7/2/2013

Wolf Creek Dam

Barrier Wall Construction
Mr. Brook Brosi, PG
US Army Corps of Engineers
Mr. Lyndon Bedford & Mr. Pablo Bassola
Treviicos-Soletanche Joint Venture

DFI Slurry Wall Seminar

June 27, 2013

US Army Corps of Engineers

BUILDING STRONG

OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION
FOUNDATION PROBLEMS & PHOTOS
1970s GROUTING & WALL CONSTR.
SETUP FOR BARRIER WALL CONSTR
5-STEP BARRIER WALL
CONSTRUCTION
CONCLUSIONS

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INTRODUCTION

Wolf Creek Dam

Largest manmade reservoir east of the
Mississippi River.
Located in central-southern Kentucky.
Produces $77,000,000-per-year in
hydropower for treasury (2006).
Designed in the 1930s, built mostly in
1940s, Powerhouse completed in 1952.

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Location of Site

Wolf Creek Dam

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Embankment Plan

Toe of
Compacted
Fill

Cut Off Trench

Downward Slope of
Cut Off Trench
Drainage Blanket

Alluvium and Disposal

Embankment Profile

Elev. 773

Pool

Dam
Soil Foundation
Limestone Bedrock
5+00B

4+00B

3+00B

2+00B

Cutoff trench
1+00B

1+00A

2+00A

3+00A

4+00A

5+00A

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Detailed Geology of Site

Source: Kentucky Geological Survey

The Problem with Wolf Creeks

foundation:

KARST

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Foundation Treatment
Original
Construction
in 1940s
Cave

Cave
Solution Features

Original
Construction
in 1940s

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Core Trench

Approx New
Wall
Location

Original
Construction
in 1940s

Pinnacle

Original
Construction
in 1940s

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Original
Construction
in 1940s
Approx
New Wall
Alignment

Original
Construction
in 1940s

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FOUNDATION PROBLEMS
IN 1960S

Initial Distress Indicators

1967 - 1968

SWITCH
YARD

MUDDY
WATER
SHOW

WET AREAS
SINKHOLE 4-22-68 SINKHOLE
8-22-67

SINKHOLE 3-13-68

SPILLWAY

POWERHOUSE

Dam Embankment

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1968 Sinkhole
Switchyard

Sinkhole

LATE 1960S- EARLY1970S

EMERGENCY
GROUTING

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1960s/1970s Remedial Grouting

LAKE

Solution Features

Concrete Monoliths

Grout Lines

RIVER

1960s and 70s Remedial Grouting

Crest Grout Line

Wrap-Around Grout Lines

Concrete
Dam

Earth Emb
Grout Lines

Switchyard

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Geological Profile showing caves

20 ft

M
O
N
O
L
I
T
H

Drilling Grouting Summary

174,666 ft (53,273 m) of overburden
drilling
97,032 ft (29,595 m) of rock drilling
290,087 cu ft (8,214.3 m ) of injected
grout solids.

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1970S BARRIER WALL

CONSTRUCTION

Follow-Up
Two barrier walls installed in Wolf Creek
after grouting was completed.
One along Crest
One at down-stream toe

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1970s Barrier Wall Construction

36-Rock Drill ICOS Wall

Self-propelled topdrive drill platform

Full-face,
roller rock,
drill bit

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CURRENT BARRIER WALL

CONSTRUCTION

Project Geography
Working Platform
Contractor offices &
slurry plant area
Power house
USACE Resident office

Contractor Laydown

Disposal Area

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Layout of Wall

Technique Areas
Critical Areas
3800 linear feet total

THE REQUIREMENTS
Unit

Specification
Requirements

Barrier Wall Thickness (Minimum)

ft

Overlap between elements (Minimum)

ft

0.5

Concrete strength (Minimum)

psi

2000

Lugeon

Description

Permeability (Maximum)

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WALL CONSTRUCTION
SEQUENCE
5-STEP PROCESS

5 Step Process
1. Pre-Grouting (2 lines either side of wall
and intensive grouting in Critical Areas)
2. PCEW (Panel wall embedded to bedrock)
3. Pilot hole drilling (to full depth)
4. Secant pile excavation & Combined
barrier wall (to full depth)
5. Verification coring to confirm quality (on
selected elements)

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Installation of upstream /
downstream grout courtain
High mobility grouting (HMG) to treat the
rock more than 5 ft below TOR.
Low mobility grouting (LMG) designed to
treat the rock, soft zones of soil, and
weathered rock.
2,000 grout holes, most 325 ft deep.
Over 1,000,000 gallons of grout (3.7million
liters).

Composite Grout Programs

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Dam Remediation Methodology

3,800-l.ft Barrier Wall
550,000 sq.ft Protective Concrete Embankment
Wall (PCEW)
910,000 sq.ft Barrier Wall
Max depth 275-ft

Protective Concrete Embankment

Wall (PCEW)
Construction of a 6-ft wide concrete wall
from a working platform to a minimum of
2-ft below the top of the rock.
Installation of 433 primary and secondary
concrete panels.
Approx. 550,000 sq.ft of Protective
Concrete Embankment Wall (PCEW).

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PCEW Sequence
9-2
6 ft

5 min overlap

Embankment

Rock

Hydromill With Rock Teeth in Rock

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PCEW Deviation Monitoring

Panel report confirms panel position
in relation to theoretical

Onboard instrumentation allows for

real time monitoring of panel verticality
and twist during excavation

Directionally Drilled Pilot Holes

Installation of 8-inch diameter directionally
drilled pilot holes (DD), through the PCEW
and full depth into the rock reaching up to
282 ft depth.
Served as a guide for the installation of the
secant piles with minimal deviation.
Allow for additional investigation of
concrete/rock conditions below the top of
the rock.

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DRILL 8 GUIDE/EXPLORATORY HOLES

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Drill 8 guide/exploratory hole

through PCEW
Embankment

Guide/verticality control for secant

pile
Investigate rock condition at pile
location, grout if conditions dictate

Rock

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DD Overlap Analysis
Simulation of primary and secondary piles following pilot holes.
Starting point for pile installation

DD Deviation Charts
* More than 70% of the pilot holes installed reached a maximum
deviation of 2 to 3 inches at a depth of 282 ft.

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RCD Secant Piles

Installation of 50-inch diameter secant
piles, excavated through the PCEW and full
depth into the rock reaching up to a target
depth of 273 ft, using a Reverse Circulation
Drilling machine.
Sequence of primary and secondary piles.
1,197 secant piles installed, with only two
remedial piles required.

PRE-EXCAVATION 50 SECANT PILES

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RCD 50 OVERLAPPING SECANT PILES

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P S

Min. 2 Overlap reqd

Embankment

Rock

Protective Concrete Embankment

Wall (PCEW)

Hydromill excavation
Overlapping 6 x 9 panels
Number of Panels Complete 245/431
57% Complete

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RCD on board instrumentation

Pile Verticality Monitoring

Enparis verticality

Final Koden run

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Pile Overlap Analysis

Pile verticality information to produce 3D drawings for geometrical analysis

Pile Overlap Analysis

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Combined Barrier Wall Panels

Installation of a wall using a combination of
RCD piles and hydromill excavated panels.
50 Inches diameter piles and 9.2-ft x 2.6-ft
CBW panels.
52 combined barrier wall elements were
installed during the project.

Combined Barrier Wall Panels

50 dia. piles
9.2-ft x 2.6-ft CBW panels

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Wolf Creek Dam at construction peak

Deployment of equipment along

the alignment of the barrier wall

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PCEW Panel installation in CA#1

Barrier Wall Pile Installation in CA#1

Barrier
Secondary
Primary
Wall installed
Piles in Cave and Core Trench Area

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Verification Coring on selected

elements
179 verification holes were drilled on
selected elements to verify the concrete
quality, joint quality, the contact with the
underlying rock, and permeability.
Geological log, core photos, televiewer
survey, falling and rising head water test,
UCS test were performed to verify quality of
the barrier wall.

Concrete / Rock Contact

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Televiewer survey in vertical hole

Televiewer survey showing a joint between primary and secondary piles

Wall Completed!
Last pile placed on March 6th, 2013

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Results
Quality:
1,197 piles + 52 Combined Barrier Wall elements
installed with only 2 remedial piles, les than 0.2%.
Barrier wall thickness, overlap between elements,
concrete strength, and permeability requirements
met, if not exceeded.
Schedule:
Construction of the Barrier Wall 11 months ahead
of schedule.
Safety:
1.3 million hours without a lost time injury.

Wall Thickness Distribution

Piles

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Joint Overlap Distribution

Piles

Conclusions
Wolf Creek Dam had serious foundation
problems due to Karst
The Corps chose a Cutoff Wall as the
permanent foundation repair
Treviicos-Soletache used an innovative
method of wall construction
Treviicos-Soletache exceeded the Corps
requirements for the cutoff wall.

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Thank You for your Attention

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