A probabilistic method to assess the subsurface erosion of non-cohesive soils

Subsurface erosion of soil is caused by water seeping through a porous medium of a non-cohesive soil. The groundwater flow will create critical condition for piping. In this paper, a simple probabilistic method has been developed. A game theory that is known as a two person-zero sum ruin game, has been applied. The method of modeling consists of the three steps, at the first step, soil grains are divided into two groups, called protective part and erodible zone. In the second step, an assembly of spherical grains is formed to model the soil structure. In the last step, potential subsurface erosion is calculated using a game theory. The use of this method requires an iterative calculation so a computer program is developed. The input data are particle size distribution and porosity of soil sample and the results are the probability of subsurface erosion, which is expressed by eroded grains volume and size.