Abstract
Mechanical stability of embankments such as road embankments and river dykes is significantly influenced by their internal hydraulic states, as represented by phreatic surface location and pore water pressure distribution. The mass transfer across the embankment surfaces through water infiltration and evapotranspiration, and the internal migration of pore water to/from foundation soil layers is considered to play a major role in dictating the evolution of the hydraulic state. This paper reports a case study in which hydraulic state variations in an embankment in Hokkaido were monitored over 9 months, including a winter period with ground surface freezing and a significant snow cover. The studied embankment was a relatively new, constructed with artificially mixed clay and sand which were generated by nearby excavation. The monitoring records indicate a consistent trend of under-drainage to the foundation layer all during the 9 months, with the pore water pressure at deeper parts registering minimum values during winter and reaching maxima during summer. Explanations for this and other observed features were sought by performing unsteady unsaturated seepage flow analysis with some assumed surface input models. Although the adopted models are fairly crude, the analysis results offer important insights into factors that govern the hydraulic state of low-permeability embankment in snowy cold regions.
