A computer-aided method for detecting damage to seepage control sheets used at final disposal sites

Abstract

The suspicion of damage to seepage control sheets used at final disposal sites, in recent years, is a serious social problem. Since the conditions in a landfill change with the progress of landfilling, it is necessary that the detection of the damage be free from the effects of such changes. Based on a method where electrodes placed on a seepage control sheet detect damage by sensing the distribution of electric potentials caused by the electric currents which travel the damaged portions, the authors developed a method to locate the position of damage by comparing measurement data with the distribution of electric potentials inside a landfill which is obtained from computer-aided finite element method analysis, and tried this method on a model disposal site. It was found that this method is effective for detecting damage.