TY - JOUR
T1 - New Orleans levee system performance during Hurricane Katrina
T2 - 17th Street Canal and Orleans Canal North
AU - Sasanakul, Inthuorn
AU - Vanadit-Ellis, Wipawi
AU - Sharp, Michael
AU - Abdoun, Tarek
AU - Ubilla, Javier
AU - Steedman, Scott
AU - Stone, Kevin
PY - 2008/5
Y1 - 2008/5
N2 - Centrifuge modeling of the 17th Street Canal and Orleans Canal North levees was performed in this study. During hurricane Katrina the levees on the 17th Street Canal failed, leading to breaches in the outfall canal in the city. Two mechanisms were observed in the centrifuge modeling that could cause a breach. First, a water-filled crack formed in front of the floodwall as the water in the canal rose above the top of the levee. The levees on the 17th Street Canal, which were supported on clay foundations, failed when this cracking led to a translational (sliding) failure in the clay layer commencing at the toe of the floodwall. The levees at Orleans Canal North, where failure did not occur, were also modeled to demonstrate that the model tests could successfully simulate failure and nonfailure conditions. The centrifuge model tests identified the importance of the crack formation in relation to the stability of the floodwall. These tests also confirmed that levee geometry, floodwall depth of penetration, and the underlying soil profile were all critical to the performance of the system under flood loading.
AB - Centrifuge modeling of the 17th Street Canal and Orleans Canal North levees was performed in this study. During hurricane Katrina the levees on the 17th Street Canal failed, leading to breaches in the outfall canal in the city. Two mechanisms were observed in the centrifuge modeling that could cause a breach. First, a water-filled crack formed in front of the floodwall as the water in the canal rose above the top of the levee. The levees on the 17th Street Canal, which were supported on clay foundations, failed when this cracking led to a translational (sliding) failure in the clay layer commencing at the toe of the floodwall. The levees at Orleans Canal North, where failure did not occur, were also modeled to demonstrate that the model tests could successfully simulate failure and nonfailure conditions. The centrifuge model tests identified the importance of the crack formation in relation to the stability of the floodwall. These tests also confirmed that levee geometry, floodwall depth of penetration, and the underlying soil profile were all critical to the performance of the system under flood loading.
KW - Canals
KW - Centrifuge model
KW - Floods
KW - Hurricanes
KW - Levees
KW - Louisiana
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U2 - 10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2008)134:5(657)
DO - 10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2008)134:5(657)
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:42549138726
SN - 1090-0241
VL - 134
SP - 657
EP - 667
JO - Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
JF - Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
IS - 5
ER -