To increase the capacity of a waste disposal plant located in a hilly site in central Italy, a new 25 m high barrage has been built to bound a valley and create a new waste storage over the upstream area. To minimize environmental risks, a geosynthetic-reinforced clay dyke has been designed for the plant. Just after the completion of the works and before entering into operation, clear signs of instability appeared at the upstream side of the dyke. To prevent the growth of such mechanism the dyke was immediately re-profiled by lowering the crest. A thorough ground investigations and monitoring were carried out to understand the causes of the instability; three main causes have been identified: unfavorable local geological conditions; inhomogeneity of the foundation soil; development of high pore pressures in the dam and in the subsoil. This case history turned out to be again an example of the importance of details for design and construction of geotechnical works partic-ularly if of great impact for the environment.
Failure of a massive geotextile-reinforced clay dike for a waste disposal plant: investigation of the causes / Ruggeri, P.; Fruzzetti, V. M. E.; Scarpelli, G.. - (2019). (Intervento presentato al convegno Geotechnical Engineering foundation of the future tenutosi a Reykjavik (Iceland) nel 1 - 6 September 2019) [10.32075/17ECSMGE-2019-0825].
Failure of a massive geotextile-reinforced clay dike for a waste disposal plant: investigation of the causes
Ruggeri P.
;Fruzzetti V. M. E.;Scarpelli G.
2019-01-01
Abstract
To increase the capacity of a waste disposal plant located in a hilly site in central Italy, a new 25 m high barrage has been built to bound a valley and create a new waste storage over the upstream area. To minimize environmental risks, a geosynthetic-reinforced clay dyke has been designed for the plant. Just after the completion of the works and before entering into operation, clear signs of instability appeared at the upstream side of the dyke. To prevent the growth of such mechanism the dyke was immediately re-profiled by lowering the crest. A thorough ground investigations and monitoring were carried out to understand the causes of the instability; three main causes have been identified: unfavorable local geological conditions; inhomogeneity of the foundation soil; development of high pore pressures in the dam and in the subsoil. This case history turned out to be again an example of the importance of details for design and construction of geotechnical works partic-ularly if of great impact for the environment.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.