Assessing Dike Sliding Risk Due to Seasonal Water Level Changes

Dike landslides in the rainy season are quite common, badly affecting people’s lives along the dike routes. One of the main causes leading to the instability of the dike lines is the formation of slip surfaces in the dike body when the water level varies seasonally. In this study, the stability of Cam Van dike is considered when the river water level changes with the seasons. This paper uses The Finite Element Method (FEM) and The Generalized Limit Equilibrium Method (GLEM) to analyze the influence of geological parameters and soil drainage behavior on the instability of the dike. The results of the paper show that module SLOPE/W of GEOSTUDIO software using GLEM gives only the factor of safety (FOS) of the slope while PLAXIS software using FEM gives more reliable results on stress and displacement. The results from PLAXIS software show that the vertical displacement in the Undrained is more accurate than that of Drained. On the other hand, the Drained is more accurately described than the Undrained in terms of the shape and position of the sliding arc. The plastic points calculated by the PLAXIS software also correspond to the observed failure sites at the site.