Review on Numerical Simulation of the Internal Soil Erosion Mechanisms Using the Discrete Element Method
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors have presented a review on numerical simulation of internal soil erosion mechanisms. The review paper is interesting and relevant. However, more details are needed to improve the overall quality and readability of the paper. The following should be addressed in the revised paper.
(1) Since the focus of this review paper is on numerical simulation. The authors should consider changing the title of the paper to "Review on numerical simulation of the internal soil erosion mechanisms using the discrete element method"
(2) The abstract could be improved by including some more details.
(3) There are a lot of abbreviations used in this review paper. It will be useful if the authors included a nomenclature with all the abbreviations.
(4) The authors should include some key results from numerical simulations in this review paper. It will improve the overall quality of the paper.
(5) The conclusion section should be improved by providing an outlook on the future research directions.
Author Response
Dear reviewer:
Please see the attachment.
Yours sincerely,
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The work is well organized and understandable by the reader.
The review work appears appropriate and references are adequate.
On page 6, row 147, it could be useful reporting the definition of gap ratio before introducing this parameter.
Author Response
Dear reviewer:
We are thankful for your suggestion. The gap ratio is defined as the ratio of the diameter of the smallest coarse particle to the largest fine particle. We have incorporated the definition in the manuscript (line 158-159).
Yours sincerely,
Reviewer 3 Report
water-1061648-peer-review-v1
Title L 2-3
The Title is descriptive of the paper’s content
Abstract L 11-19
The Abstract describes the paper’s content adequately
- Introduction L 22-80
In L23-28 a literature survey on embankment dams failure due to erosion is in [1], a review and appraisal in [2], it exists even in cases of overtopping [3] and dam failure due to erosion is subject to early detection [4]. Causes damages in shield tunnels [5] and in dike foundations [6] as well. Erosion may be induced by the protective layer being stripped by sediment deposits [7] which are piled up by sediment transport [8]
- Fluid-particle coupled method in numerical simulations of internal erosion L81-135
An in-depth and encompassing analysis.
- Research on factors affecting internal erosion and its mechanism L136-365
Quite good and exhaustive work.
- Conclusions L366-383
Well written and exhaustive.
Recommendations
Minor changes
References
[1] H. Mattsson, J. G. I. Hellström, and T. S. Lundström, “ON INTERNAL EROSION IN EMBANKMENT DAMS: A literature survey of the phenomenon and the prospect to model it numerically,” 2008.
[2] B. A. Robbins and D. V. Griffiths, “Internal erosion of embankments: A review and appraisal,” Geotech. Pract. Publ., vol. 2018-Novem, no. GPP 12, pp. 61–75, 2018.
[3] J. Jandora and J. Říha, The failure of embankment dams due to overtopping, vol. 47, no. 2. 2009.
[4] A. A. Khan, V. Vrabie, Y.-L. Beck, J. I. Mars, and G. D’Urso, “Monitoring and early detection of internal erosion: Distributed sensing and processing,” Struct. Heal. Monit., vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 562–576, 2014.
[5] Z. Ye and H. Liu, “Modeling the Effects of Internal Erosion on the Structural Damage of a Shield Tunnel,” Int. J. Geomech., vol. 20, no. 6, p. 04020053, 2020.
[6] J. Yang, Z. Y. Yin, F. Laouafa, and P. Y. Hicher, “Internal erosion in dike-on-foundation modeled by a coupled hydromechanical approach,” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 663–683, 2019.
[7] L. Caldeira, “Internal Erosion in Dams: Studies and Rehabilitation,” Int. J. Civ. Eng., vol. 17, pp. 457–471, 2019.
[8] Zarris D., Lykoudi E., and Panagoulia D., Assessing the impacts of sediment yield on the sustainability of major hydraulic systems, Proceedings of the International Conference “Protection and Restoration of the Environment VIII”, Chania, 3 - 7 July 2006, Greece, 2006.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Dear reviewer:
We are thankful for your insightful comments on this manuscript. We have carefully read the references, which are helpful to improve the overall quality of the paper. The relevant references have been added in the literature review of the revised manuscript (line 31-42).
