Through variable reasons such as inappropriate material or compaction properties, embankments
and fill dams can be constructed with poor quality, which may lead to leakage through cracks or vulnerable places due to internal erosion or deterioration. Internal erosion is an important factor of safety management, which is almost half the reason for failure of embankments or fill dams. It is an essential factor to assess during design, construction and even maintenance work of hydraulic structures, thus there are many difficulties to systematically evaluate vulnerability due to such internal erosion.
Internal erosion and piping are a complex procedure which is very difficult to define through theoretical analysis. Therefore in this study, for behavior assessment purposes of infiltration through embankments or fill dams, we intend to comprehend the internal erosion characteristics of soil through application of hole erosion test.
