Seepage characteristics of three-layered landfill cover system constituting fly-ash under extreme ponding condition

Abstract

A multi-layered final cover system is constructed over the landfill after it reaches its full capacity to minimize water ingress into the underlying hazardous waste. Three layered landfill cover are designed for areas experiencing very humid climatic conditions. Under the effects of climate change, the occurrences of extreme rainfall events become more frequent and this has resulted in catastrophic floods and hence extreme ponding. This study investigates the seepage characteristics of three-layered capillary barrier cover systems under an extreme ponding condition of 1.5 m water head, through detailed laboratory column tests and finite-element seepage analysis. Four 1.2 m-tall columns having different configurations (C1–C4) were studied. Fly ash (FA) was used to amend the surface and barrier layers in columns C2 and C4, in line with the novel concept of “waste protect waste”. Spatiotemporal variations of volumetric water content of the four columns were monitored for three years continuously. With FA amendment in the surface layer and an inclusion of a 0.01 m thick geosynthetic clay liner between the drainage and barrier layers, the onset of basal percolation was significantly delayed until 700 days of ponding, compared to 115 days without FA amendment. Capillary flow dominated the gravitational flow and perched water table was formed as waterfront advanced from the drainage to barrier layers. Further seepage analysis considering a realistic humid climate boundary condition showed that all four configurations were successful in preventing basal percolation for 800 days.