Microscale analysis of the effect of suffusion on soil mechanical properties

Abstract

Suffusion is a particular internal erosion process that can lead to important disorders in water retaining structures such as embankment dams and levees. It causes modifications in the soil micro-structure and may modify the mechanical behaviour of the soil leading to deformations at the macroscopic scale. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the consequences of internal erosion on the mechanical properties of the soil. We present such an investigation through numerical and experimental approaches. For the experimental approach, a newly developed suffusion test apparatus is used while for the numerical approach, a model is established based on the discrete element method (DEM) with a one-way fluid-solid coupling.