Observation et prédiction d'une brèche de rupture dans une digue submergée

The failure of a submerged dyke is very often due to the erosion of the materials that form the work. The erosion process continues until a hydro-geotechnical equilibrium is developed between the spillover and the dyke. An experimental laboratory study of a submerged dyke is presented in this article to describe and analyse this erosion process, as well as its consequences. A method predicting the resulting breach, based on a new hydro-sedimentological model ERODE, has been applied on the test dyke, and encouraging results have been found regarding the progression and the stabilisation of the phenomenon.Key words: submerged dyke, breach, discharge at failure, erosion, prediction.[Journal translation]