Question:
How are levees built? How can you make levees stronger?
Replies:
Levees are normally two different types, depending on the soils, the
protection height
and the space available and most important the cost.
Some levees are constructed of soil. If you took a knife and sliced through
the levee
and looked at it from the side, a cross section, the shape of the levee is a
trapezoid.
click on the little sketch below. The width of the base and the slopes of
the sides
are stable for the materials (soil) used. The mass resists the forces of the
water.
But you can see it takes much room and the levee soils and the soil
underneath are critical.
Another type is a wall, the sketch at the right. The straight wall is
usually steel sheet
piling which can go quite deep. The other option is the "L" type shown
above, it is
made of concrete. The wall is designed to resist the water force while
tasking into
account the pressures and behavior of the soils.
All the materials in either solution have been sampled, tested and
constructed according to codes.
That sentence is the key to making the levee stronger, if there are any
mistakes it
causes weakness and potential failures.
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