- Geotechnical Observations of Dams Failed During the 2015 Historic Flooding in South Carolina
- Inthuorn Sasanakul ; Sarah L. Gassman ; Charles E. Pierce ; William Ovalle-Villamil ; Ryan Starcher ; Emad Gheibi ; Mostaqur Rahman
- Book Title / Journal: International Journal of Geoengineering Case Histories
- Year: 2019 , Volume: 5
- Dam Engineering ; Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
- Keywords: Floods ; Earthen Dam ; Overtopping ; erosion ; spillway
- Abstract
This paper presents a description of post-flood reconnaissance and geotechnical investigation of four earthen dams that were breached or damaged following an extreme flooding event in South Carolina in 2015. As a result of unprecedented rainfall and flooding that occurred during a five-day period at the beginning of October in 2015, a total of 51 earthen dams failed and nearly 200 were damaged. Many of these dams failed due to overtopping that led to a breach of the dam. Among the four dams investigated, full breach was observed at three dams; two of which were overtopped, and one was not. The fourth dam was not breached but was severely damaged. For each of these dams, the paper documents background information, pre-flood conditions, post-flood field observations and measurements, and laboratory testing results of collected soil samples. Impacts of vegetation on the dams and the effects of dam failure on critical infrastructure are also presented. The detailed descriptions and geotechnical investigations of the dam failures presented herein serve as case histories that can be used for dam breach modeling and risk assessment of dam failure. PDF |
- Lessons Learned from the Application of UAV-Enabled Structure-From-Motion Photogrammetry in Geotechnical Engineering
- Dimitrios Zekkos ; William Greenwood ; Jerome Lynch ; John Manousakis ; Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos ; Marin Clark ; Kristen L. Cook ; Charalampos Saroglou
- Book Title / Journal: International Journal of Geoengineering Case Histories
- Year: 2018 , Volume: 4
- Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters ; Geomatics ; LiDAR ; Aerial ; Satellite-Based ; Unmanned Aerial Systems
- Keywords: Structure-from-Motion ; Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ; 3D model ; drones ; disasters
- Abstract
The application of the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) methodology, as enabled by the growth of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology, is expected to have significant impact in geotechnical engineering research and practice. SfM outputs are presented using selected geotechnical projects as examples, and include orthophotos, 3D point clouds, and three dimensional digital surface or terrain models. Repeated surveys allow for monitoring of deformation patterns at a cm-level resolution. The lessons learned from the application of the methodology at twenty-six sites that cover the breadth of geotechnical engineering practice, located in four countries (USA, Greece, Nepal, and New Zealand) and variable geologic environments are presented. It is shown that the methodology leads to an unprecedented level of mapping that covers large areas at high resolution. In addition to the high resolution models, SfM models are shown to be comparable in accuracy to other surveying techniques and mapping technologies such as light detection and ranging (LiDAR). The advantages and disadvantages of the methodology are also presented with the intent to facilitate the greater incorporation of this methodology in geotechnical engineering. The use of UAVs makes the methodology especially appealing for immediate post-disaster response as it enables the collection of optical data in areas that are inaccessible or unsafe. PDF |
- Preliminary Field Assessment of Sinkhole Damage in, Pokhara, Nepal
- Rama Mohan Pokhrel ; Takashi Kiyota ; Reiko Kuwano ; Gabriele Chiaro ; Toshihiko Katagiri ; Itsuro Arai
- Book Title / Journal: International Journal of Geoengineering Case Histories
- Year: 2014 , Volume: 3
- Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
- Keywords: Sinkholes ; Site Investigation ; dynamic cone penetration test ; surface wave method ; Pokhara
- Abstract
Since November 2013, numerous sinkholes have been forming in the Armala area of Pokhara Valley, Central Nepal, posing serious threat to local residents. In order to provide measures aimed at reducing sinkhole risk, investigations into the cause and features of the sinkholes are crucial. This paper presents early research results based on two damage surveys conducted in June 2014 and November 2014 in the Armala area. Comparison of photos, taken in the two surveys, clearly indicates not only the formation of new sinkholes, but also the re-activation of filled sinkholes. By means of dynamic cone penetration tests and surface wave method investigations, qualitative characterization of the soil profile was attained, and shallow weak soil layers which are believed to be the location for future sinkholes could be identified. On the basis of the field investigation results, possible sinkhole formation mechanisms are identified for the Armala area. Furthermore, results of a reconnaissance survey conducted in the Armala area in early May 2015 (following the 2015 Gorkha Nepal Earthquake, which occurred on April 25th) are also reported. Although the epicentral distance to Pokhara was closer than Kathmandu, which suffered from severe damage, no major apparent effects of the earthquake were observed in the sinkhole damaged area. PDF |
- Survey results of damaged areas in flood disaster of typhoon Morakot and suggestions for restoration projects
- K.J. Shou ; C.R. Huang ; J.C. Chou
- Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Paris, September 2-6 2013
- Year: 2013
- Landslides ; Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
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- Ideas for improved geotechnical structures for natural disaster mitigation
- L. Vollmert ; G. Heerten
- Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Paris, September 2-6 2013
- Year: 2013
- Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters ; Levees ; Geosynthetics
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- Tools for Natural Hazard management in a Changing Climate
- Y. Andersson-Sköld ; B. Rydell ; H. Löfroth ; Y. Rogbeck
- Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Paris, September 2-6 2013
- Year: 2013
- Landslides ; Erosion ; Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
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- General Report for Session 4C – Natural hazard mitigation
- F. Nadim
- 17th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (Alexandria)
- Year: 2009
- Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
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- Satellite SAR Interferometry for geohazard and infrastructures monitoring
- A. Benedetta ; B. Francesca ; M. Paolo ; M. Serena ; R. Alfredo ;
- TC220 Conferences in Field Monitoring in Geomechanics - Field Measurements in Geomechanics 2018
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- Satellite-Based ; Green Infrastructure ; Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
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- Damages to railway embankments during the 1998 flood in Bangladesh
- A. Siddique ; M.A. Ansary ; A.M.M. Safiullah
- International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering - 15th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (Istanbul)
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- Railway Geotechnics ; Road Embankments ; Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
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- Information requirements in the immediate aftermath of a major natural disaster
- K. Williams ; N. W. Rogers
- Australia - New Zealand Conferences on Geomechanics - 11th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics
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- Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
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- Reconnaissance highlights of the 2014 Sequence of Earthquakes in Cephalonia, Greece
- SissyNikolaou ; DimitriosZekkos ; DomnikiAsimaki ; RamonGilsanz
- TC 203 Conferences in Earthquake Engineering - 6th International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering (Christchurch, New Zealand)
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- Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters ; Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering
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- Early warning system for landslides caused by high intensity rains during the El Nio
- L. Marín-Nieto
- International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering - 16th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (Osaka)
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- Landslides ; Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
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- Soil Constitutive Model for Geotechnical Design against Geo-hazards
- WilliamHiggins ; DipanjanBasu ; TanusreeChakraborty
- Regional Conferences - 14th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 64th Canadian Geotechnical Conference, October 2-6, 2011, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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- Numerical & Constitutive Modeling ; Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters ; Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering
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- Rainfall induced disaster and landslides of 1993 in Nepal in geotechnical engineering perspectives
- G. Pokharel ; A.S. Dhakal ; K.K. Bhattarai
- International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering - 14th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (Hamburg)
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- Landslides ; Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
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- Assessing and Managing Risks due to Natural Hazards
- M. H.
- TC304 Conferences On Engineering Practice of Risk Assessment and Management - 1st International Symposium on Geotechnical Safety and Risk (ISGSR 2007)
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- Risk & Reliability ; Reconnaissance of Natural Disasters
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