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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Using Machine Learning In Estimating Changing Bed Shear Over A Flume Test Box, Ghada S. Ellithy, Siddharth S. Parida Mar 2022

Using Machine Learning In Estimating Changing Bed Shear Over A Flume Test Box, Ghada S. Ellithy, Siddharth S. Parida

Publications

A dam or levee breach caused by overflow erosion is difficult to evaluate during an overtopping event due to difficulty in accessibility and quickly changing conditions. However, for assessment of risk associated with breach time and ensuing downstream consequences, the erosion rate of embankment soils during this process needs to be evaluated. Soil erosion and water depth measurements were taken during flume tests using a Shallow Water Lidar (SWL) system scans. The tests were conducted in a 1-m-wide tilting flume on three cleans and gravel soil mixes with a median grain size D50of 2, 5,and 20 mm. The box measured …


Case Study: Unsaturated Embankment Failure On Soft Soils, Ghada Ellithy, Timothy D. Stark Oct 2020

Case Study: Unsaturated Embankment Failure On Soft Soils, Ghada Ellithy, Timothy D. Stark

Publications

This paper describes the application of unsaturated soil mechanics to an interstate connecting-ramp embankment that failed during construction. Specifically, matric suction is incorporated into the calculation of the tension crack (TC) depth induced by desiccation and strain incompatibility and the contribution of matric suction to embankment shear strength. The results are compared with field observations to assess the viability of unsaturated soil mechanics in modeling compacted embankments in stability analyses. Results from this study suggest that using unsaturated shear strength parameters while introducing a TC in the compacted fill yields a reasonable inverse analysis of this interstate embankment. This may …


Monte Carlo Simulations Of Coupled Transient Seepage Flow And Compressive Stress In Levees, Fred Thomas Tracy, Ghada Ellithy, Jodi L. Ryder, Martin T. Schultz, Benjamin R. Breland, T. Chris Massey, Maureen K. Corcoran Jan 2020

Monte Carlo Simulations Of Coupled Transient Seepage Flow And Compressive Stress In Levees, Fred Thomas Tracy, Ghada Ellithy, Jodi L. Ryder, Martin T. Schultz, Benjamin R. Breland, T. Chris Massey, Maureen K. Corcoran

Publications

The purpose of this research is to compare the results from two different computer programs of flow analyses of two levees at Port Arthur, Texas where rising water of a flood from Hurricane Ike occurred on the levees. The first program (Program 1) is a two-dimensional (2-D) transient finite element program that couples the conservation of mass flow equation with accompanying hydraulic boundary conditions with the conservation of force equations with accompanying x and y displacement and force boundary conditions, thus yielding total head, x displacement, and y displacement as unknowns at each finite element node. The second program (Program …


Integrating Field Monitoring And Numerical Modeling To 3 Evaluate Performance Of A Levee Under 4 Climatic And Tidal Variations, Xavier A. Rivera-Hernandez, Ghada Ellithy, Farshid Vahedifard Jul 2019

Integrating Field Monitoring And Numerical Modeling To 3 Evaluate Performance Of A Levee Under 4 Climatic And Tidal Variations, Xavier A. Rivera-Hernandez, Ghada Ellithy, Farshid Vahedifard

Publications

Several short-duration and extreme hydraulic loadings impose time-dependent variably saturated seepage conditions on earthen 7 slopes and embankments. Difficulty assigning appropriate input parameters and lack of full-scale validation are among the main factors 8 introducing uncertainty and lack of confidence when performing numerical transient seepage analysis. This case study demonstrates how 9 to effectively use field-monitoring data to improve the numerical analysis of a levee under climatic and tidal variations. The case study 10 includes a silty sand setback levee located near Seattle. An array of tensiometers and soil moisture sensors installed within the levee’s embank11 ment and foundation, along …


Meshless Modeling Of Flow Dispersion And Progressive Piping In Poroelastic Levees, Anthony Khoury, Eduardo Divo, Alain J. Kassab, Sai Kakuturu, Lakshmi Reddi Jun 2019

Meshless Modeling Of Flow Dispersion And Progressive Piping In Poroelastic Levees, Anthony Khoury, Eduardo Divo, Alain J. Kassab, Sai Kakuturu, Lakshmi Reddi

Publications

Performance data on earth dams and levees continue to indicate that piping is one of the major causes of failure. Current criteria for prevention of piping in earth dams and levees have remained largely empirical. This paper aims at developing a mechanistic understanding of the conditions necessary to prevent piping and to enhance the likelihood of self-healing of cracks in levees subjected to hydrodynamic loading from astronomical and meteorological (including hurricane storm surge-induced) forces. Systematic experimental investigations are performed to evaluate erosion in finite-length cracks as a result of transient hydrodynamic loading. Here, a novel application of the localized collocation …


Erosion Rate Equations For Coarse- Grained Materials Using A Small Flume Testing, Ghada Ellithy, Johannes L. Wibowo, Maureen K. Corcoran Nov 2018

Erosion Rate Equations For Coarse- Grained Materials Using A Small Flume Testing, Ghada Ellithy, Johannes L. Wibowo, Maureen K. Corcoran

Publications

Erosion rate of soils during a levee or dam overtopping event is a major component in risk assessment evaluation of breach time and consequently in determining the downstream consequences. There is uncertainty in estimation of the erosion rate especially for coarsegrained materials that comprise the outer shell layer of dams as well as homogenous levees that are constructed of such materials. In this paper, erosion rate results are presented on three soil mixes that share the same median grain size D50 of 2 mm, the fines content varies between zero and 20%, and the gravel content between zero and 30%. …


Determination Of Erosion Parameters Of Coarse-Grained Materials Using A Small Flume, Ghada S. Ellithy, Johannes L. Wibowo, Maureen K. Corcoran Jun 2018

Determination Of Erosion Parameters Of Coarse-Grained Materials Using A Small Flume, Ghada S. Ellithy, Johannes L. Wibowo, Maureen K. Corcoran

Publications

Overtopping is one of the major causes of dams and levees failure. There is uncertainty in estimation of the erosion parameters especially for coarse- grained materials that comprise the outer shell layer of dams as well as homogenous levees that are constructed of such materials. In this paper, results from a box test performed on three coarse grained materials in a 0.3-meter wide flume are discussed. The three materials share the same median grain size D50 of 2 mm, however, they vary in fines content between zero to 20%. The box measured 0.3 m wide x 0.6 m long x …


A Spreadsheet For Estimating Soil Water Characteristic Curves (Swcc), Ghada Ellithy May 2017

A Spreadsheet For Estimating Soil Water Characteristic Curves (Swcc), Ghada Ellithy

Publications

SWCC can be measured in the lab; however, due to the cost, time, and high variability in the results, empirical equations were developed using multiple regression approaches on databases consisting of a large number of measured SWCCs. The spreadsheet presented herein utilizes different methods that use basic soil properties, such as grain size distribution and Atterberg limits, to calculate the input parameters for van Genuchten and Fredlund and Xing equations. These parameters are required by numerical models, such as SEEP/W, to perform transient seepage analysis. The spreadsheet allows copying the generated curve data points as well as an input into …


Evaluating The Mechanisms Of Erosion For Coarse-Grained Materials, Maureen K. Corcoran, Ghada Ellithy, Michael K. Sharp, Johannes L. Wibowo Oct 2016

Evaluating The Mechanisms Of Erosion For Coarse-Grained Materials, Maureen K. Corcoran, Ghada Ellithy, Michael K. Sharp, Johannes L. Wibowo

Publications

Efforts are currently underway by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to perform a risk assessment of all dams and levees within their portfolio. The vast majority of that portfolio is earthen structures. Findings from the assessments have shown that the major risk drivers for these earth structures are related to erosion (internal and external), overtopping, poorly designed and constructed intrusions (such as pipe crossings), and other factors to a lesser degree (such as burrowing animals). Therefore, the USACE is currently investigating several of these failure modes with emphasis on internal and external erosion. This paper will highlight efforts …