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Water Pressure Tutorial 8-1

Water Pressure Tutorial

This tutorial will introduce you to the water pressure modeling features
of Swedge.

Topics Covered in this Tutorial

Water Pressure Distribution Models


Percent Filled
Display Options
Sensitivity Analysis

Editing Slope Input Data

Lets start with the default model that appears when you open Swedge.

Select: Analysis Input Data

We will keep the values in the Slope tab unchanged.

Select the Joints tab, and only make the following change for Joint 1.

Dip (deg) = 35

Click on Apply. Notice that the Factor of Safety changes from 0.9886 to
1.2683.

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Adding Water Pressure

Select the Forces tab, and click on the Water Pressure checkbox.

We will leave the default Unit Weight. The following Pressure


Distribution Models are available:

Filled Fissures
% Filled Fissures
Custom Pressure
Peak Pressure Beneath Crest
Peak Pressure Toe
Peak Pressure Mid Height

To start, we will use the default Peak Pressure Beneath Crest


model. Change the Percent Filled to 75%. We will keep the default Hu
value of 1.

Select OK to close the dialog. Notice that the Factor of Safety decreases to
0.9266. Also note that the maximum water pressure is displayed in the
Perspective view. The max water pressure in this case is 0.152 MPa.

Water Pressure Distribution Models

There are six different water pressure distribution models in Swedge. The
main difference between each model is the location of the peak water
pressure.

For the % Filled Fissures and Peak Pressure models, you have the
option of specifying Percent Filled or Percent Slope Height.

In general, the Percent Filled option should be used in cases where the
joints are like two fissures in the slope, and there is no fluid in the soil
matrix. In this case, the elevation of the water table surface varies from
0% filled at the toe of the wedge on the slope surface to 100% filled at the
elevation of the upper face.

The Percent Slope Height option should be used in cases where you have
a highly jointed slope, and there is a pore pressure distribution
throughout the slope. The Percent Slope Height option is useful for cases
of scaled wedges. The joints will not fill with water until the Percent
Slope Height is high enough that the water reaches the wedge.

For the three Peak Pressure models, the peak water pressure is
calculated at the specified location, and the values at all other locations
are linearly interpolated between that maximum and zero at all locations
where the wedge is in contact with the slope or upper face.

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When a Tension Crack is present, you can select the No Failure Plane
Pressure option. When this option is selected, water pressure is only
applied to the Tension Crack. This assumes that the joint planes are
essentially impermeable surfaces.

Filled Fissures

The filled fissures option assumes conditions of very heavy rainfall have
occurred, and that the fissures (Joint Set 1, Joint Set 2, Tension Crack)
are completely full of water. In the case of no tension crack, the
maximum pressure lies at a point midway along the line of intersection of
the two joint planes.

Figure 1: Filled Fissures: No Tension Crack

When a Tension Crack is present, the peak pressure exists at the base of
the Tension Crack.

Figure 2: Filled Fissures: With Tension Crack

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% Filled Fissures

The % Filled Fissures model allows you to specify the average height of
water in the fissures, as a percentage of the completely filled water state.

You can choose between Percent Filled TC and Percent Slope Height.
Percent Filled Slope Height was explained above. Percent Filled TC
means that the 0% filled location is at the bottom of the tension crack.

Custom Pressure

This model allows you to specify the actual average water pressure on
Joint 1 and Joint 2. When a Tension Crack and Basal Plane are present,
you can also specify the average water pressure on those surfaces.

Figure 3: Custom Pressure: No Tension Crack

Figure 4: Custom Pressure: With Tension Crack

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Peak Pressure Beneath Crest

In this case the peak water pressure is located directly below the crest of
the slope.

Figure 5: Peak Pressure Beneath Crest: No Tension Crack

Figure 6: Peak Pressure Beneath Crest: With Tension Crack

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Peak Pressure Toe

The peak pressure is located at the toe of the wedge.

Figure 7: Peak Pressure Toe: No Tension Crack

Figure 8: Peak Pressure Toe: With Tension Crack

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Peak Pressure Mid Height

The water pressure is highest at mid-height (z/2).

Figure 9: Peak Pressure Mid Height: No Tension Crack

Figure 10: Peak Pressure Mid Height: With Tension Crack

Listing of Water Pressure Input

The water pressure input is recorded in the Info Viewer under the
heading Water Pressures/Forces. The average pressure and force on each
joint is listed.

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Water Pressure Display Options

There are three options for viewing the water forces applied to a wedge.
In the Display Options dialog, you can choose to display Water Forces,
Wetted Area, and Water Contours. You can also choose the water force
display color in the Display Options dialog.

Select: View Display Options

The Water option will draw arrows pointing to the joint planes.

Select the Wetted Area option. Notice that 75% of the slope is filled.

Figure 11: Side view of wedge illustrating Wetted Area display option

Select the Water Contours option and click OK to close the dialog.
Notice where location of the peak pressure (red contour) is. If we had
specified 100% filled fissures, the location of the peak pressure would be
directly beneath the crest of the slope.

Figure 12: Side view of wedge illustrating Water Contours display option

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Sensitivity Analysis

Sensitivity analysis is a very useful feature of Swedge, which allows you


to quickly determine the effect of any input variable on the safety factor.

There are two water pressure related sensitivity analysis options, Water
Unit Weight and Water Percent Filled. We will focus on Water Percent
Filled.

1. Select the Sensitivity option from the toolbar or the Analysis


menu.

Select: Analysis Sensitivity

2. Select the first checkbox in the Sensitivity dialog, and select


Water Percent Filled from the drop-list of variables to plot.
Enter From = 25 and To = 100. Select OK.

3. You will see a Sensitivity plot of Water Percent Filled versus


Factor of Safety.

4. Right-click on the plot and select the Sampler option from the
popup menu.

5. Drag the Sampler until you obtain a factor of safety of about 1.0.
The corresponding Water Percent Filled (68.5%) is displayed.

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