Stability Assessment of Levees under Cyclic Water Level Fluctuations: A Case Study of Princeville Levee

Chan-Jin Jeong; Su-Min Song; Yoon-Seo Lee; Seung-Oh Lee

doi:10.46604/ijeti.2026.16181

Authors

Chan-Jin Jeong Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea
Su-Min Song Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea
Yoon-Seo Lee Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea
Seung-Oh Lee Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46604/ijeti.2026.16181

Keywords:

levee stability, transient seepage, cyclic water level fluctuation, accumulated shear strain, strength reduction method (SRM)

Abstract

The increasing frequency of floods threatens levee structural integrity, yet traditional assessments fail to capture history-dependent cumulative damage. This study aims to investigate the progressive hydro-mechanical degradation of the Princeville Levee under 15 cyclic flood events using a fully coupled transient seepage-deformation analysis. Using the strength reduction method, the global factor of safety (FoS) is evaluated at 2.46 during the critical drawdown stage. Although this macroscopic metric exceeds conventional design criteria, implying high stability, our analysis reveals a physical paradox. Due to delayed drainage, the internal soil skeleton undergoes continuous unrecoverable plastic deformation, with peak deviatoric shear strain rising by approximately 15% across cycles. This irreversible ratcheting and stiffness degradation demonstrate that static FoS metrics overestimate long-term stability by masking underlying damage. Ultimately, ensuring aging levee resilience requires a paradigm shift from traditional limit equilibrium approaches to deformation-based serviceability assessments.

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