Critical gradient for internal erosion in earthen d ams : a comparative analysis of two predictive methodologies

Minimizing the uncertainty in predicting the critical gradient of a dam (i.e. the critical reservoir pool level) is important during the risk analysis of dams. Uncertainty leads to inexact relative risk in portfolio management; therefore it is essential to get as accurate a risk estimation as possible for each project in a portfolio. To understand the uncertainty inherent in the predictive methodologies, this thesis sets out to compare the two most commonly used predictive methodologies, Sellmeijer and Schmertmann, in the USACE portfolio in order to make a suggestion of when to use which. Both methodologies have been calibrated for a small range of ideal soil characteristics that may not reflect of existing conditions of the portfolio. This thesis concludes with the recommendation to broaden the range of applicability through additional experiments that include anisotropic conditions.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Donohue, Catherine, M. Eng. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Herbert H. Einstein.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82811

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/82811