MPM Modeling of Internal Collapse Under Levees Caused by Underground Openings

dc.contributor.authorKaram, Carole Marounen
dc.contributor.committeechairYerro Colom, Albaen
dc.contributor.committeememberDove, Joseph E.en
dc.contributor.committeememberHosseini, Reihanehen
dc.contributor.departmentCivil and Environmental Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-29T08:00:49Zen
dc.date.available2025-05-29T08:00:49Zen
dc.date.issued2025-05-28en
dc.description.abstractEvaluating the mechanisms of internal collapse in earth-retaining structures, such as levees, is essential for ensuring their stability and safety. This study investigates the mechanics of underground trapdoor collapse in frictional and cohesive soils, which is relevant to the behavior of water-retaining structures like levees, e.g., subjected to pipe leakage. The Material Point Method (MPM), an advanced numerical tool capable of simulating large deformations, is used to model an underground trapdoor collapse process in order to validate its accuracy in addressing such problems. Numerical simulations based on experimental benchmarks are performed to explore ground surface settlement and failure mechanisms. The findings show that the MPM effectively captures the collapse process, aligning with experimental data, empirical relations, and previous literature. The research highlights the importance of determining strength parameters within the correct stress range to avoid overestimating the soil strength. Additionally, the research highlights the role of cohesion in predicting collapse outcomes and surface settlement. Following the validation process, this thesis examines the formation of underground cavities and the collapse behavior of levee systems subjected to seepage. Using MPM, the failure initiation and progression of underground openings are explored with different geometries and under various soil conditions, including one-phase total stress formulation, one-phase submerged formulation, and two-phase fully coupled hydro-mechanical formulation. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess the impact of mesh size and material point density on simulation accuracy. The results highlight the complex interactions between opening location, opening size, and seepage in cavity formation and levee stability. Failure progression and collapse results are compared with experimental centrifuge test data. The study highlights the challenges of numerically simulating this complex problem using advanced numerical tools and provides insights into the factors influencing internal collapse in levees.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralUnderground openings in levees often cause settlement, erosion, and eventual collapse, especially when pipe leakage occurs beneath levees or other water-retaining structures. Understanding the mechanics of underground openings is vital for geotechnical engineers, as these openings can lead to failures. Predicting the initiation and progression of such cavities requires advanced numerical tools that can capture large deformations and soil-water interaction. The Material Point Method (MPM) is a numerical method specially developed to handle problems involving large deformations in hydromechanical settings, allowing for the analysis of the entire instability process from failure initiation to collapse. This thesis, first, investigates the accuracy of MPM framework to model trapdoor collapses of frictional material, capturing both the surface settlement and the angle of draw formed by the failure mechanism. Next, the thesis explores the progression of underground cavities on various levee models using cohesive material. The analyses include different soil conditions, levee geometries, and opening sizes. Additionally, the effects of mesh size, strength parameters, and material point density are explored. Failure progression and collapse numerical results are compared with experimental centrifuge test data. The study highlights the critical danger of underground cavities in causing a complete collapse without significant surface settlement prior to failure, emphasizing the importance of continuous monitoring to prevent such collapses.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:43703en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/134275en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectMPMen
dc.subjectUnderground openingen
dc.subjectfailure surfaceen
dc.subjectangle of drawen
dc.subjectsurface settlementen
dc.subjectInternal cavity formationen
dc.subjectlevee failureen
dc.subjectMaterial Point Methoden
dc.subjectcentrifuge testingen
dc.titleMPM Modeling of Internal Collapse Under Levees Caused by Underground Openingsen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineCivil Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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