Two basically different multibarrier concepts for high-level radioactive waste (HLW) are the often cited KBS-3 V/H concepts, for isolating nuclear waste at 400-600 m depth and Very Deep Boreholes concepts (VDH) for placement at 2000-4000 m depth. Both make use of expandable clay as isolating medium of canisters with HLW and as backfill material in shafts and tunnels in repositories for safe disposal of such waste. This licentiate thesis is based on three papers related to the properties of clays for use as engineered barriers, and to their performance at geological disposal. The first paper deals with the buffer criteria for the two disposal concepts. In this paper the possibilities and limitations of using clays of montmorillonite-, saponite- and mixed layer clay type are considered. The second paper discusses the swelling property and permeability of Na-montmorillonite clays (MX-80, GMZ) and illite-smectite mixed layer clay (Holmehus) saturated and percolated by distilled water and a salt solution. The third paper describes a lab-scale performance of VDH holes sealing using Holmehus clay. In this paper, methods for solving the problem of too quick hydration of the dense clay are investigated and evaluated.

Every winter die statistically, two to three Swedes in avalanche accidents. Approximately eight out of ten are killed abroad even though only one out of eight Swedes skis outside Sweden. Swedes seem to die in a greater extent than other nationalities abroad. It is not possible to find similar trends in other nationalities mortality in avalanche accidents in skiing abroad.Why do Swedes die in a greater extent than other nationalities when skiing abroad? The overarching question is broken down into two parts. Firstly which are the Swedish off-piste skier’s individual abilities to handle avalanche risk? Secondly how does the domestic knowledge and communication environment look like with respect to avalanche risk?No previous studies have addressed the relationship between individual and contextual factors on management of avalanche risk in a foreign environment. Possible causes of avalanche accidents are described in the literature, with a focus on individual factors.Four studies were conducted to describe the Swedish off-piste skier's individual and contextual factors associated with the handling avalanche risk. The first study was a web-based questionnaire about the experience, knowledge, attitude to risk, and more. The second study was a statistical analysis of the Swedish public avalanche danger ratings during ten years. The third study was a literature review of Swedish avalanche literature from 1943 onwards. The last and fourth study was an online survey with questions about access, quality and relevance, and more with regard to Swedish avalanche communication.The various studies were triangulated with respect to data and methodology in relation to a number of research questions, formulated on the basis of the relationship between perception and preparation on one hand and the experience and trust on the other. The results showed a consistent picture of both individual, and contextual variables. The studies describe Swedish off-piste skiers as experienced, trained, prepared and risk aware. The contextual study showed that the Swedish public avalanche communication is of autonomous nature, hard to find, mostly irrelevant and of uncertain quality and origin.Overall, this work has revealed a possible explanation model that needs to be explored in more detail with respect to how the Swedish off-piste skier's mental models can be described and how Swedish public communication about avalanches should be changed to reduce future mortality abroad among Swedish off-piste skiers. / Varje vinter dör statistiskt sätt två till tre svenskar i lavinolyckor. Cirka åtta och tio förolyckas utomlands trots att bara en av åtta svenskar åker skidor utanför Sverige. Svenskar verkar förolyckas i större omfattning utomlands än andra nationaliteter. Det går inte heller att hitta liknande tendenser i andra nationaliteters mortalitet i lavinolyckor vid skidåkning utomlands. Varför dör svenskar i större omfattning än andra nationaliteter utomlands? Denna övergripande fråga bryts ned i två delfrågor. Dels hur ser svenska offpiståkares individuella förutsättningar att hantera lavinrisk ut? Dels hur ser den inhemska kunskaps- och kommunikationsmiljön ut med avseende på lavinrisk?Inga tidigare studier har berört sambandet mellan individuella och kontextuella faktorers påverkan på hantering på lavinrisk i en utländsk miljö. Tänkbara orsaker till lavinolyckor finns beskrivit i litteraturen, med fokus på individuella faktorer. För att beskriva svenska offpiståkares individuella och kontextuella faktorer med avseende på hantering av lavinrisk genomfördes fyra studier. Den första studien var en webbaserad enkät med frågor om erfarenhet, kunskap, attityd till risk med mera. Den andra studien var en statistisk analys av offentlig svensk kommunikation av lavinfara under tio år. Den tredje studien var en litteraturstudie av svensk lavinlitteratur från 1943 och framåt. Den sista och fjärde studien var en webbaserad enkät med frågor om tillgänglighet, kvalitet och relevans med mera med avseende på svensk lavinriskkommunikation. De olika studierna triangulerades med avseende på data och metod i förhållande till ett antal forskningsfrågor, formulerade utifrån sambanden mellan perception och förberedelser å ena sidan samt erfarenhet och förtroende på den andra. Resultaten visade på en enhetlig bild av dels individuella, dels kontextuella variabler. Studierna beskriver en svensk offpiståkare som erfaren, utbildad, förberedd och riskmedveten. Den kontextuella studien visade på den svenska offentliga lavinriskkommunikationen som; av autonom karaktär, svår att finna, oftast irrelevant och av osäker kvalitet och ursprung. Sammantaget har arbetet visat på en tänkbar förklaringsmodell som behöver utforskas närmare med avseende på hur svenska offpiståkares mentala modeller ser ut och hur svensk offentlig kommunikation om lavinrisk bör förändras för att framtiden minska mortaliteten utomlands bland svenska offpiståkare.

The global trend towards a warmer climate and temperatures near or just above 0 °C during winter months, will most likely be more common in future. One of the consequences of this climate change could, in a worst-case scenario, be freezing and thawing over a significant part of the winter with corresponding road bearing capacity problems. Bearing capacity problems may lead to increased costs to society when heavy traffic is forced to change route or carry less weight. In addition, road maintenance costs will increase. According to pulp industry calculations, this industry sector will face additional costs in the range of 510-590 Million SEK every year due to road bearing capacity problems. In addition to this, the costs related to the rapidly growing bio fuel industry will be added. If a reliable forecast of load-bearing capacity problems and potential load restrictions on roads can be found, it would be cost effective for road administration and society. This text presents the content of the licentiate work is presented and in what report more information could be found. One aspect of frost damage on roads that is highlighted in the thesis is decision making when conducting a road inventory. In a study conducted within the licentiate work it was shown that the results from different actors performing frost inventory on the same road stretch can vary a lot. There should be efforts made to reduce the individual dependence when performing a road inventory. The main part of the licentiate work deals with a model for the prediction of bearing capacity problems on roads. The work gives an idea of the possibility to use the temperature based model used in Minnesota, USA in Sweden. The evaluation is done by comparing falling weight deflectometer (FWD) test results with the results from the temperature based forecast model. When comparing the FWD results: AREA-parameter and subgrade modulus with results from the Minnesota model, the subgrade modulus seems to have the greatest agreement with the forecast model. However, they both seem to show the overall development of low bearing capacity during thaw. The overall conclusion about the temperature based forecast model is that it seems to give fairly good results and work well. It will work better if it can be further calibrated but it has some flaws if the temperature seesaws around 0 °C. The forecast model should, despite this, be able to assist road holders in Sweden as a planning tool, when dealing with bearing capacity problems during thaw. / Den globala tendensen är ett varmare klimat och att temperaturer nära eller strax över 0 °C under vinterhalvåret blir allt vanligare. En av klimatförändringens konsekvenser skulle i ett "värsta-fall-scenario" kunna bli tjällossning under en betydande del av vintern, med följande bärförmågeproblem på vägarna. Detta leder till ökade samhällsekonomiska kostnader då tung trafik tvingas lasta mindre eller ändra rutt (tidsförlust) och ökade underhållskostnader för sönderkörda vägar. Skogsindustrin beräknades 2008 ha merkostnader på 510-590 miljoner kronor per år på grund av bärförmågeproblem enligt egna beräkningar. Till denna summa tillkommer merkostnader för den snabbt ökande biobränsleindustrin. Genom att kunna prognostisera bärförmågeproblem vid tjällossningen skulle lastrestriktioner läggas i rätt tid och väghållar- och användarkostnader minskas.Ett enkelt mätetal kopplat till bärförmågan kan användas för att prognostisera när och hur länge vägen har bärförmågeproblem, alltså när lastrestriktioner bör appliceras för att vara mest kostnadseffektivt. En fullt fungerande prognosmodell skulle också kunna minska behovet av fallviktsmätningar och okulära besiktningar vid införandet av lastrestriktioner.I denna sammanhållande text presenteras innehållet i licentiatarbetets olika delar och var den beskrivna informationen som helhet går att finna. En aspekt av tjälskador på väg som belyses i arbetet är beslutsfattandet vid tjälinventeringar. Tjälinventeringar ligger till grund för åtgärdsplaneringen och det är därför viktigt att de utförs korrekt. En delrapport i licentiatavhandlingen visar att tjälinventeringar utförda av olika aktörer på samma vägsträcka kan skilja mycket. Det finns ett värde i att minska individberoendet vid tjälinventeringar.Huvuddelen av arbetet behandlar en modell för prognos av bärförmågeproblem på vägar som används i Minnesota, USA. Modellen använder temperatur som nyckeltal och har testats på en vägsträcka belägen cirka 7 km utanför Luleå. Temperatur- och fallviktsdata hade tidigare samlats in på teststräckan. Insamlad data användes för att utföra en analys av vägens bärförmåga och hur den förändras under tjällossningen. Temperaturdata användes i "Minnesotamodellen" och jämfördes med utvärderade parametrar från fallviktsmätningarna. Vid en jämförelse mellan AREA-parametern, undergrundsmodulen och "Minnesotamodellen" ger undergrundsmodulen och "Minnesotamodellen" den bästa överensstämmelsen.Prognosmodellens grundidé fungerar på den testade vägsträckan. Prognosmodellen har utvecklingsmöjligheter som fortfarande inte är undersökta. Modellen borde i framtiden kunna användas som ett översiktligt planeringsverktyg vid bärförmågeproblem kopplade till tjällossningen.

Tigris and Euphrates rivers represent the artery of life in Iraq. Tigris River rises from Turkey and flows toward the southeast to enter Iraq. It drains a catchment area of 473 100 km² of which about 58% lies in Iraq. In this study the reach, about 50 km long, of the river inside Baghdad was been studied. It starts at Al-Muthana Bridge and ends at Tigris-Diyala River confluence. Generally, the river reach is part of an alluvial plain, single channel and meandering. The bed material of the river is composed mainly of fine sand and small portion of silt and clay. Other significant features of the reach are the growing islands and bank depositions. Recently water resources of Iraq are negatively affected by climatic changes and the huge water projects in the riparian countries. As a result, the flow of Tigris River at Baghdad city has significantly decreased where the average monthly flow is 520 m³/s for the period 2000-2012 which represents about 50% reduction compared to previous periods. The estimated trend for the average monthly discharges is a reduction of 5.4 % during the last 23 years. Low flow and low water levels have enhanced the water to erode the banks below its protected part. This might affect the future stability of the banks. The drop of the river discharge together with debris from the last wars in 1991 and 2003 enhanced the growing of islands in the river. In this research, changes in the morphology of Tigris River within Baghdad are to be investigated and the causes will be highlighted in order to take the right measures to restore the river system. This is a first step toward studying the hydrological characteristics of the reach. One-dimensional gradually varied flow model, using HEC-RAS, was applied to examine the flood capacity and the possibilities of inundation of the banks. The geometry of the river was represented by the findings from the river survey of 2008. Additional data about the locations and dimensions of the bridges were supplied to the model. The average monthly discharge at Sarai Baghdad for the years 2000-2012 was assumed as the base flow. A range of different scenarios were examined by increasing the discharges in order to determine the critical discharge that may cause inundation. Model calibration was achieved by adjusting the Manning’s roughness coefficient for an observed water surface profile along the lowest part of the reach. The associated error with the computed water surface profiles was in order 0.026m. Additional water level observations at Sarai Baghdad were used for verification purposes. It was found that the discharges higher than 2700 m3/s could cause partial inundation in some areas in the northern part of the reach and these areas extend to approximately 9 km for discharges greater than 3500 m3/s. The southern part of the reach is still safe from inundation for discharges below 3500 m3/s. The slope of water surface profile varies from 6.03 to 10 cm/km for discharges between 400 and 4000 m3/s respectively. In this study, a field survey was conducted between May, 2012 and January, 2013. It involved the installation of 25 bench marks, surveying the upper river banks (from the crest of the stony protection to the water surface) and 250 cross sections. Three kinds of samples were collected at this stage work: (i) river bed material, (ii) suspended load samples and (iii) bed loads samples. Hydraulic measurements were conducted and included water surface elevations, water depths at sampling points, water discharges and transversal velocities. Water temperature and other environmental measurements were also conducted. Particle size distribution, specific gravity and concentration of suspended sediment were executed in the laboratory for the collected samples.

Mechanical properties of snow have been a subject of research since the mid-20th century. Theresearch done is based on natural snow. During the last decades the winter business industryhas been growing and also the interest for constructing buildings and artwork of snow. Suchconstructions are generally built using artificial snow, i.e. snow produced by snow guns. Up tothe present constructions of snow are designed based on knowledge by experience. Only minorscientific studies on artificial snow and its properties has been published. Hence it is ofimportance to investigate material properties for artificial snow.A survey of current state of the art knowledge of properties for natural snow was done andbasic material properties for different qualities of artificial snow were investigated. Strengthand deformation properties for artificial snow were evaluated through uniaxial compressivetests where cylindrical test specimens were subjected to different constant deformation rates.The results show that artificial snow at low deformation rates will have a plastic deformationbehavior where the initial deformation will cause a hardening of the snow structure. At higherdeformation rates brittle failure may occur. For artificial snow with a homogeneous and finegrained structure the deformation behavior was found to change from plasticity to brittleness ata certain critical deformation rate. Artificial snow with coarse grained structure was found to bebrittle giving unstructured results independent of the load level.Four point loading was applied on beams of artificial snow to study creep deformation, bendingstrength and to determine the ultimate load for the different snow qualities. The results showedcoarse grained artificial snow underwent relatively small creep deformations. Both the creepbehavior and the ultimate strength varied randomly at the same applied load. Large plasticdeformations were observed with the fine grained artificial without any failure of the beams.The ultimate load was relatively high and repeatable results were achieved for all test.Previous presumptions that coarse grained artificial snow with high density would have highstrength and were not confirmed by the experiments performed on different qualities ofartificial snow. The performed tests indicate that fine grained artificial snow of lower densityhave more predictable strength properties of equally high or higher magnitude as for coarsegrained artificial snow. The plastic deformations were however higher for the fine grainedartificial snow. High deformations are not favorable for structures which should maintain theshape during the winter season. When designing constructions of snow both strength anddeformation properties should be taken into account.

In this licentiate thesis is presented the work and the results of the construction of two testembankments on sulphide soils at the test field in Lampen outside the city of Kalix next to thenew rail road Haparandabanan.The main purpose of the licentiate thesis work was to improve the knowledge of compressionproperties of sulphide soils, with focus on the creep properties. Another aim was to establish atest field with extensive instrumented test embankments where settlements and pore pressurescan be measured during many decades.The work with the test embankments has included instrumentation and construction as well asmeasurements of deformations, pore water pressures and soil temperatures. Fieldinvestigations of the properties of the sulphide soil have been performed mainly by CPTsounding,field vane test and Swedish piston sampling. An extensive program of laboratorytests, mainly through oedometer tests, both incremental loading and constant rate of strain,permeability tests and undrained direct simple shear tests, was conducted for thedetermination of compression and strength properties. In this work a literature review wasperformed with the subject sulphide soils and focusing on compression properties. A firstsimple one-dimensional calculation of the total settlements of the test embankments wascarried out regarding the magnitude and the time dependency.The instrumentation and the construction of the test embankments have been carefullyplanned and were carried out as planned. The different measuring equipment as settlementhoses, bellow hoses, settlement gauges and inclinometers, which are installed in theembankments and the underlying sulphide soil to measure deformations in the soil, overallhas given the expected values and the behaviour can be explained by theories of soilmechanics. The pore pressure responses in the underlying sulphide soil are related to theapplied load caused by the mass of the embankments and the effective stresses in the soil. Theresults of the pore pressure measurements are comparable with previous experiences of thebehaviour of load testing on fine-grained soils.Many oedometer tests, incremental loading and constant rate of strain (CRS), have beenperformed to study the compression properties of the sulphide soil and to evaluate differentparameters. It has been possible to identify and evaluate the preconsolidation pressure fromall the CRS oedometer tests, which indicates a good quality of the soil samples, .i.e. a wellperformed piston sampling and following handling of the soil samples. In comparisonbetween the two different oedometer tests, incremental loading and constant rate of strain, thefirst one gave a slightly higher value of evaluated preconsolidation pressure.From the incremental loading tests the creep parameters, , and , were evaluated andthey indicate that the values of these parameters in the sulphide soil from Lampen are slightlyhigher than the previous experiences of sulphide soils have shown. This implies that it can berelatively large differences in creep properties between different sites with sulphide soils andthat incremental loading tests should be performed in the cases when creep settlements are ofinterestThe total calculated settlements of the two embankments in Lampen after 50 years arebetween 1.12 and 1.35 m, with the heights 1.5 m and 2.0 m respectively of the embankments The performed measurements of the settlements showed at the time for the latestmeasurements, i.e. 420 days after the start of the construction of the embankments, that thelargest measured settlements of the ground surface were between 0.34 and 0.38 m. Incomparison with the calculated results, these values were slightly higher, since thecalculations for the same time give settlements in the order of 0.26 to 0.30 m.In this work an extensive experimental basis for the future has been created for compressionproperties including creep properties of the investigated types of sulphide soils, withapplications to settlement calculations of embankments. / I denna licentiatuppsats redovisas arbetet med och resultaten av uppbyggnaden av två provbankar på sulfidjord vid nya provfältet i Lampen strax utanför Kalix intill nya Haparandabanan.Huvudsyftet med licentiatarbetet var att förbättra kunskapen om sulfidjordars kompressionsegenskaper med fokus på krypegenskaper. Ett annat syfte var att etablera ett provfält med väl instrumenterade provbankar där sättningar och portryck kan följas upp under många årtionden.Arbetet med själva provbankarna har omfattat instrumentering och byggande samt mätningar av deformationer, porvattentryck och jordtemperaturer. Fältundersökningar av sulfidjordens egenskaper har utförts huvudsakligen genom CPT-sondering, vingförsök och kolvprovtagning. Ett omfattande program med laboratorieförsök innehållande bl.a. stegvisa ödometerförsök, CRS-försök, krypförsök, permeabilitetsförsök och odränerade direkta skjuvförsök, har utförts för bestämning av kompressions- och hållfasthetsegenskaper. I arbetet har ingått en litteraturstudie av sulfidjordar med fokus på kompressionsegenskaper. En första enkel endimensionell beräkning har genomförts av provbankarnas sättningar avseende storlek och tidsförlopp.Instrumenteringen och byggnationen av provbankarna har efter noggranna förberedelser utförts som planerat. De olika mätutrustningarna som horisontalslangar, bälgslangar, markpeglar, skruvpeglar och inklinometrar, vilka är installerade i bankarna och underliggande sulfidjord för att mäta rörelser (deformationer) i jorden, har överlag gett mätvärden som är i förväntad storleksordning och vars beteenden kan förklaras med jordmekaniska teorier. Portrycksresponsen i den underliggande sulfidjorden är kopplad till pålagd last orsakad av bankarna och effektivspänningsförhållandena i fält. Resultaten från portrycksmätningarna är jämförbara med tidigare erfarenheter från belastningsförsök på finkorniga jordar.Ett stort antal CRS-försök och stegvisa ödometerförsök har utförts för att studera kompressionsegenskaper och utvärdera olika parametrar hos sulfidjorden. Det har varit möjligt att utvärdera förkonsolideringstrycket från samtliga CRS-försök, vilket tyder på en bra provkvalitet dvs. en väl utförd kolvprovtagning och efterföljande provhantering. Vid en jämförelse mellan CRS-försöken och stegvisa ödometerförsöken gav de senare ett något högre värde på förkonsolideringstrycket.Från de stegvisa ödometerförsöken har krypparametrarna, ... , och ,... , utvärderats och de visar att för sulfidjorden i Lampen är värdena på dessa parametrar något högre än vad tidigare erfarenheter av sulfidjord har visat. Detta visar att det kan vara relativt stora skillnader i krypegenskaper mellan olika lokaler med sulfidjord och att stegvisa ödometerförsök bör utföras i de fall krypsättningar är av intresse.De totala beräknade sättningarna efter 50 år är för de två provbankarna i Lampen mellan 1,12 - 1,35 m, med bankhöjderna 1,5 m respektive 2,0 m. De utförda uppföljningsmätningarna visade vid det senaste mättillfället, dvs. 420 dygn efter påbörjad uppfyllnad av bankarna, att de största uppmätta sättningarna av den ursprungliga markytan var mellan 0,34 – 0,38 m. I en jämförelse med de beräknade resultaten var dessa något större, då beräkningarna efter samma tidpunkt ger sättningar i storleksordningen 0,26 – 0,30 m. Ett omfattande experimentellt underlag för framtiden har tagits fram avseende kompressionsegenskaper inklusive krypegenskaper hos aktuella typer av sulfidjordar med tillämpning på sättningsberäkningar av bankar.

Particle shape of soil aggregates is known to influence several engineering properties; such as the internal friction angle, the permeability, etc. Even if this is known, there has been only minor progress in explaining the processes behind its performance and has only partly implemented in practical geotechnical analysis. Previously shape classification of aggregates has mainly been performed by ocular inspection and e.g. by sequential sieving. In geotechnical analysis has been a lack of an objective and rational methodology to classify shape properties by quantitative measures. The image analysis, as quantitative methodology, is tested and it is investigated how the results are affected by resolution, magnification level and type of shape describing quantity. Tailings as a part of granular materials need to be stored safely in facilities and for a long time perspective a good knowledge of current and future materials properties is needed. Tailings are site specific and not well investigated compare to natural geological materials. There also is a need of prognosis tools for long term behavior. Based on laboratory test tailings from Aitik mine has been investigated through triaxial test and particle shape (using two dimensions image analysis).The overview has shown that there is no agreement on the usage of the descriptors and is not clear which descriptor is the best. The resolution in the processed image needs to be considered since it influences descriptors such as e.g. the perimeter. Recent development in image analysis processing has opened up for classification of particles by shape. The interpreted results show that image analysis is a promising methodology for particle shape classification. Results are affected by the image acquisition procedure, the image processing, and the choice of quantity, there is a need to establish a methodology to ensure the objectivity in the particle shape classification. A comparison between laboratory shear strength tests of the analysed tailings material and previously published empirical relationships between shape and friction angle indicates that the minimum quantity value have the shortest difference between obtained data and expected results.

Waterfront-soil slopes are exposed to water-level fluctuations originating from either natural sources, e.g. extreme weather and tides, or from human activities such as watercourse regulation for irrigation, freshwater provision, hydropower production etc. Slope failures and bank erosion is potentially getting trees and other vegetation released along with bank landslides. When floating debris is reaching hydropower stations, there will be immediate risks of adverse loading on constructions, and clogging of spillways; issues directly connected to as well energy production as dam safety.The stability of a soil slope is governed by slope geometries, stress conditions, and soil properties. External water loading, pore-pressure changes, and hydrodynamic impact from water flow are factors being either influencing, or completely governing the actual soil properties. As a part of this study, knowledge concerning water-level fluctuations has been reviewed; sources, geotechnical effects on slopes, and approaches used for modelling, have been focused. It has been found a predominance of research focused on coastal erosion, quantification of sediment production, bio-environmentallyissues connected to flooding, and effects on embankment dams subjected to rapid drawdown. Though, also water-level rise has been shown to significantly influence slope stability. There seems to be a need for further investigations concerning effects of rapidly increased water pressures, loss of negative pore pressures, retrogressive failure development, and long-term effects of recurring rise-drawdown cycling.Transient water flow within soil structures affects pore-pressure conditions, strength, and deformation behavior of the soil. This in turn does potentially lead to soil-materialmigration, i.e. erosion. This process is typically considered in the context of embankment dams. Despite the effects of transient water flow, the use of simple limitequilibrium methods for slope analysis is still widely spread. Though, improved accessibility of high computer capacity allows for more and more advanced analyses to be carried out. In addition, optimized designs and constructions are increasingly demanded, meaning less conservative design approaches being desired. This is not atleast linked to economic as environmental aspects. One non-conservative view ofslope-stability analysis regards consideration of negative pore pressures in unsaturated soils. In this study, three different approaches used for hydro-mechanical coupling in FEM-modelling of slope stability, were evaluated. A fictive slope consisting of a wellgraded postglacial till was exposed to a series of water-level fluctuation cycles. Modelling based on classical theories of dry/fully saturated soil conditions, was put against two more advanced approaches with unsaturated-soil behavior considered. In the classical modelling, computations of pore-pressures and deformations were run separately, whereas the advanced approaches did allow for computations of porepressures and deformation to be fully coupled. The evaluation was carried out by comparing results concerning stability, vertical displacements, pore pressures, flow, and model-parameter influence. It was found that the more advanced approaches used did capture variations of pore pressures and flow to a higher degree than did the classical, more simple approach. Classical modelling resulted in smaller vertical displacements and smoother porepressure and flow developments. Flow patterns, changes of soil density governed by suction fluctuations, and changes of hydraulic conductivity, are all factors governing as well water-transport (e.g. dissipation of excess pore pressures) as soil-material transport(e.g. susceptibility to internal erosion to be initiated and/or continued). Therefore, the results obtained underline the strengths of sophisticated modelling.

The dust generated from mining activities in the mining area is an important environmental issue for modern mining industries with many environmental problems involved. Number of researcher worked on small dust particle transport, but few work related to the coarser dust particles with 10 to 100 micro meters diameters had been made despite the fact that coarser dust transport have significant influence on the human lives (e.g. dust deposit on the residential area nearby, and mining facilities which may bring commercial and safety problem to the people living close by and the mine operators). More complaints from the residents and the workers deserve such research work.The research on dust transport is aiming to track how dust transport and deposit around the mining area and its interrelationship with local climate and topographic conditions. The modeling work is based on some fluid sediment transport dynamic models, with 1D, 2D and 3D when the research steps go further on. The models illustrate the transport progress and the amount transported by the wind. A case study from Malmberget mine in northern Sweden has been made in 2010.The dust characteristic information was obtained from laboratory work in LTU, and local climate information was supplied by the SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute). Two transport models were developed and applied here: One is the computational model based upon the classical Bagnold’s (1941) equation; and the other one is the simulation model based upon the sedimentation engineering work from Al-Ansari (1976). The computational model calculates dust retention time for estimating the amount of dust transport in certain time period with provided wind and dust characteristic information. The simulation model used simple sediment transport model to simulate the dust grain movement in air flow, and conclude the transport amount of dust. Both models were enhanced by Matlab GUI to simplify the calculation procedure. The comparison of the results from the two models gave the similar variations and estimation of the transport amount for the given data. With more modification methods the models are expected to be more accurate. The application of the model is aiming to be enlarged to snow particles with changed criteria, 2D and 3D models would be designed in the future work to obtain the better results.

Iraq depends on the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates for its water resources. Recently the flow of these rivers decreased drastically. In view of this situation the true storage capacity of the dams are to be evaluated to ensure prudent water resources management strategies. In this research, the biggest hydraulic structure in Iraq, Mosul Dam Reservoir, was studied to evaluate its present storage capacity.Mosul dam reservoir is located on the River Tigris in the north of Iraq, 60 km north-west Mosul city. The dam is a multipurpose project for irrigation, flood control and hydropower generation. The storage capacity of its reservoir is 11.11×109 m3 and water surface area is 380 km2 at the maximum operation level 330 m.a.s.l. The dam was operated on July 24th, 1986 and no survey had been conducted to determine its storage capacity since that time. A pre-construction topographic map for the studied area scale 1: 50000 dated 1983 was converted to a triangular irregular network (TIN) format using “Arc/GIS software version 9.3”. The TIN was used to establish the stage-area and stage-storage capacity curves before dam construction. The resultant curves were compared with the adopted operational curves. The results of this comparison showed that the percentage difference was 4.0% and 7.7% for stage-storage capacity and stage-water surface area curves respectively.Mosul reservoir was surveyed to find out the reduction in its storage capacity and to develop new operational curves. The survey was performed over 12 days from May 15th to June 3rd, 2011 using to “Echo sounder sonar viewer type Sea Charter 480DF” linked to a “Real-Time Kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK-GPS)”. The bathymetric survey results indicated that the reduction in the storage capacity of the reservoir due to sediment deposition during the operating period was 1.143×109 m3. This represents 14.73% of the total storage capacity and the reduction in the live storage and dead storage was 11.8% and 19.62% respectively. Likewise, the survey suggested new operational curves for Mosul dam reservoir. The survey showed that most of the sedimentation was in the upper zone of the reservoir and gradually decreased towards the dam.