Experimental Studies on the Stability Assessment of a Levee Using Reinforced Soil Based on a Biopolymer

Abstract

Cement and other similar compounds have been used to prevent a levee breach during a flood. However, the demand is increasing for eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives to replace the conventional method for levee stabilization and strengthening. To improve the durability and environmental friendliness of a levee, the Andong River Experiment Center applied a biopolymer, which is a new eco-friendly substance, to fabricate a levee model, and conducted a hydraulic model experiment to evaluate the reliability and stability of the new type of levee. An image analysis was applied to calculate the scale of the breaches of the levee slopes. Based on the experimental results obtained, the characteristics of the breach between an earthen levee and the proposed levee were compared. The stability of the levee body was also evaluated according to the thickness of the new substance. The ultimate aim of this study was to derive the optimal conditions by verifying the performance and effectiveness of the new substance in terms of levee breach factors such as overflow, seepage, or piping in a series of hydraulic experiments. In the future, the field application of these optimal conditions will be verified through a real-scale experiment.