee due to the piping was identified and the evaluation showed that the hydraulic well had the largest effect on the inhibition of piping below the center of the well. A follow-up study is needed to confirm the reliability of the results. However, it is thought that this study can be utilized as the baseline data for research into the piping-induced river levee failure mechanism and for the preparation of a remediation method.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.55-62
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• 2023

Internal erosion is one of the main causes of levee damage and collapse, and representative of this is backward erosion piping. This type of internal erosion accounts for one-third of the damage to levees, meaning it is important to predict and prevent it. In this work, experiments were conducted with the aim of detecting piping in advance by using a tracer. Experiments were undertaken by changing the head difference, soil diameter, and the installation of the cutoff wall. A tracer was injected twice, once at the beginning of the experiment and once after the piping occurred. A key finding was that the piping process significantly affectedthe concentration variation of the tracer in a soil layer. Hence, a tracer concentration curve monitored at downstream could provide information about piping occurrence. It is expected that the results of this study can be used to prevent levee damage and collapse caused by piping.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.13 no.1 s.53
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• pp.59-68
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• 2009

One of the cause of embankment failure for piping is a routine design for piping consideration without exact understanding of that. Therefore, in this study, comparison and analysis of existing piping consideration methods had been conducted through embankment sections when sheet piles constructed on sandy ground. For the Terzaghi method and the critical hydraulic method, safety factors were changed up to double depending on the method. And for the critical velocity method, it was dramatically changed due to design parameters. Consequently, existing piping consideration method currently used is recommended not to be applied to all ground conditions uniformly but to applied with exact understanding of each consideration method characteristics depending on ground conditions.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.30-58
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• 2022

The deep geological repository for high-level radioactive waste disposal is a multi barrier system comprised of engineered barriers and a natural barrier. The long-term integrity of the deep geological repository is affected by the coupled interactions between the individual barrier components. Erosion and piping phenomena in the compacted bentonite buffer due to buffer-rock interactions results in the removal of bentonite particles via groundwater flow and can negatively impact the integrity and performance of the buffer. Rapid groundwater inflow at the early stages of disposal can lead to piping in the bentonite buffer due to the buildup of pore water pressure. The physiochemical processes between the bentonite buffer and groundwater lead to bentonite swelling and gelation, resulting in bentonite erosion from the buffer surface. Hence, the evaluation of erosion and piping occurrence and its effects on the integrity of the bentonite buffer is crucial in determining the long-term integrity of the deep geological repository. Previous studies on bentonite erosion and piping failed to consider the complex coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical behavior of bentonite-groundwater interactions and lacked a comprehensive model that can consider the complex phenomena observed from the experimental tests. In this technical note, previous studies on the mechanisms, lab-scale experiments and numerical modeling of bentonite buffer erosion and piping are introduced, and the future expected challenges in the investigation of bentonite buffer erosion and piping are summarized.

• 지반과기술
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.50-60
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• 2007

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.307-319
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• 2014

Because of the rapid rising of water related disasters due to the global warming, the extreme design criteria of levee construction for severe flood has been applied in several developed countries such as USA and Netheland. In Korea, the national river restoration projects were carried out on 4 major rivers in recent several years. The projects consisted of riverbed dredge and levee reinforcement, and new construction have caused wide change of river environment. However, concrete countermeasures for levee safety and river management have not been suggested until now. Therefore, this study assesses the levee safety of Yulji levee located in Hoechon, Nakdong Basin, where the Levee Seepage Monitoring System installed. The stability of levee is assessed based on the simulation performed by SEEP/W(2D unsaturated seepage model) and the simulated results are compared with the observed data. The effects of the flood wave and levee shape on the levee safety are investigated through several simulations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.129-138
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• 2008

In case of judging the stability of dike or dam structures which need hydraulic interception, the first thing to do is to examine whether a piping phenomenon occurred or not. Generally, dike or dam structures are constructed while layer compacting is executed, so permeability is likely to be anisotropic- different from each other in hydraulic conductivity in the horizontal direction [$k_x$] and hydraulic conductivity in the vertical direction[$k_y$]. This study looked into exit hydraulic gradient and Seepage velocity by conducting an Seepage analysis subsequent to various hydraulic conductivity ratios[k-ratio = ky / kx] and examined the influence on piping by comparing & examining critical Seepage Velocity based on critical hydraulic gradient in theoretical equation and critical Seepage Velocity in empirical equation. As the research result, it was found that hydraulic conductivity ratio operates as a very important factor in case the stability against piping occurrence is considered with the concept of critical hydraulic gradient, but relatively the hydraulic conductivity ratio is very low in its importance in relation to the concept of critical Seepage Velocity.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.249-266
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• 2024

Bentonite buffer material is an important component of engineered barrier designed for the safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Under certain groundwater conditions, erosion or piping phenomena of the material can happen, which may compromise the overall safety of the whole engineered barrier system. Previous domestic researches related to it have been conducted at a laboratory scale so that those are subject to some limitations, despite their valuable results. Therefore, KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) has planned the BEPT (Bentonite Erosion and Piping Test) to extend and validate the previous works at a field conditions. Prior to detailed experimental design, case studies that had been conducted by leading countries in disposal research were collected and analyzed. The analyses included suitable site conditions and system design, which were incorporated into the detailed design of BEPT. This technical report aims to introduce the previous researches and the current status of the ongoing BEPT experiment.