ANCIENT DRUMLIN HILLSLOPES AND MODERN EMBANKMENT DAMS / IMPLICATIONS FOR PREFERENTIAL SEEPAGE AND STABILITY IN ENGINEERING PRACTICE.

这项提议的科学价值在于对两个地点获得的新的现场数据进行了新颖的比较，这两个地点都有广泛的现有数据集，一个是最近在冰川耕作中的一次大切割(在北爱尔兰的Loughbrickland)，另一个是加拿大的一个大型现代土坝(不列颠哥伦比亚省的WAC Bennett大坝)，在那里发现优先流是天坑事故后缺陷调查的一部分。对北爱尔兰一个大切割的异常地下水状况的测量数据表明，优先渗流和内部侵蚀正在发生。最近对加拿大一座土坝的土石坝坝芯的现场数据进行了详细的分析，并对土样进行了相应的实验室渗透仪测试，这些经验也表明发生了渗流引起的内部侵蚀。将英国古老的耕作山坡与加拿大的现代土坝进行比较，目的是寻找与潜在的内部不稳定有关的土级配和渗漏响应的共同特征和空间差异。详细研究加拿大的数据对联合王国的好处在于将从这项研究中获得的知识和见解转移到对相对年轻(约35年)的土坝的重组耕作的性能监测和实验室测试的宝贵长期研究，以及这些发现的影响，以帮助解释在一个古老的山坡(超过10 000年的历史)未受干扰的耕作中相对较短的野外观测记录。因此，该提案有一个明确的重点：识别受地下水渗漏影响的冰川碎屑在渗漏、内部侵蚀和稳定性方面的长期行为属性，这些属性会对土坝中耕作核心的行为产生影响。预计对这两个地点的土壤进行仔细评估，并考虑各自的渗漏制度，将提供一个比较每个小组正在进行的研究工作的巨大价值的案例研究，并将重要的大学-工业研究成果传播到英国大学部门。

The scientific merit of the proposal rests on a novel comparison of new field data being acquired from two sites both with an extensive existing data set, one a recent large cutting in a drumlin in glacial till (at Loughbrickland, N. Ireland) and the other a large modern earth dam in Canada (the WAC Bennett Dam, British Columbia) where preferential flow has been found as part of a deficiency investigation following a sinkhole incident.Data from the measurement of the unusual groundwater regime of a large cutting in the lodgement till in N Ireland suggests that preferential seepage flow and internal erosion is occurring. Recent experience gained in a detailed analysis of field data from the till core of an earth dam in Canada and companion laboratory permeameter testing of soil samples also indicates that seepage induced internal erosion occurred. The objective of comparing an ancient till hillslope in the UK with a modern earth dam in Canada is to look for common features and spatial variations in the soil gradations and response to seepage that relate to the potential for internal instability. The benefit to the UK from examining in detail the Canadian data accrues by transferring the knowledge and insights obtained from this an invaluable long-term study of performance monitoring and laboratory testing of the reconstituted tills of a relatively young earth dam (approximately 35 years), and the implications of those finding, to aid the interpretation of a relatively short record of field observations in undisturbed tills of an ancient hillslope (over 10,000 years old). Accordingly, the proposal has a clear focus:To discern attributes of the long-term behaviour with respect to seepage, internal erosion and stability, of glacial tills, subject to groundwater seepage, that have implications for the behaviour of till cores in earth dams.It is expected that careful evaluation of the soils at the two sites, and consideration of the respective seepage regimes, will deliver a 'case-study' comparison of tremendous value to ongoing research efforts of each group, and a dissemination of significant university-industry research findings to the UK university sector.