Centrifuge modelling of a river embankment slope failure induced by a high-water event




Centrifuge modelling of a river embankment slope failure induced by a high-water event


River floods rank among the most significant natural hazard in Europe, causing substantial economic and human losses and are frequently due to severe damages endured by water retaining earthworks, under extreme weather events. In this framework, a reliable assessment of the existing river embankments safety conditions, represents a key aspect to enhance the resilience of these critical infrastructures. This paper presents the model preparation technique, experimental setup and preliminary findings of a centrifuge test conducted on a river embankment model, subjected to a simulated high-water event. The earthfill was constructed with natural silty sand, sampled along a floodplain area of Secchia river, a tributary of the main Po River in Italy, where a recent breach occurred. To investigate the hydro-mechanical behaviour and the potential failure mechanisms of the earth structure, induced by the progressive raising of the water table, in-house built miniaturized tensiometers, pore pressure transducers, a high-resolution camera and a displacement sensor have been used. The study aims to shed light on the effect of time-dependent hydraulic loadings on the river embankment stability and to support the development of more reliable flood risk reduction strategies.



E. Dodaro; Carmine Gerardo Gragnano; Mario Marcolongo; Guido Gottardi; Agnese Bassi; G. Viggiani; Samuel Stanier


5th European Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ECPMG2024)



Geotechnical infrastructure



https://doi.org/10.53243/ECPMG2024-142