Dutch peat dyke failure during the dry summer of 2003

Van Baars, Stefan

Reference : Dutch peat dyke failure during the dry summer of 2003


	Document type :	Scientific congresses, symposiums and conference proceedings : Paper published in a book
	Discipline(s) :	Engineering, computing & technology : Civil engineering
	To cite this reference:	http://hdl.handle.net/10993/18419

Title :	Dutch peat dyke failure during the dry summer of 2003
Language :	English
Author, co-author :	Van Baars, Stefan [University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Engineering Research Unit >]
Publication date :	Sep-2008
Main document title :	Proc. International symposium Drougt and Construction SEC 2008
Peer reviewed :	Yes
Audience :	International
ISBN :	978-2728-2527-01
Event name :	International symposium Drougt and Construction SEC 2008
Event date :	September 2008
Event place (city) :	Paris
Abstract :	[en] ABSTRACT - In August 2003, after a once in a twenty years dry summer, one of the dykes along a canal in The Netherlands failed at night. Because of this dyke breach, the water in the canal started to run into a housing quarter of the village Wilnis, which is about 30 km Southeast of Amsterdam. Like many other small dykes in The Netherlands, the complete dyke in Wilnis consists of peat. Since peat has a relatively low unit weight, a peat dyke has a higher risk of being pushed aside by water pressure than sand or clay dykes. Peat also has a much higher water content than clay and sand, which makes it more vulnerable to drought. When the stability of this dyke is checked, it becomes clear that failure of the dyke was a realistic threat. The dyke was far too light and the drought reduced this weight even a little bit more, which caused the failure. RÉSUMÉ – En août 2003, après une période de sècheresse bidécennale, une des digues le long d’un canal aux Pays-Bas a rompu durant une nuit. A cause de la rupture de cette digue, un quartier du village de Wilnis situé á 30 km au sud-est d’Amsterdam a été inondé. Comme beaucoup des petites digues aux Pays-Bas, cette digue est entièrement constituée de tourbe. Puisque la tourbe est très légère, une digue constituée de ce matériau a un risque plus important de glisser par rapport á une digue en sable ou en argile. De plus, la teneur en eau de la tourbe est beaucoup plus grande que pour un sable ou une argile ce qui la rend plus vulnérable au séchage. Si la stabilité de cette digue est contrôlée, il est clair que le risque de rupture de cette digue était très sérieux. Elle était beaucoup trop légère et la sècheresse a diminué un peu plus le poids ce qui a causé la rupture.
Permalink :	http://hdl.handle.net/10993/18419

File(s) associated to this reference

Fulltext file(s):

	File	Commentary	Version	Size	Access
Limited access	2008ParisPeatDyke.pdf		Author preprint	669.82 kB	Request a copy

All documents in ORBi^lu are protected by a user license.

University of Luxembourg Library | Feedback | Legal notices