Effects of Hydropower Dam Operation on Riverbank Stability
The increasing number of extreme climate events has impacted the operation of reservoirs, resulting in drastic changes in flow releases from reservoirs. Consequently, downstream riverbanks have experienced more rapid and frequent changes of the river water surface elevation (WSE). These changes in t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Infrastructures |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2412-3811/6/9/127 |
| _version_ | 1797518836566589440 |
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| author | Soonkie Nam Marte Gutierrez Panayiotis Diplas John Petrie |
| author_facet | Soonkie Nam Marte Gutierrez Panayiotis Diplas John Petrie |
| author_sort | Soonkie Nam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The increasing number of extreme climate events has impacted the operation of reservoirs, resulting in drastic changes in flow releases from reservoirs. Consequently, downstream riverbanks have experienced more rapid and frequent changes of the river water surface elevation (WSE). These changes in the WSE affect pore water pressures in riverbanks, directly influencing slope stability. This study presents an analysis of seepage and slope stability for riverbanks under the influence of steady-state, drawdown, and peaking operations of the Roanoke Rapids Hydropower dam on the lower Roanoke River, North Carolina, USA. Although the riverbanks were found to be stable under all the discharge conditions considered, which indicates that normal operations of the reservoir have no adverse effects on riverbank stability, the factor of safety decreases as the WSE decreases. When the role of fluvial erosion is considered, riverbank stability is found to reduce. Drawdown and fluctuation also decrease the safety factor, though the rate of the decrease depends more on the hydraulic conductivity of the soils rather than the discharge pattern. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:35:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9d249a59f34d4635a7bc7b23b1e14352 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2412-3811 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:35:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Infrastructures |
| spelling | doaj.art-9d249a59f34d4635a7bc7b23b1e143522023-11-22T13:35:50ZengMDPI AGInfrastructures2412-38112021-09-016912710.3390/infrastructures6090127Effects of Hydropower Dam Operation on Riverbank StabilitySoonkie Nam0Marte Gutierrez1Panayiotis Diplas2John Petrie3Department of Civil Engineering and Construction, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460, USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USAU.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, Los Angeles, CA 90017, USAThe increasing number of extreme climate events has impacted the operation of reservoirs, resulting in drastic changes in flow releases from reservoirs. Consequently, downstream riverbanks have experienced more rapid and frequent changes of the river water surface elevation (WSE). These changes in the WSE affect pore water pressures in riverbanks, directly influencing slope stability. This study presents an analysis of seepage and slope stability for riverbanks under the influence of steady-state, drawdown, and peaking operations of the Roanoke Rapids Hydropower dam on the lower Roanoke River, North Carolina, USA. Although the riverbanks were found to be stable under all the discharge conditions considered, which indicates that normal operations of the reservoir have no adverse effects on riverbank stability, the factor of safety decreases as the WSE decreases. When the role of fluvial erosion is considered, riverbank stability is found to reduce. Drawdown and fluctuation also decrease the safety factor, though the rate of the decrease depends more on the hydraulic conductivity of the soils rather than the discharge pattern.https://www.mdpi.com/2412-3811/6/9/127unsaturated shear strengthlimit equilibrium methodtransient seepageslope stabilityriverbank stability |
| spellingShingle | Soonkie Nam Marte Gutierrez Panayiotis Diplas John Petrie Effects of Hydropower Dam Operation on Riverbank Stability Infrastructures unsaturated shear strength limit equilibrium method transient seepage slope stability riverbank stability |
| title | Effects of Hydropower Dam Operation on Riverbank Stability |
| title_full | Effects of Hydropower Dam Operation on Riverbank Stability |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Hydropower Dam Operation on Riverbank Stability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Hydropower Dam Operation on Riverbank Stability |
| title_short | Effects of Hydropower Dam Operation on Riverbank Stability |
| title_sort | effects of hydropower dam operation on riverbank stability |
| topic | unsaturated shear strength limit equilibrium method transient seepage slope stability riverbank stability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2412-3811/6/9/127 |
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