Numerical modelling of water pressures in dikes

Dikes and dams prevent flooding. However, water penetrating the dike and the subsoil during high water periods reduces the strength of the structure due to the increase in pore pressure. Moreover, the rise in the hydraulic head in deeper layers may lead to the uplift of the top layer on the polder side of the dike. Finally, an increase in the potential head gradient can result in an internal erosion process known as backward erosion piping. To assess these effects it is important to have an adequate knowledge of the pore water pressure field, which can be obtained by solving the groundwater flow problem.