Alternative Title
Paper No. 6.16 N
Location
St. Louis, Missouri
Date
11 Mar 1998, 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Abstract
A geotechnical evaluation was conducted of thirteen emergency impoundment basins constructed to retain fluids from catastrophic tank failure at a petroleum facility. The berms creating the impoundments were constructed on bedrock, weathered bedrock, slope wash, and lightly compacted fill derived from weathered bedrock.
Site materials ranged from fractured rock, to clayey gravel, to gravelly sand. Consequently, standard geotechnical tests for strength and permeability were difficult to perform, and test results were not often representative of the entire range of properties at each basin. Therefore, a systematic method of testing or estimating strength and permeability ranges was established. In order of decreasing confidence, shear strength was measured by laboratory tests, correlation with similar materials from another basin, standard penetration tests, and qualitative influence of grain size distribution. Permeability was measured by laboratory tests, correlation with similar materials from another basin, estimation based on grain size, and estimation based on material descriptions.
In general, the weathered rock proved ideal for use as berm material. The angular rock pieces produced a high friction angle, and the clay component added cohesion and reduced the permeability. These conclusions were based on both laboratory tests and long-term field performance.
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Meeting Name
4th Conference of the International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
Publisher
University of Missouri--Rolla
Document Version
Final Version
Rights
© 1998 University of Missouri--Rolla, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
File Type
text
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Santi, Paul Michael, "Stability and Permeability of Fluid Retention Berms Constructed From Highly Weathered Bedrock" (1998). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 11.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge/4icchge/4icchge-session06/11
Stability and Permeability of Fluid Retention Berms Constructed From Highly Weathered Bedrock
St. Louis, Missouri
A geotechnical evaluation was conducted of thirteen emergency impoundment basins constructed to retain fluids from catastrophic tank failure at a petroleum facility. The berms creating the impoundments were constructed on bedrock, weathered bedrock, slope wash, and lightly compacted fill derived from weathered bedrock.
Site materials ranged from fractured rock, to clayey gravel, to gravelly sand. Consequently, standard geotechnical tests for strength and permeability were difficult to perform, and test results were not often representative of the entire range of properties at each basin. Therefore, a systematic method of testing or estimating strength and permeability ranges was established. In order of decreasing confidence, shear strength was measured by laboratory tests, correlation with similar materials from another basin, standard penetration tests, and qualitative influence of grain size distribution. Permeability was measured by laboratory tests, correlation with similar materials from another basin, estimation based on grain size, and estimation based on material descriptions.
In general, the weathered rock proved ideal for use as berm material. The angular rock pieces produced a high friction angle, and the clay component added cohesion and reduced the permeability. These conclusions were based on both laboratory tests and long-term field performance.
