Internal erosion (IE) refers to any process by which soil particles are eroded from within or beneath a water retaining structure. As half of embankment dam failures are caused by IE, it is an issue of major concern. Approaches for designing against IE have been well established for over 50 years; however, a large fraction of existing embankments are still vulnerable to erosion. This paper presents a review of the four distinct types of IE, the general process of IE failures from initiation to breach, methods for designing against IE, and the current state of the art with regard to evaluating IE potential. For each IE mechanism, deficiencies in the current state of the art are identified, and new research directions are proposed for advancing engineering practice.
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