Estimation of seepage losses from cracked rigid canal liners using finite element modeling

Abstract

This study numerically investigates the effect of cracks in rigid canal liners on seepage control. Firstly, the case of a single crack is analyzed for different locations and widths then, the case of multiple cracks is examined. The results show that a single crack in a rigid canal liner increases the seepage losses by 2.3–4.6 times its value in an un-cracked liner, just under the canal’s bed, depending on the crack’s location, with the maximum value occurring when the crack is at the bed’s centerline. The crack’s location has a negligible effect on the deeper soil. The amount of seepage from the lined canal is directly proportional to the crack’s width. Multiple cracks drastically reduce the liner’s efficiency, where cracks with total widths of 3, 4, 5, and 6% of the canal bed width cause losses approaching 65.57%, 76.80%, 86.67%, and 87.79% of those from the unlined canal.

Keywords:

• Canals
• two-dimensional models
• water supply
• water security
• numerical simulations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Doaa A. El-Molla

Doaa Anas El-Molla is an Associate Professor at the Irrigation & Hydraulics Department, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. She received the Ph.D. degree in 2014, M.Sc. degree in 2009, and B.Sc. degree in 2004, all from Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. She was awarded the best Ph.D. thesis of faculty of Engineering for the academic year 2013-2014, in the Ain Shams University's 65th scientific day and the Ain shams university international publication award in 2022. Dr. Doaa teaches different water engineering and hydraulic structures related courses for the undergraduate and post graduate levels, and has various local and international publications. She is currently the director of the E-learning unit, a board member of the Teacher Support and Development Center at Faculty of Engineering, and a board member of the central E-learning unit and IIOE Egypt National Center at Ain Shams University. She is interested in studying seepage through porous media, hydraulic structures, and dams engineering.

Mohamed G. Eltarabily

Mohamed Eltarabily has been graduated in May 2009 from Faculty of Engineering, Suez Canal University, Port Said, Egypt. He was awarded B.Sc. degree in “Civil Engineering” with average appreciation Excellent with honors degree and was awarded his M.Sc. in civil engineering (irrigation and water resources) in May 2012. Eltarabily obtained his Ph.D. degree from E-JUST in Environmental Engineering, in February 2017, since he was exchange researcher in Tokyo Institute of Technology. Eltarabily has a broad experience in Academics, research, and managing grants. After his completion of the Fulbright scholarship in 2019, and his outstanding achievements throughout the Irrigation and water sector in California, Eltarabily was offered a position as a project scientist at UCANR. He led a research group and collaborated with NGOs and stakeholders on different scales. Later on, Eltarabily joined UC Davis as visiting research scholar. Additionally, Eltarabily is an associate professor of water resources engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, Port Said University, while he was appointed to many administrative and leadership positions. He was acting as coordinator of the construction engineering program, and deputy director of the Engineering Research Center for development & technological planning at the Faculty of Engineering, Port Said University.