Chapter-3

Engineering impact of ground water

and landfill site investigation
 Engineering significance of subsurface
water
• Subsurface water is often a critical factor in various
engineering work
• It has a potential to affect the engineering project both
during construction time and after construction the
safe function of the project
• It can affect any engineering project such as building,
highway pavement, dams, underground structures and
etc
• Therefore it is important to conduct engineering
geological investigation to assess the possible adverse
effect of subsurface water on the proposed engineering
project
 Engineering problems from subsurface
water
• It facilitate the slope movement
• It cause the volume fluctuation of foundation soil
and result in collapse
• It erode the foundation of structures and cause
collapse
• It flow in excavation and affect the excavation and
construction activity of the tunnel
• It also affect the engineering structures by its
corrosive action
• Appling uplift force to the foundation and cause the
failure of structure
 Important Information from subsurface
water investigation
If we conduct geotechnical subsurface water
investigation we can collect the following important
information which is helpful to design safe
engineering structures
• The distribution of subsurface water
• Direction and speed of subsurface water flow
• Depth of water table and it range of fluctuation
• Chemical and corrosiveness of subsurface water
• Confinement condition of subsurface water and etc
 Impact of subsurface water on different
engineering structures
 Tunneling :
• Due to the sudden inflow of water it affect the
excavation activity and stability of the tunnel
• By its corrosive action it affect the stability of lining
 Dam construction:
• Due to inflow water to deep foundation dam it affect
the excavation and concreting activity
• The reservoir water cause the uprising of water table,
which can cause the instability of reservoir rim slope
and abutment
• It also apply the uplift force on the dam foundation
which result in dam failure
 Building foundation and failure of pavement:
• By changing its engineering properties the subsurface
water can reduce the bearing capacity of foundation
material
• Due to seasonal fluctuation of subsurface water, it
cause the volume change of the foundation material
which result in settlement and collapse the structure
on it
• But the small differential settlement can cause the
crack on the walls and floor of structure
• The fluctuation of subsurface water can change the
subgrade properties and reduce its bearing capacity
• The wet subgrade soil along the shoulder dry faster
than that of the center area of pavement. This cause
the differential settlement and result in longitudinal
cracks in the pavement
Impact of subsurface water on slope stability:
• It increase the overall weight of slope material
which reduce the resisting force and result in slope
failure
• It reduce the shear strength and generate the pore
water pressure which affect the slope stability
• It use as lubricant and facilitate the sliding along
the failure plane
 The impact of water chemistry on
engineering structures
• Subsurface water with sulphate content is
aggressive to concret, metallic structures such as
rock bolt and reinforcement
• Subsurface water with sulfuric acid content can
facilitate the weathering condition of foundation
rock
• In general the corrosivity of subsurface water can
be determined from corrosivity ratio coefficient (CR)
• CR = (0.028Cl + 0.021SO4)/0.02(HCO3 +CO3)
• If CR value is >1 the subsurface water is corrosive
 Mitigation measures
• Slope de-pressurization
Prevent the iterance of water in the tension crack
Subsurface drainage
• Barriers: it use to reduce the amount and velocity
of subsurface water flowing under the structures
• E.g cutoff wall, cutoff trench, grouting and etc
• Liners: it is use to preventing the loss of water from
the canal or impoundment and prevent the
migration of contaminants
• E.g bentonite and related clay material
• Drains: it use to reduce the quantity of water and
direct its movement and reduce the water
pressure under the foundation (uplifting force) and
on slope
• The material that use as drainage must has the
potential to prevent the passage of fine material
and give free passage for water
• Wells: it use to dewatering (eliminating) the
subsurface water
• It can be pumping well, relief well, horizontal
drainage and etc
 Geotechnical investigation of waste
disposal landfill site
• Dump: it is a place where waste is placed with no
consideration of the environmental effects.
• Usually, dumps were places where waste was placed
directly on the ground. Little or no leachate control is
used.
• Landfill: it is engineering facility to contain solid waste,
with the intent of minimizing environmental disruption.
• Typically, landfills are large shallow pits in the ground,
lined to contain solid waste and leachate, with disease
vector control (control of bugs and animals that carry
disease).
 Terminology of solid waste (SW), also
called refuse

• Refuse includes garbage and rubbish.

• Rubbish is mostly dry material such as glass, paper,
cloth, or wood.
• Garbage is mostly decomposable food waste; and is
highly decomposable, whereas rubbish is not.
• Trash is rubbish that includes bulky items such as
old refrigerators, couches, or large tree stumps.
 Parts of a typical landfill From bottom to
top
• subgrade soils, liner system : clay liner,
geosynthetic material
• –Geosynthetics are used extensively in the liner, the
leachate collection, solid waste and cover system
• leachate–it is the liquid that accumulates in
landfills, is collected in drains in the bottom of the
landfill and pumped out, treated and dispose
 Overview of types and uses of
geosynthetics in landfills
• Landfills use almost all types of geosynthetics.
• Geosynthetics are planar (more or less) plastic
materials that are used in geotechnical engineering projects.
• Functions of landfill geosynthetics:
 Separation
 Drainage
 Protection
 Filtration
 waterproofing
 erosion control
 soil reinforcement
 E.g. of Geosynthetics in landfills and
theirs function
Types function
• Geotextiles (GT)…………………Filters
• Geogrids (GG)…………………… Reinforcement
• Geonets (GN)……………………. Drainage
• Geomembranes (GM)…………Barriers
• Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GCL)……. Barriers
• Plastic Pipes (geopipe) (GP).……Leachate collection
• Geocomposites (GC)………………Drainage, Filters
Different layers of landfill structure
 Geosynthetics in landfills and theirs
function
 Geomembrane (GM)
• The bottom of the landfill is covered with a geomembrane liner.
This is a 40 to 60 mil plastic sheet.
• Function: waterproofing and separation.
• Properties: low permeability, durability.
• The sheets are attached to one another so the liner is waterproof.
 Geosynthetic clay liner (GCL)
• A geosynthetic clay liner may be used in place of a geomembrane.
• It is made of bentonite clay bound between two layers of
geotexclay geotextile or fixed to a geomembrane.
• Function: waterproofing. May be used inplace of a geomembrane.
• Properties: low permeability, durability.
Geotextile (GT)
• There may be a geotextile on top of the liner.
• This protect the liner from getting punctured.
• It may be used as a filter for a gravel drain on top of
the liner. The drain collects leachate.
• It also used to reinforce a landfill cover or steep
slopes on the sides of a landfill.
• Function: protection, filtration and reinforcement
• Properties: toughness, durability, permeability and
tensile strength
Geocomposites (GC)
• One geocomposite may be used to provide both
filtration and drainage. These may consist of a
geonet in combination with a geotextile.
• Functions: filtration and drainage.
• Properties: permeability, durability.
Geonet (GN)
• it is used for in‐plane drainage. This product was
invented for this purpose.
• Function: drainage.
• Properties: transmissivity, durability.
Geogrid (GG)
• A geogrid may be used to reinforce a landfill cover
or steep slopes on the sides of a landfill.
• Function: reinforcement
• Properties: tensile strength, durability.
Landfill Cover – Single Barrier

Cover soil
G thtid Geosynthetic drainage

Geosynthetic Clay Liner

Gas collection
Geotextile

Waste
Where are the slope stability problems in
landfills?
• There are several slope failure modes in landfills.
• All must be investigated for the designer to proceed
with confidence.
• Slope failures may occur in the soil, in the waste, at
the geosynthetic/waste interface, or in the
combinations of the soil and waste and
geosynthetic boundaries.
 Settlement
Settlement of landfills takes place in two locations: the
foundation soils (which now have a waste weight on them)
and within the waste itself.
Settlement may cause the base of the landfill to change
grade, disrupting drainage, leading to leachate ponding and
eventual soil and groundwater contamination.
Settlement can be resulted due to the decomposition of
waste (which resulting waste volume reduction) and of
dewatering foundation soils.
Therefore to minimize the settlement problem we must
Keep the waste dry which reduces waste decomposition,
dewatering the foundation soils and well compacting the
foundation soil and waste itself
 In general when we investigate the site for waste disposal
we must consider
• The slope stability of fill side
• The settlement condition of the foundation soil and waste
• The potential of surface subsidence
• The existence of archaeological monuments and high population
density in the site
• The ground water condition including its chemistry, flow direction,
flow velocity and etc
• The horizontal and vertical permeability condition of the strata
• The distribution and depth of the aquifers
• The weathering resistance of the strata
• The solubility and leachate aggressiveness of the strata
• The condition of geological structures
• The deformability condition of the rock mass
• The quality of lining material such as geosynthetic material and etc.