Risk Assessment of Soil Liners: Influence of Correlation Length

Abstract

Estimates of flow through soil liners are often performed deterministically. Recent advances in the state of practice is suggesting estimates of reliability (i.e., risk) associated with this flow will be required. In this study, probabilistic simulations are performed to examine the influence of correlation length on the level of risk associated with flow through soil liner systems. Influence of correlation length on the statistics of effective hydraulic conductivity is examined for different geometries of liner. Predictions are made for the statistics of effective hydraulic conductivity. The predicted results are used to investigate the influence of correlation length, hydraulic conductivity mean and coefficient of variation and aspect ratio of liner on the probability of exceeding regulatory hydraulic conductivity. It is shown that probability of exceedance increases with increasing correlation length and mean and decreasing aspect ratio of liner and coefficient of variation. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed methodology.