Monitoring Landfill Movements Using Precise Instruments

Abstract

Investigations of landfill movements usually consist of measurements of settlement at the ground surface. This project consisted of installing instruments inside vertical borings drilled through a landfill in order to monitor both vertical and horizontal movements at various depths. Following two years of monitoring the data suggests that vertical strain rates are independent of depth while horizontal movements on slopes are greatest near the surface and diminish with depth. No permanent displacements occurred during a magnitude 6.1 earthquake.

Environmental Impacts of Solid Waste Landfilling

“…Operational and load-related settlements typically constitute 5 to 30% of total settlement and occur during landfill operations or shortly after closure (Sowers, 1973;Edil et al, 1990). Long-term settlements due primarily to refuse decomposition can theoretically reach 40% of the original thickness (Cheyney, 1983;Emberton and Parker, 1987) and occur gradually for several years after closure at a continually decreasing rate (Dodt et al, 1987;Coduto and Huitric, 1990) depending on stabilization processes within the landfill. On average, settlement of about 15% of total landfill thickness is expected due to waste decomposition (Rao et al, 1977;Tang et al, 1994).…”

Investigation of the Geotechnical Properties of Municipal Solid Waste as a Function of Placement Conditions

“…Decomposition or biodegradation includes fermentation and decay and plays a major role in the amount of long term settlement of a waste mass, estimated between 18% and 24% of total waste mass thickness (Coduto and Huitric 1990). Waste settlement due to decomposition is commonly divided into the two stages of aerobic and anaerobic decomposition (Tchobanoglous et al 1993).…”

“…Numerous researchers have conducted field monitoring of waste settlement (Merz and Stone 1962, Coduto and Huitric 1990, El-Fadel and Al-Rashed 1998.…”

Geotechnical landfill monitoring — adaptations needed

“…On the other hand, the number of scientific publications on landfill monitoring is relatively scarce and most of them lack details about the equipment used, the installation methods implemented and the main difficulties or limitations encountered (Blengino et al, 1996;Coduto and Huitric, 1990;Gotteland et al, 1995;Gourc and Olivier, 2005;Jucá et al, 1998;Reddy, 2006;Ngambi et al, 2001;Sánchez-Alciturri et al, 1993;Zekkos, 2011Zekkos, , 2013.…”