Improvement of the Engineering Protection Systems of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve Territory

Abstract

Introduction. The territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra reserve is located in difficult engineering and geological conditions on the right-bank slopes of the Dnieper River valley and adjacent areas of the loess plateau. The stability and preservation of Lavra’s objects is ensured by special systems of engineering protection (retaining and water-regulating structures).
Problem Statement. Most of these structures were built in different periods and did not always have proper justification and configuration. With the development of the Reserve, the conditions have changed for their operation, thus, there is a need to review their effectiveness as protective structures and to improve them.
Purpose. Determination of feasibility, adequacy, efficiency, and condition of engineering protection systems of the Reserve to improve them and to prevent emergencies.
Materials and Methods. The scheme of engineering protection of the territory (scale 1:1000); the plan of the current state of the Reserve (scale 1:1000); data of engineering and geological surveys, historical and archaeological materials are used. To determine the condition of engineering protection objects, field observations have been carried out (installation of marks, photo fixation). To assess the stability of the Reserve, mechanical and mathematical principles of engineering geo logy have been used in conjunction with the approaches of system analysis and the theory of engineering and geological similarity.
Results. The landslides in this area have been established to be caused by active erosion of the right bank of the Dnieper River, significant amount of earthworks during the construction of the Pechersk fortress in the 17th–18th centuries, as well as by engineering structures that are inadequate to the scale and nature of geological processes and by their low efficiency.
Conclusions. Improvement of engineering protection systems implies raising the level of their maintenance, combining the maintenance works with the landscaping and gardening activities, establishing a monitoring system, and taking into consideration the seasonality and abnormality of hydrometeorological processes. The implementation of the obtained R&D results will raise the effectiveness of engineering protection systems for the protection and preservation of objects of the Reserve.