Methodological approach for the static and seismic stability analysis of the Po river banks

The Po River is the major Italian watercourse, controlled with embankments along half its length. The Italian Government has recently funded a number of activities aimed at the seismic hazard control, including the evaluation of the seismic stability of about 90 km of embankments of the Po river. The paper describes the methodology developed in order to identify a number of significant sections, their geotechnical models and the consequent static and seismic stability analyses. The vast database coming from hundreds of geotechnical investigations within the study area is described. Local seismic hazard and effects of site conditions on the ground motion have been taken into account in the definition of the expected seismic action. The safety conditions of the embankments in static and seismic conditions are investigated as a function of the soil parameters variability and considering various relevant river water levels. Eventually, a methodology aimed at to developing stability maps of the investigated area based on the data spatial variability is described.