Projects

Goal of the Project

The project aims to enhance the understanding of soil-structure interaction in dykes reinforced with structural elements such as sheet piles, diaphragm walls, and bored piles. The primary objective is to develop methodologies for modelling, assessing, and designing soil-structure interaction in these contexts. Additionally, the research seeks to evaluate the performance, robustness, and reliability of structural solutions used in earthen flood defences during its life cycle.

We will investigate methods to perform more efficient probabilistic analysis using machine learning methods (e.g. Surrogate models) to find less computationally expensive methods to be used in practice. The project intends to advance the engineering practices related to the reinforcement of earthen dykes, ensuring their effectiveness and resilience in flood defence applications.

Scientific Motivation

The rise in sea water levels necessitates reinforcing earthen dykes to meet the permissible probability of failure specified by Dutch standards. Traditional methods of raising and widening dykes (e.g., berms) are challenging to implement in densely populated areas. Alternatively, structures like sheet piles, diaphragm walls, or bored piles can be integrated into the dike. Despite conservative design guidelines for these solutions, excessive deformations at the toe of the dykes have been observed in several projects, causing damage to nearby properties. This issue may suggest a lack of understanding of soil-structure interaction.

When using the finite element method for modeling, probabilistic analysis is typically too computationally expensive for practical use. Therefore, a semi-probabilistic approach using partial safety factors is employed. However, fully probabilistic methods are required to accurately calculate the probability of failure, which can lead to more optimized designs.

Case Study

One of the case studies that will be included in this research is the reinforcement of the IJsseldijk along the Hollandsche IJssel  which protects the Krimpenerwaard. In order to protect the area in the future, the dike must be strengthened and raised. Due to climate change, the water level of the sea is rising and high water levels are occurring more often in rivers. As a result, there are also more frequent high tides in the Hollandsche IJssel. At the same time, the ground is sinking in many places in the Netherlands, including the Krimpenerwaard.

Expected Outcomes

• Deterministic finite element model for predicting the behavior of soil around the dike and the soil structure interaction.
• Proposed methods for reliability analysis to calculate the probability of failure more efficiently.
• Design and optimization of robust soil-structure solutions for the river case