A rational approach for modelling the meteorologically induced pore water pressure in infrastructure slopes

Abstract

A simplified numerical approach to predict meteorologically induced changes in pore water pressure in soil slopes is discussed. A simplified flux boundary condition (representing the net effect of rainfall, runoff and evapotranspiration) is defined that avoids many of the difficult to deduce parameters commonly used in a soil-atmospheric boundary interaction analysis and is used as an input to numerical analysis. The capability of the modelling approach has been tested using field monitoring data from a comprehensively instrumented research site in Southern England. Three different approaches to approximate the soil water characteristics curve (one of the most critical input) have been discussed and their effectiveness has been tested. The analysis is then extended to predict the behaviour of the slope under two future climate extremes.

Keywords:

• Unsaturated soil
• pore water pressure
• climate change
• meteorology
• numerical modelling
• future climate

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was conducted as a part of an EPSRC funded project, iSMART, ‘Infrastructure Slopes: Sustainable management and resilience assessment’ (ismartproject.org). iSMART is a unique coalition of six academic institutions in the UK (Newcastle University, Durham University, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Southampton, Loughborough University and British Geological Survey).