Finite Element Analysis of Rapidly Deployable Armoring System to Mitigate Levee Erosion During Overtopping

Abstract

Levee erosion due to storm surge, wave overtopping during hurricanes, and river flooding may result in breaches which can have disastrous consequences. A Rapidly Deployable Armoring System (RDAS) consisting of woven geotextiles attached to the earthen side of levees with shallow anchors could provide temporary erosion protection for critical portions of levees. This paper focuses on a finite element model using Abaqus created to aid in RDAS design. The model's ultimate purpose is to calculate anchor forces and geotextile stresses during overtopping events. Modeling is presented with the anchors acting as rigid and deformable objects with load-deflection curves based on test data. Details associated with mesh convergence, accounting for friction between the levee and geotextile, and anchor forces (rigid and flexible anchors) are presented for measured shear stresses during flume testing. Modeling results indicated incorporating a bi-layer membrane element set could provide a more physically meaningful solution.