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Floods threaten urban infrastructure, especially in residential neighborhoods and fast-growing regions. Flood hydrodynamic modeling helps identify flood-prone locations and improve mitigation plans' resilience. Urban floods pose special issues due to changing land cover and a lack of raw data. Using a GIS-based modeling interface, input files for the hydrodynamic model were developed. The physical basin's properties were identified using soil map data, Land Use Land Cover (LULC) maps, and a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). So, the HEC-RAS 2-D hydrodynamic model was developed to estimate flood susceptibility and vulnerability in Erbil, Iraq. The case study examines the quality of flood modeling results using different DEM precisions. Faced with the difficulty, this study examines two building representation techniques: Building Block (BB) and Building Resistance (BR). The work presented here reveals that it is possible to apply the BR technique within the HEC-RAS 2-D to create urban flood models for regions that have a lack of data or poor data quality. Indeed, the findings confirmed that the inundated areas or areas where water accumulated in past rainfall events in Erbil are the same as those identified in the numerical simulations. The study's results indicate that the Erbil city is susceptible to flood hazards, especially in areas with low-lying topography and substantial precipitation. The study's conclusions can be utilized to plan and develop flood control structures, since it identified flood-prone areas of the city.

In this work, we propose a modified phase-field model for simulating the evolution of mixed mode fractures and compressive driven fractures in porous artificial rocks. For the purpose of validation, the behaviour of artificial rock samples, with either a single or double saw cuts, under uniaxial plane strain compression has been numerically simulated. The simulated results are compared to experimental data, both qualitatively and quantitatively. It is shown that the proposed model is able to capture the commonly observed propagation pattern of wing cracks emergence followed by secondary cracks driven by compressive stresses. Additionally, the typical types of complex crack patterns observed in experimental tests are successfully reproduced, as well as the critical loads.

We report and analyze a case study of landslide-generated waves that occurred in the Apporo dam reservoir (Hokkaido, Japan) culminating from the rare incident of hazard combination from the September 2018 Typhoon Jebi and Hokkaido earthquake (Mw 6.6 on 5 September 2018). The typhoon and earthquake were concurrent and produced thousands of landslides in the area by the combined effects of soil saturation and ground acceleration. Here, we report the results of our field surveys of the landslides that occurred around the Apporo dam and generated damaging waves in the reservoir. We identified six landslides at a close distance to the dam body; the largest one has a length of 330 m, a maximum width of 140 m and a volume of 71,400 m3. We measured wave runup at a single point with height of 5.3 m for the landslide-generated wave in the reservoir and recorded the damage made to the revetments at the reservoir banks. By considering the locations of the landslides and their potential propagation paths, we speculate that possibly three of the six surveyed landslides contributed to the measured wave runup. The surveyed runup was reproduced by inputting landslide parameters into two independent empirical equations; however, other independent empirical relationships failed to reproduce the observed runup. Our field data from the Apporo dam can be used to improve the quality of predictions made by empirical equations and to encourage further research on this topic. In addition, our field data serves as a call for strengthening dams’ safety to landslide-generated waves in reservoirs.

The mechanical behaviours of unsaturated soils are highly related to the water content and pore water and air distributions. Under the context of climate change, geo-disasters related to soil moisture change attract more and more research attentions. Due to the heterogeneity of soil textures and the complicated morphology of liquid phases, it is crucial to understand the microstructural features of unsaturated soils. This work presents a study based on a miniaturized suction controlled triaxial device which is suitable for micro-CT image analysis. A fine sand is sheared in this device under different suction levels while CT scans are taken at different strain stages. After image 3D reconstruction, image trinarization, label analysis, contact detection and other customized image analysis and calculations, the micro-mechanisms of unsaturated granular soils upon triaxial shearing are investigated. It is observed that the inter-particle contact coordination number is reduced after shearing due to the dilation behaviour and the sample with the highest capillary strength has the highest coordination number. Although there is an initial fabric anisotropy due to gravity and sample compaction, triaxial loading will further enlarge the fabric anisotropy of the solid phase and the solid fabric anisotropy is also associated with shear strength. With the development of shear band, water drains out and the quantity of small-volume liquid clusters in the liquid bridge increases. This shifts the distributions of inter-facial areas. The effective stress tensor is interpreted microscopically based on small RVEs. Based on the CT image analysis, the suction-induced stress component is not an isotropic term and the anisotropy of the water phase is increased with triaxial deformation as well as decrease in degree of saturation when there are more isolated water bridges formed around solid contacts.

The Newmark displacement (ND) method, which reproduces the interactions between waves, solids, and fluids during an earthquake, has experienced numerous modifications. We compare the performances of a traditional and a modified version of the ND method through the analysis of co-seismic landslides triggered by the 2022 Ms 6.8 Luding earthquake (Sichuan, China). We implemented 23 ND scenarios with each equation, assuming different landslide depths, as well as various soil-rock geomechanical properties derived from previous studies in regions of similar lithology. These scenarios allowed verifying the presence or absence of such landslides and predict the likely occurrence locations. We evaluated the topographic and slope aspect amplification effects on both equations. The oldest equation has a better landslide predictive ability, as it considers both slope stability and earthquake intensity. Contrarily, the newer version of the ND method has a greater emphasis on slope stability compared to the earthquake intensity and hence tends to give high ND values only when the critical acceleration is weak. The topographic amplification does not improve the predictive capacity of these equations, most likely because few or no massive landslides were triggered from mountain peaks. This approach allows structural, focal mechanism, and site effects to be considered when designing ND models, which could help to explain and predict new landslide distribution patterns such as the abundance of landslides on the NE, E, S, and SE-facing slopes observed in the Luding case.

This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the swelling behaviour of a compacted bentonite–sand mixture subjected to hydration under constant volume conditions. Contrary to previous studies, the tested sample was isotropically compacted before being hydrated under constant volume conditions until full saturation was reached. The total axial pressure, total radial pressures at four different heights of the sample, and injected water volume were recorded over time. The experimental data reveal a complex and non-uniform evolution of the axial and radial stresses over time, as well as anisotropy of the total stresses, which persist at the saturated equilibrated state. To gain further insights, a numerical analysis was performed using an advanced hydromechanical framework for partially saturated porous media, accounting for the evolving microstructure of the material. The complex evolution of the total axial and radial pressures with time is attributed to the advancing hydration and swelling front in the sample, along with the development of irreversible strains. The good agreement between the numerical results and the experimental data enables validation of the developed framework. Implications for engineered barriers in deep geological disposal of radioactive waste are discussed.HighlightsThe swelling behaviour of an isotropically compacted bentonite-based material under constant-volume conditions is investigated.Hydration of the sample generates stress heterogeneity and anisotropy, which persist at the saturated equilibrated state.Numerical modelling shows that the complex evolution of the total axial and radial pressures can be attributed to the advancing hydration and swelling front in the sample, along with the development of irreversible strains.The relationship between the local dry density and the radial stress seems to follow the global dry density-swelling pressure trend determined on small-scale samples.

Bentonite-based materials have emerged as a highly promising choice for engineered barriers in nuclear waste deep geological disposal. These materials are characterised by low permeability, high swelling capacity and effective radionuclide retardation, making them suitable for sealing underground galleries and canisters containing nuclear waste. However, the presence of technological gaps within the bentonite or the host rock can significantly influence their hydromechanical behaviour, potentially creating preferential pathways for radionuclide migration, thus affecting the overall performance of the engineered barrier. In this study, two different modelling strategies (namely, “gap” and “no-gap”) to reproduce technological gaps and their effect on the hydromechanical behaviour of bentonite-based materials during intermediate saturation stages are proposed. The numerical model is used to simulate laboratory tests, and the numerical results are compared with experimental data coming from hydration test conducted under overall constant volume (isochoric) conditions. It is noteworthy that the specimen used in the experimental study is characterised by a localised gap between its side and the cell wall. The paper highlights the benefits of the “gap” numerical model, which employs interface elements to reproduce technological gaps at the side of the cell and exhibits satisfactory capabilities in reproducing the experimental swelling pressure evolution during bentonite hydration, especially during the transient wetting stages. Significant implications are expected for predicting site performance of engineered barrier systems in nuclear waste disposal applications.HighlightsThe effect of technological gaps on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of bentonite-based materials for nuclear waste disposal is investigated.Two different modelling strategies, “gap” and “no-gap”, are proposed to simulate the presence of technological gaps in the bentonite.The numerical results are compared with experimental data from a hydration test under constant volume conditions.The advantages of the “gap” numerical model, which can reproduce the experimental swelling pressure evolution more accurately, are demonstrated and its implications are discussed for the performance of engineered barrier systems.

Groundwater is a crucial source of water supply in drought conditions, and an auxiliary water source in wet seasons. Due to its increasing importance in view of climate change, predicting groundwater level (GWL) needs to be improved to enhance management. We used adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) to predict the GWL of the Urmia aquifer in northwestern Iran under various input scenarios using precipitation, temperature, groundwater withdrawal, GWL during the previous month, and river flow. In total, 11 input patterns from various combinations of variables were developed. About 70% of the data were used to train the models, while the rest were used for validation. In a second step, several metaheuristic algorithms, such as genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), ant colony optimization for continuous domains (ACOR), and differential evolution (DE) were used to improve the model and, consequently, prediction performance. The results showed that (i) RMSE, MAPE, and NSE of 0.51 m, 0.00037 m, and 0.86, respectively, were obtained for the ANFIS model using all input variables, indicating a rather poor performance, (ii) metaheuristic algorithms were able to optimize the parameters of the ANFIS model in predicting GWL, (iii) the input pattern that included all input variables resulted in the most appropriate performance with RMSE, MAPE, and NSE of 0.28 m, 0.00019 m, and 0.97, respectively, using the ANIFS-ACOR hybrid model, (iv) results of Taylor’s diagram (CC = 0.98, STD = 0.2, and RMSD = 0.30), as well as the scatterplot (R2 = 0.97), showed that best prediction was achieved by ANFIS-ACOR, and (v) temperature and evaporation exerted stronger influence on GWL prediction than groundwater withdrawal and precipitation. The findings of this study reveal that metaheuristic algorithms can significantly improve the performance of the ANFIS model in predicting GWL.

This paper reports the main results of an experimental study on the mechanics of intensely fissured natural clays, extending our previous studies on scaly clay from Santa Croce di Magliano. While previous work focused on the influence of the orientation of fissures with respect to the loading direction, the present investigation specifically explores an additional, important variable: the stress level. The combined effect of fissure orientation and confining pressure was studied by setting up a large campaign of plane strain compression experiments, in which different combinations of these two variables were tested. Conventional global stress–strain measurements were complemented by measuring displacement and strain fields through two-dimensional digital image correlation. Such rich information provided a clear and consistent picture of the interplay between fissure orientation and stress level and revealed complex deformation patterns, which cannot be ignored for a proper interpretation of the material response.