Seismic stability analyses of reinforced tapered landfill cover systems considering seepage forces

One of the most common and economical methods for waste disposal is landfilling. The landfill cover system is one of the main components of landfills which prevents waste exposure to the environment by creating a barrier between the waste and the surrounding environment. The stability and integrity of the landfill cover system is a fundamental part of the design, construction, and maintenance of landfills. A reinforced tapered landfill cover system can be considered as a practical method for improving its stability; however, the simultaneous effects of seismic and seepage forces in the reinforced tapered landfill cover system have not been studied. The current paper provides a solution based on the limit equilibrium method in order to evaluate the stability of a reinforced tapered landfill cover system under seismic and seepage (both horizontal and parallel seepage force patterns) loading conditions. The proposed analytical approach is applied to different design cases through parametric study and the obtained results are compared to those derived from literature. Parametric study is performed to illustrate the sensitivity of the safety factor (FS) to the different design parameters. The obtained results reveal that parameters which describe the geometry have limited effects on the stability of the landfill cover system in comparison to the rest of the studied design parameters. Moreover, the comparisons between the derived results and available methods demonstrate good agreement between obtained findings with those reported in the literature.