Conjunction effect of stream water level and groundwater flow for riverbank stability analysis

Abstract

Variations in pore-water pressure determined by the groundwater table within a riverbank have been investigated and recognized as an essential factor in determining riverbank stability with respect to mass failure. However, the effect of pore-water pressure is taken into account for most of the existing riverbank stability models under some simplified assumptions, and the limitations of predicting ability may arise. To avoid the unrealistic estimation of pore-water pressure distribution, the new approach proposed here is to couple riverbank stability with groundwater flow modeling, and apply this to tackle the conjunction effect between river stage and groundwater table. Moreover, riverbank material characteristics and the influence of infiltration can be taken into consideration via groundwater flow modeling. Two hypothetical examples, stage rising and stage falling, are used to investigate the capabilities of the present study and two representative methods. The simulated results show that riverbank failure is triggered particularly during the falling stage, which has been pointed out by other researchers as well. Furthermore, the riverbank material characteristics predominantly control the occurrence of failure and should be considered regarding assessment of riverbank stability. Additionally, the effects of parameters indicate that riverbanks with soil properties of low permeability or high specific yield with great infiltration intensity during the falling stage have a tendency to riverbank failure.