SLIDING STABILITY OF LANDWARD SLOPE CLAY COVER LAYERS OF SEA DIKES SUBJECT TO WAVE OVERTOPPING

Sea dikes with landward slopes covered by grass and clay cover layers, subject to wave overtopping, can become unstable and slide. Sliding stability of the cover layer is caused by a decrease in shear strength due to an increase in pore pressure in and underneath the clay cover layer. This holds for both clay dikes and sand dikes with a clay cover layer. A method is presented to determine the potential pore pressure build up due to a storm event with wave overtopping. The method combines of the shelf knowledge and is supported by laboratory measurements and field measurements during prototype scale wave overtopping tests and sliding test on Dutch sea dikes. The method contains three steps: 1) determine the infiltration time, depending on the storm duration and the sea state; 2) determine the infiltration capacity of the dike slope, either by choosing a safe value or field measurement and 3) determine the potential pore pressure build up, determined by step 1) and 2) and the dike structure and geometry. The potential pore pressure build up can be used in the standard stability analyses tools published in Dutch guidelines on dike design and dike safety assessment.