Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States. It resulted in catastrophic loss of life and left thousands without homes. Levee breaches surrounded the city of New Orleans as a result of the massive storm surge. Many levee failures occurred including the 17 th Street Canal, Industrial Canal, London Avenue Canal, and the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC). This report focuses on investigating the mode of failure of the south breach on the east bank of the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal. Computer software Seep/W and Slope/W from Geostudio were used to estimate levee transient flow and critical stability case using Spencer’s rigorous method. Results indicate that piping failure mechanism did not occur as computed hydraulic gradients were lower than the critical value. Furthermore, factor of safety against semirotation...

The world, research on the use of bamboo as a concrete reinforcement has achieved an improvement in reducing water absorption. However, no better adherence has been achieved between these elements. Therefore, the objective of this research was to propose other alternative treatments to the bamboo surface to improve adhesion efforts with concrete. Initially, physical and mechanical tests were carried out to determine the characteristics of the bamboo used. Subsequently, adherence tests were continued, for which specimens were made (4 “x8” concrete specimens embedded in their interior and at different depths bamboo slats waterproofed with RC-250 liquid asphalt). The slats were smooth and ribbed with a medium sand attachment. Then the bond strength values were determined. Finally, bamboo-reinforced beams were made which were subjected to bending tests. The results showed a better perfor...