STABILITY OF CLAY CHANNEL LININGS.

Abstract

The paper considers the stability of a clay lining to control water leakage from a channel formed in essentially granular permeable material. Expressions for factors of safety are derived using effective stress strength parameters for the clay and assumed pore pressure conditions during normal channel operation, and during channel filling and drawdown. These expressions show that a particularly critical zone occurs at the water level in the channel, and that lining stability increases with decreasing thickness and increasing depth below channel water level. Measures for increasing lining stability are suggested. /Author/TRRL/