INTRODUCTION

Engineering Responsibility
An Engineer's responsibility is to safety. They must act with integrity giving due
consideration to the purpose of the project and the ultimate effects of the project on
fellow human beings.

At the same time the Engineers are responsible to the community for the cost of the
structure. There is always a limit to the finance, so any cut in cost must not sacrifice
safety.

The Engineers also carries a legal responsibility, and are responsible at all times for
both what they do and what they say.

Consequences of Failure

Failure happens with fearful rapidity and usually without little warning, with the
potential to cause a national catastrophe.

When the Oros Dam failed in Brazil in March 1960, between 30 and 50 people were
lost and 100 000 people were evacuated, some 730 million cubic metres of water were
released in 34 hours with a peak flow of 9600 cubic metres per second.

Statistics - Classification of Risk according to Gruner

45% Hydraulic Conditions

30% Type of Structure amd Construction
7% Geology
6% Environment
6% Consequences

Table based on International Commission on Large Dams 1965 report.

Number of incidents
Arch Buttress Gravity Earthfill Rockfill Misc Total
Exploration 9 5 6 49 2 1 72
Material 1 - 2 8 - - 11
Layout - 1 4 17 3 - 25
 Design 4 6 13 48 3 2 76
Construction 1 1 2 32 5 - 41
Operation - - - 5 1 - 6
Supervision 1 1 - 3 - - 5
Total 16 14 27 162 14 3 236

Water Resources - National and International

Water is probably Man's most vital commodity; its optimum utilization will be of
prime importance in our expanding civilisation. Planning is therefore essential on a
geographically wide scale and over a long period of time. The greatest obstacle is
usually the unavailability of finance for comprehensive investigations.

It would be desirable from the engineering viewpoint to start development high up in

a river and then progress downstream. This would improve quality and gradually
increasing control of the river would facilitate and lower the cost of the downstream
stages. However there is usually less potential, difficult access and hence construction
costs are higher, and therefore the benefit to cost ratio is generally lower.

For example the Hoover Dam, used to prevent floods, generate electricty and provide
irrigation has two mighty spillways, which due to subsequent development upstream
will probably never be used. Such occurences are unavoidable when only part of a
river system is developed, i.e. when the economy requires the 'best' damsites be
exploited first.

On a larger scale the major rivers of the world often form international boundaries or
they rise in one country and flow through several others. International agreements
may exist between countries with regards the usage of the river for example. For the
satisfactory allocation of costs a basic programme for the full development of the river
basin must be evolved and accepted.

Reservoir Utilisation
Single Purpose Reservoirs
Mainly for industry, such as mining where the life of the dam depends on the mines
resources, town water supply or for beautification and recreation.

Multipurpose Reservoirs

1. Water supply (requires a high reservoir)

2. Irrigation
3. Silt retention
4. Transportation
5. Electricity generation
6. Recreation and beautification (requires a constant reservoir level)
7. Flood mitigation (requires a low reservoir)

Life of a dam
Many dams are in existence that are over 1000 years old. Gravity and rockfill dams
must qualify for long structural lives wheras thin arches, multiple arches or buttress
dams have more limited lives, especially if they retain aggresive water.

It is usual to finance the building of a dam on the basis of repayment of its cost over
50 or 60 years. After this the only cost will be maintenance. The life of a dam may be
prejudiced by the amount of silt carried by the river, since the reservoir loses capacity.
It is possible to raise the dam by building up, but at a considerable expense.

Examples of reservoir estimated lives due to siltation; (Snowy Mountains Project)

Reservoir Estimated years

Eucumbene 10,000
Tantangara 10,000
Tumut Pond 4,000
Tooma 4,000

Environmental Implications
1. Land inundation - creation of a reservoir will inundate frequently good land,
and may cause people to be displaced. These factors lead to loss of productivity
and personal hardship.
2. Dislodgment of people.
3. Wildlife - some species being destroyed is almost inevitable.
4. Archaeology - inundation of items of value.
 5. Beauty - areas of beauty will be destroyed.
6. Silt - retention of silt from the lower valley which would normally enrich the
land.
7. River Regime - a period of dry river bed below the dam will occur.
8. Flood Warnings - alteration of natural flow can be serious to inhabitants and
wildlife.
9. Effects of Storage on Quality of Water
10. Eutrophication
11. Thermal Stratification
12. Fish - Nitrogen Problem
13. Water-bourne diseases
14. Requirement of fish ladders for fish to continue spawning
15. Induced Earthquakes consequent to filling large reservoirs
16. Climatological Change
17. Access roads during construction destroying the natural environment
18. River pollution from
o Waste water from excavations
o Construction and removal of cofferdams
o Wash water from concrete and aggregate plants
o Oil leakage and waster disposal
o Sewage and stormwater
o Hot water effluents
o Soil erosion during reservoir cleaning
19. Fire Risks
20. Aesthetic appearance of final dam
21. Air pollution
22. Noise pollution
23. Dust pollution

Multidisciplinary Approach
We have reached an era when the Engineer must cooperate with members of other
disciplines if a project is to be completed for optimum benefits and minimum adverse
effects.

An example of the number of disciplines involved, relative to the Auburn Dam

project;

Civil Engineering Sanitary Engineering Hydraulic Engineering

Structural Engineering Electrical Engineering Illumination Engineering
 Air Pollution Engineering Acoustic Engineering Demography
History Landscape Planning Traffic
Landscape Architecture Transportation Ecology
Geography Environmental Engineering Geomorphology
Geology Hydrology Hydrography
Meteorology Soil Agricultural Economics
Biology Forestry Range Management
Fish Wildlife Legal
Photogrammetry Cartography Systems Programming
Mathematical Programming Construction Methods Analysis Remote Sensor Interpreting

Appurtenant Features
Coffer Dams - Coffer dams usually are temporary structures built upstream from a
dam to prevent stream flow around the excavation for a dam. In valleys of steep
profile diversion commonly is accomplished by a tunnel or tunnels in the walls of the
valley. Commonly the diversion tunnels are put to further use to control flow from the
reservoir either for drainage of the reservoir or for flow under pressure into a
hydroelectric generating plant. In valleys of low profile diversion is by tunnels,
canals, or by conduits which subsequently are buried by the dam. It is not unusual in
embankment dams to incorporate the coffer dam into the larger embankment structure
comprising the designed dam.
Fish ladders - dams constructed on
streams that are the migration paths for
spawning fish commonly make
provisions for movement of the fish up or
in the vicinity of the downstream face of
the dam. The facility that permits fish
migration is usually called a fish ladder.
See figure.

Gates - gates are devices installed in the

tops of spillways to control the flow of
water over the spillway.
Figure showing fish ladders.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Hydroelectric power plants - many dams are constructed to generate hydroelectric

power. The powerhouse is located at,or in the vicinity of, the toe of a dam or at some
distance downstream. Flow of water into the powerhouse is controlled by valves
upstream from the dam, within the dam downstream, or in valve vaults excavated in
rock outside of the dam.

Locks - locks are movable dams or portions of dams utilized in navigation along
rivers and canals.

Penstocks - a penstock is a sluice or conduit used for control of water flow, especially
into a hydroelectric power plant.

Spillways - a spillway is designed to contain and control overflow of reservoir water

when the reservoir is full. Spillways are, or should be, designed to accommodate
flows during maximum flood stage so as to prevent damage to the dam and
appurtenant features. Their size and location with respect to the dam is determined by
the size and kind of dam, local topography, geology, and a careful review of the
History of stream flow at the site of the dam.

Overflow of embankment dams outside of a spillway can have especially disastrous

consequences so that safety usually requires a spillway capable of containing at least a
hundred year flood.

Spillways are located within or on the downstream face of a dam, outside of the dam
on one side or the other, or within the reservoir, where water spills into a glory hole
and passes through a shaft and tunnel or tunnels in the abutment of the dam.

Tunnels - tunnels in bedrock outside of dams serve a variety of purposes. Flow

through them is controlled by valves external to the dam or in valve chambers or
vaults within the dam or in bedrock outside of the dam. Tunnels for control of the
water level in the reservoir are commonly called gravity tunnels and serve a principal
function of diverting water to some point downstream from the dam. Tunnels that
transmit water under pressure to elevate the water to a higher level than the intake of
the tunnel or to generate hydroelectric power are called pressure tunnels and usually
require considerable competency in the rock through which they are constructed.

Valves and valve vaults - Valves control the flow of water through tunnels and
penstocks. In many large dams the valve are installed in underground vaults or
chambers to which access is gained downstream from the dam.
Loading and Factor of Safety – Introduction
A dam is a three dimensional structure and despite assumptions, it is not
homogeneous and its integrity is in the hands of the constructors.

 The foundations are neither isotropic or truly elastic.

 Concrete and rock are brittle, although elastic theories are applied in stress
calculations.
 The dam and foundation will become saturated with varying effects on the
materials.
 The dam will be subjected to water load, daily and seasonal temperature cycles.
 It will be subjected to random events such as : Floods, Waves, Seiche Effects,
Earthquakes, Ice Formation and other natural phenomena.

The factor of safety must relate to the strength, stability and durability with
consideration to magnitude of economic and personal loss that would result from its
failure.

The aim of the Engineer must be to reduce the number of uncertainties, both as
regards loading on the dam and in the means by which the dam and the foundations
withstand such loads. The Engineer must also be satisfied that there is no feasible
mechanism that could result in failure.

Loading and Factor of Safety - Static Loading

Horizontal Loads

Headwater (H1) - For the basic calculation of stability the level in the reservoir will be
assumed at or above the level required for the passage of the design flood. In many
instances the dam is designed for the highest level of watertightness, e.g. a concrete
parapet.

Silt (H2) - A changed land usage as a result of a dam may well result in increased
erosion, causing a deposition of silt. Unless very deep deposits of silt are likely it is
adequate to assume a triangular load allotting an appropiate relative density to the
fluid. This would have a maximum value of 1.4.

Reservoir Behaviour (H3) - Wind and other natural causes will induce movement in
the reservoir as waves, reservoir set-up or seiche effect.

Ice Loading (H4) - It is assumed that ice will not form and exert pressure on the dam
at times of maximum flood. The slope of the upstream face of the dam as well as the
slope and roughness of the valley walls will influence the magnitude of ice loading.
Even wind blowing down the reservoir at 50km/hr may increase the ice loading by 4-5
t/m of exposed face.

Tailwater (H5) - In some cases water is ponded downstream from the dam. Assistance
from this may be assumed but it must not be overlooked that, in the case of an
overflow dam, flood waters passing over the dam might well evacuate such water
from the face of the dam.

Seismic Force (H6) - Force acting on dam in horizontal plane.

Seiche effect (H7) - Is an undulation in the reservoir water due to natural causes,
intermittent wind, variation in atmospheric pressure, earthquake and motion of the
Earth. Usually less than 0.5m, though levels of 2m have been reported in Lake
Geneva.

Vertical Loads

Weight of Dam (V1)- The unit weight of material in the dam should be determined as
accurately as possible. An underestimation by 1% will represented a considerable
additional cost on the dam.

Vertical Water Loading (V2) - Imposed on any sloping surface of the dam, usually the
upstream face, but also on the downstream for overflow dams.
Uplift (V3)- Hydrostatic forces acting within a dam and its
foundations including interstitial or pore pressures. Some Engineers
rely on drainage to prevent occurence of uplift, assuming the
drainage will be effective for the entire life on the dam, therefore
some inclusion for uplift must be included in the design. See diagram
for distribution of pressure. [k values vary between 0.25 to 0.50
depending on conditions.]

Seismic Force (V4) - Force acting on dam in vertical plane.

Other loads on the dam

Water Density - Some rivers carry very heavy silt load in seasons which changes the
density of the reservoir.

Reservoir set-up - The result of continuing wind causing one end of the reservoir to be
at a higher level. Calculations for a large reservoir in which the fetch is 38km would
indicate the following values:

Return Period Wind Speed Set-up

(years) (km/h) (m)
1000 160 0.75
100 125 0.45
10 95 0.26
5 88 0.22
2 77 0.17

Thermal Effects - Concrete dams will be subject to loading from temperature variation
within the dam caused by hydration of the cement and due to seasonal variations.
Water as depth doesn't vary, but towards the surface it varies with season. A skew
loading is used to describe solar and air temperature effects.

Construction Loads - Concrete dams of cupola and buttress shape offer good
resistance to water loading when complete but during construction it is necessary to
control the rate of construction and to include reinforcement in overhanging sections.

Direction of Forces - At certain locations it may be appropiate to increase the radius

of an arch dam and accept higher stresses within the dam in order to ensure better
angle of incidence of the resultant thrust with the abutment. The direction of resultant
forces is important for gravity and buttress dams - especially on stratified rock.
Hydrostatic Loading within the Foundation or Abutment - Faults, cracks and joints are
present in most damsites. Forces due to a large dam may cause cracks to appear in the
rock upstream from the dam, this may cause jacking loads that could cause failure. To
avoid this, careful surveys should be made of the orientation and inclination of faults,
joints and cracks.

Tectonic Forces - Besides seismic effects, there may be significant tectonic forces on
the Earth's crust at the site and these may be upset by deep excavation or saturation
due to the filling of the reservoir.

Loading and Factor of Safety - Dynamic Loading

The Earth's crust is in a state of stress. When the stress is great enough, and the crust
is weak enough, adjustments may occur. These adjustments will release energy in the
form of shock waves, propagated from an epicentre. These waves will vary in
wavelength and frequency. Short-period waves have predominant frequencies within
the range of natural frequencies for dams, they are apt to produce conditions of
resonance in the dam. Engineers are therefore more concerned with the possibility of
moderate earthquakes occurring within 80 to 120 km of the dam than larger
earthquakes occurring outside this limit.

For gravity dams a horizontal coefficient is adopted and applied as an additional static
load. For arch dams the dynamic effects receive greater attention with both model
tests and in situ testing by vibrating the dam. For embankment dams additional
horizontal static loads are considered and a dynamic analysis has been developed with
close attention being paid to the characteristics of fill material.

In October 1969 the Committee on Earthquakes of the International Commission on

Large Dams (ICOLD) summarized 1969 practice :

 Design
o For gravity dams a horizontal coefficient was generally adopted and
applied as an additional static load. Vertical effects were taken into
account in very few circumstances and dynamic analysis was used by
very few.
o For arch dams the dynamic effects received greater attention in model
tests and in situ testing by vibration of the dam.
 o For embankment dams additional horizontal static loads were
considered; dynamic analysis was being developed and closer attention
was being given to the characteristics of fill material.
 Zoning - Many countries were adopting the principle of seismic zoning.
 Seismic Coefficients - A coefficient of from 0.1 to 0.2 was commonly used.
 Seismic Waves - Analyses had been made by applying sinusoidal or modified
earthquake records - but actual earthquake records had only been applied in
rare cases for dynamic analyses.
 Properties of Materials - Different mechanical properties of various materials
when subjected to static and dynamic loading.
 Loads Considered - For dynamic water pressure the formulae of Westergaard,
Zanger and the USBoR were in use.
 Allowable Stresses - In many cases the permissible compressive stress under
dynamic loading was increased by up to 30% above the permissible static
stress. Factors of Safety for arch dams were usually 4, based on compressive
stress and 1.2 minimum for fill dams.
 Deformations - An embankment dam which employed dynamic analysis was
assumed to suffer 5% axial strain.
 Models - These were popular for arch dams and were used for some gravity
dams. There was a tendency to employ model tests for fill dams.
 In Situ Tests - Some arch dams were shaken by vibrating machines to study
natural frequeny and modes of vibration.
 Seismographs - In a majority of large dams seismographs were used.

Factor of Safety - Gravity Dams

A gravity dam must be designed to safeguard against overturning and sliding. For the
former it is usual to design the dam so that the resultant of all forces intersects the
base within its middle third. This
will provide a factor of safety in
excess of 2.

The ratio of the sum of the

horizontal forces to the sum of
the vertical forces is referred to
as the sliding factor (Fss). This is
usually about 0.75 but must not
exceed 0.90 under extreme
loading. These figures represent
the range of the coefficient of
static friction normally
encountered at the site of a gravity dam.

At or in the foundations, the horizontal loading will be resisted by cohesion and

friction. The ratio of the total resistance by cohesion and friction to the horizontal load
is termed the shear friction factor (Fsf). Most countries accept 4 as a minimum value.
In practice the foundation is usually prepared in steps or is sloped upward in a
downstream direction to provide resistance to failure far in excess of the above figure.

Range of shearing resistance parameters.

Location of plane of shearing/sliding Cohesion (c) Friction tan ø
mass concrete intact 1.5-3.5 1.0-1.5
mass concrete horizontal construction joint 0.8-2.5 1.0-1.5
conrete/rock interface 1.0-3.0 0.8-1.8
rock mass sound 1.0-3.0 1.0-1.8
rock mass inferior <1.0 <1.0

Recommended shear friction factors, Fsf (USBR 1987)

Load Combination
Location of sliding plane Normal Unusual Extreme
dam concrete, base interface 3.0 2.0 <1.0
foundation rock 4.0 2.7 1.3

Factor of Safety - Concrete Arch Dams

The factor of safety for an arch dam is the ratio of the compressive strength of
concrete to the maximum calculated compressive stress in the dam. The compressive
strength is usually referred to as the strength of concrete at the age of 91 days when
tested in 150 mm x 300 mm cylinders.

The design criterion adopted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is for a factor of
safety of 4 based on the strength of concrete at 1 year. Except for extreme loading
combinations the maximum compressive stress is usually limited to 6.9 MPa.

Factor of Safety - Embankment Dams

The minimum factors of safety for embankment dams would be:
Upstream Slope

Immediately after completion with full construction pore pressure 1.3-1.5

Following rapid drawndown (slip circles between high and low water levels) 1.2-1.3

Downstream Slope

Earthquake and Reservoir Full 1.2

Reservoir full - steady seepage 1.5

In an area subject to earthquakes the following factors are indicative of acceptable

values:

Seismic coefficient 0.1 FoS 1.8

Seismic coefficient 0.3 FoS 1.15

Factor of Safety - Abutments and Foundations

The dam foundations and abutments should be thoroughly investigated for any
possible mechanism of failure. This would involve identification of joints, faults and
any other forms of weakness.

A reasonable factor of safety is

- the ratio of shearing resistance to the maximum shearing stress predicted; the lowest
value of the ratio in the foundation being the factor of safety of the foundation.
Site Investigation Introduction
Most failures are due to lack of appreciation of how the particular damsite would react
to the superposition of the dam and reservoir. It is therefore essential that a detailed
site investigation takes place and the results are appropriately used by Engineers.

In the planning stage possible damsites will have been chosen from contour maps and
aerial photography, selected primarily on topography. A narrow gorge is best, hoping
for minimum quantities in the dam and a valley opening upstream to provide the
required storage. There maybe alternative sites along the length of a river and hence
further investigation has to be done to assertain the best possible position.

See the GeoCAL package for further information on general site investigation. Link to
GeoCAL homepage

Time and Money for Investigation

The amount of money required to investigate a damsite will depend upon the site and
the type of dam. An experienced department of engineers, hydrologists, geologists and
surveyors may produce sufficient information for an outlay of 2-3% of the dam cost.
This figure could reach 6% in remote locations where basic information is not
available.

It is not unusual to spend 3 years on site investigations, this will depend on the
location and size of the dam, but time must not be underestimated. To meet stringent
requirements for environmental studies and public opinion polls could add 2 years to
the time and several percent to the cost.

If, as a result of the site investigation another site is to be chosen, the same time and
money must be spent investigating the new site. Adequate time and money must
always be available to all disciplines to give them the opportunity to investigate and
report.

Site Investigation - Desk Study

Initial desk study can be done by researching from these sources of information -

1. Ordnance Survey Maps or equivalent

2. Admiralty Charts
 3. Geological Maps and Memoirs
4. Old OS Maps or equivalent
o Past users of site
o Concealed mines and adits
o Infilled pits
o Original topography and drainage conditions
o Changes in stream and river courses
o Changes in landslide areas, fence lines, path lines
5. Aerial Photography
o Landsat Images
o Colour and infra red photography
6. Previous Site Investigation Reports
7. Local people and authorities

Site Investigation - Preliminary Investigation

Aerial Reconnaissance - An initial comissioned flyover is essential, providing the
Engineer with an idea of the topography and enabling him to form an opinion of the
probable hydrological characteristics of catchment.

A Geologist will assist the Engineer in the selection of the damsite, and a construction
Engineer will study the access and possible sources of materials.

Ground Reconnaissance - Features that should be sought during early

reconnaissance include old and potential land slides, geological faults and major joints
parallel with the valley.

 The joints may be open or infilled with products of decomposition, they present
construction hazards and possible leakage paths around the dam.
 Examination along the beds of the river and tributary streams will indicate the
strike and dip of rock formations.
 Any springs or underground water should be identified since they provide
leakage paths from the reservoir.
 The depth of alluvium or soil should be determined to indicate the excavation
required and the probable quantity of material required for the dam.

At this stage, the preliminary geological data should be assessed and enhanced by
mapping and modelling. This can help to highlight important considerations about
which type of dam may be most appropriate, and any problems which may be
encountered, before extensive drilling or exploratory works are performed.
Assessment of preliminary data will assist in the choice of exploratory methods and in
the design of the exploratory programme as a whole.
Check list for Site Investigation

1. Topography - Flat, gently undulating, rolling, sharp hills, mountains, difference

between highest and lowest areas.
2. Sharp breaks in topography - Ridges, canyons, depressions.
3. Surface soil - Loose, hard, moist or dry, boulders and gravel (scattered or in
zones), topsoil and organic matter.
4. Rock outcrops - Surface, highway and railroad cuts, hillsides, weathered and
unweathered.
5. Drainage pattern - Dendritic, lattice, parallel, water gaps, waterfalls, direction
of primary drainage.
6. Surface water - Stream, seasonal or perennial, fluctuations, floods, lakes,
marshes, disappearing rivers.
7. Ground water - Wells, seeps, springs, artesian wells.
8. Erosion - Severe or moderate, U or V shaped cross section, steep or gently
sloping heads of gullies.
9. Land use - Cultivated or barren, type of crop or vegetation, good or poor
quality.
10. Existing structures, recollections of old residents.

Site Investigation - Geophysical Investigation

Geophysical methods provide an indirect evaluation of certain underground
conditions. Several procedures have been developed, all of which measure some force
pattern in the earth.

Refraction Seismic - Click Forward Once

Electrical Resistivity - Click Forward Twice

Advantages of Geophysical Methods - They permit a rapid coverage of large areas

at a relatively low cost which is useful in selecting possible dam sites during
reconnaissance phases. They are also not hampered by boulders or coarse gravel
which interfere greatly with the direct methods such as boring and sampling.

Limitations of Geophysical Methods - There is difficulty in correct interpretation

when the strata are not well defined and horizontal. For this reason it is imperative
that all geophysical work is confirmed by borings and other direct observations.
Site Investigation - Exploratory Investigation
Methods
Purpose - to secure accurate information about the soil and rock stratification, the
composition of the materials and the location of ground water.

Boring and Sampling

 Auger Boring - Generally limited to firm soils, above the watertable. Gravel
larger than about a third of the diameter of the hole cannot be drilled but very
hard soil and soft rock can often be penetrated if sufficient power is available.
 Test Boring -
 Core Drilling -
 Diamond Drilling -
 Short Drilling or Calyx Drilling -

Programme of Exploration Work for Foundations

 Boring layout
 Procedure
 Laboratory testing
 Correlation of results

Planning and Conducting Borrow Pit Explorations

 Field Work
 Testing and Correlation

Site Investigation - Evaluation of Selected Site

At this stage, potential hazards and problems should have been identified. However, it
is still necessary to remain alert for indications of hazardous or problematic features
which were not identified during the earlier stages of the investigation. The main
effort is directed in producing parameters for the final design. This would involve
high quality boring and drilling, with particular attention being paid to sample quality
and high core recovery, careful logging of trenches, shafts and adits, in situ testing
such as plate loading tests and in situ shear tests in adits, trial embankments, grouting
trials and so on.
 Foundation testing

 Undisturbed Sampling
 Pit Sampling
 Thin-walled Samplers
 Foil Samplers
 Rotary Samplers
 Laboratory Testing
 Correlation of Test Results

Field testing

 Test Pit
 Plate Load Test
 Seepage Test

Borrow pit investigations

 Sampling
 Laboratory Testing
 Test Strip

Site Investigation - Detailed Investigation

The evaluation of preliminary desk and field work should assess the potential for
major hazards and qualitatively assess the likelihood of encountering any more
hazards. This should allow a ranking of the potential sites in order of their probable
suitability.

Following the desk study and preliminary field work, it may be necessary to establish
a pattern and base level of seismicity for later evaluation of induced seismicity. If
potential active faults are identified, seismic arrays should be installed to monitor
these. This will help assess the need for criteria changes should seismic activity occur
after the feasibility stage has been completed and the design is well advanced.

The next stage is to produce a detailed investigation of the chosen site.

Site Investigation – Monitoring

Monitoring during construction will include the work of an engineering geologist on
site, who will examine all excavations to see whether the expectations of the
preceeding investigations have been realised. The identification of exceptions may
then lead to an early diagnosis and redemption of any problems.

For the post-commissioning stage, monitoring will involve regular reading of installed
instrumentation to check performance against design criteria. This should serve as an
'early warning' system which will initiate a contingency programme, thus minimising
the delays which would result from the development of an adverse situation.
Geology Introduction
The geological services required for the engineering of a large dam are in the
following areas;

 The safety of the dam on its foundations;

 The watertightness of the reservoir basin;
 The availability of natural materials for its construction.

The engineering geologist is a key member of an engineering team, since he will

ensure the feasibility of the project, continuing through the design stage and
terminating only when construction has either proved that geological conditions
revealed are in conformity with the premises adopted in design, or he has made
possible proper evaluation of any conditions not foreseen in the earlier stages.

The safety, viability and cost of a dam are all dependent upon geology. Most rocks
have adequate strength but their weakness is in the orientation and dip of
discontinuities relative to the loading from the dam, as well as the infilling material in,
and depth of, weathering in such discontinuities.

It is necessary to investigate both the regional geology and the specific local geology
to ensure a global picture is developed.

Geology Terminology
1. Bedding planes - The planes marking the termination of one sedimentary
deposit and the beginning of another; they usually constitute a weakness along
which the rock tends to break.
2. Foliation - In rocks that have been subjected to heat and deforming pressures
during regional metamorphism, some new materials such as muscovite and
biotite mica, talc and chlorite may be formed by recrystallisation. These new
minerals are arranged in parallel layers of flat or elongated crystals - the
property of foliation.
3. Joints - These are fractures along which no movement has occured. All rocks
are jointed to some extent and weathering occurs in these joints. They offer
pathways for water, any clay infilling offering little resistance to sliding.
4. Faults - These are fractures along which movement has occured. They may
range from rather inconspicious zones hundreds of metres wide and many
kilometres long. The movement may have formed a zone that is so crushed and
 chemically altered as to be unable to support any weight. The presence of faults
may be recognised from such physical features as;
o Offset of beds, dykes or veins;
o Slickensides;
o Gouge;
o Brecciation or crushing;
o Topographic features like escarpments, linear trenches or sag valleys.
5. Weathering - The following definitions appeared in the Quarterly Journal of
Engineering Geology, UK, 1970.

Fresh Rock No visible signs of weathering

Slightly Penetrative weathering developed in open discontinuity surfaces but only
Weathered slight weathering of rock material.
Moderately
Weathering extends throughout the rock mass, but the rock is not friable.
Weathered
Weathering extends throughout the rock mass, but the rock material is partly
Highly Weathered
friable.
Completely Rock is wholly decomposed, and in a friable condition but rock texture and
Weathered structure are preserved.
A soil material with the original texture, structure and mineralogy of the
Soil
rock completely destroyed.

Classification of rocks
1. Uniaxial Compressive Strength
o Weak - less than 35MPa
o Strong 35-115MPa
o Very Strong - greater than 115MPa
2. Prefailure Deformation
o Elastic
o Viscous
3. Failure Characteristics
o Brittle
o Plastic
4. Gross Homogeneity
o Massive
o Layered
5. Continuity in Formation
o Solid - joint spacing greater than 2m
o Blocky - joint spacing 1-2m
o Broken - fragmented
Types of Rock
1. Granite
2. Gabbros, Andesites, Dolerite and Basalt
3. Amphibolites
4. Metamorphic Rocks
5. Limestone
6. Sandstones
7. Clays
8. Gravel, Sands and Boulder Clay

Granite
 Can bear great pressures
 Generally watertight

Investigation must be made for

 Fissures
 Disintegration due to weathering
 China clay

Caution must be taken when large masses of china clay appear, for it is
not feasible to anchor pre-stressed cables in china clay.

Example: The Sarrans dam had a broad foundation of 11,000 sqm of decomposed
granite. To improve the strength, and bearing capacity and to reduce seepage of the
foundations and abutments a grouting programme was undertaken. This involved 691
tonnes of cement in 81 boreholes which had an aggregate length of 2800 m or 240 kg
per m.

Gabbros, Andesites, Dolerite and Basalt

 These types of rock cannot be trusted for dams and reservoirs.
 Porphyritic rocks need careful grouting.
Example: The Rieutord dam which is on a tributary of the Loire, necessitated a
considerable amount of grouting. Conversely, the Tirso multiple arch dam in Sardinia
is founded on trachytes and volcanic tuffs with little grout.

Amphibolites
 Gneiss, mica schists and associated rocks are considered to be satisfactory for
sustaining bearing pressure and for water-tightness. However, gneiss and
particularly mica schist are less favourable due to the mica which may facilitate
slipping.
 Where gneiss and mica schists are associated, a very weak zone of
disintegrated rock may be found at the junction of these two rocks.

Example: the Forks dam, California, founded on gneiss and mica schists, had to be
abandoned in 1929 because of bad foundations which occurred at the junction of these
two rocks which, in themselves, were quite sound.

Metamorphic Rocks
 Metamorphic and intrusive igneous rocks are to an extent unpredictable.
 However, many satisfactory dams have been constructed on them particularly
in Scotland (for example Pitlochry, Errochty, Shira), but grouting of the
foundations is generally essential. The usual types of dams constructed are
gravity, buttress and rockfill.
 Where the rock is weathered at the surface, an investigation is usually required
since weathered formations may prove exceptionally difficult when the
foundations are dug out.

Example: The Lavaude-Gelade dam in the Central Massif, Creuse, France was
founded on altered granulite. The alteration in the granulite was found to persist to a
depth of 20m, in addition to being broken and fissured. The site required an extensive
grouting injection with cement, clay and bentonite.

Limestone
 Limestone dam sites vary widely in their suitability. Thickly bedded
horizontally lying limestones which are relatively free from solution cavities
afford excellent dam sites. On the other hand, thin bedded, highly folded, or
 cavernous limestones are likely to present serious foundation or abutment
problems involving bearing capacity and water tightness.
 Concrete dams have been constructed on Jurassic limestone at Castillon, where
slips and leakage problems have occurred. These have been surmounted by an
extensive grouting scheme.

Sandstones
Sandstones have a wide range of strength depending largely upon the amount and type
of cement matrix material occupying the voids of the rock. Generally sandstones do
not deteriorate rapidly on exposure to the surface with the exception of shaly
sandstone. As a foundation rock sandstone is not susceptible to plastic deformation,
even with poorly cemented sandstones. However, sandstones are susceptible to
erosion due to the scouring and plucking action from the overflow of dams and so
have to be adequately protected by suitable hydraulic structures.

Sandstones are frequently interbedded with shales. The sandstone-shale contact may
allow seepage of water and may cause potential sliding. Severe uplift pressures may
also develop beneath beds of shale in a dam due to the swelling characteristics of
shales.

Many dams in the English Pennines have been constructed on Carboniferous

sandstones interbedded with shales, most of them as earth embankments.

Example : Longdendale, Langsett, Scar House reservoirs and Ladybower reservoir on

the Sabden shales in the Derwent valley.

Clays
Clay formations are often thick and massive and are frequently associated with thin
seams of sandstone or limestone. Earth dams or rockfill dams are usually constructed
on clay foundations because clays lack the load bearing properties necessary to
support concrete dams.

Example : The embankments of the Staines, Chingford, and other reservoirs in the
Thames and Lee valleys may be cited as reservoirs wholly in London Clay ,whilst the
Cheddar reservoir near Bristol lies on Keuper Marl.

Gravel, Sands and Boulder Clays

Gravels, sands and boulder clay of glacial origin are notoriously variable in
composition both laterally and vertically. As a result dam sites in glaciated areas are
among the most difficult to appraise on the basis of surface evidence. Generally, earth
dams are constructed in areas of glacial deposits.

Example : Selset reservoir in the North East of England is founded on Boulder Clay.

Rock Properties
The following properties must be examined to ensure the dam will be stable and the
reservoir watertight -

 Crushing strength
 Shearing strength
 Elasticity of rock
 Deformability of the rock mass
 Tectonic stresses

 Laboratory Testing
 Field Testing

Crushing Strength
In general the compressive load from a dam on to its foundations will not exceed 10
MPa.

The strength of a rock will depend upon its -

 Quality
 The degree of weathering
 Presence of micro-cracks

The strength of a rock mass will depend upon -

 The number of cracks and joints

 The nature of their infilling material
 Whether there are any rock-to-rock contacts across the joints
  Planarity and continuity of seams and foliations

Table - Unconfined compressive strength of rocks

Rock type Strength (MPa)
Siltstone 24-120
Greywacke 20-30
Shale 35-110
Sandstone 40-200
Limestone 50-240
Dolomite 50-150
Granite 90-230
Basalt 200-350
Dolerite 240-320
Gneiss 80-330

Shearing Strength
The minimum angle of friction for sound rock is 55°.

Table - Angle of internal friction of rock

Rock Tangent of Angle of Internal Friction

Tuff 0.9
Schist Biotite 0.5
Limestone 0.6
Limestone (med. grained) 0.5
Granite (weathered) 0.8
The shear strength of a rock mass may be seriously affected by saturation since both
the cohesion and angle of friction will decrease.

Elasticity of Rock
It is not appropriate to classify rocks by elastic constants alone, since many rocks are
nonelastic. Elasticity refers to the property of reversibility of deformation when
subjected to a load. Many fresh, hard rocks are elastic when considered as laboratory
specimens. But on the field scale rocks can be expected to contain fractures, fissures,
bedding planes, contacts, zones of altered rock and clays with plastic properties.

Therefore, most rocks do not exhibit perfect elasticity. The extent of irrecoverability
of strain in response to load cycles may be important for the design and can be
determined by the slope of the load/deformation curve.

Table of Modulus of Elasticity of Rock

Rock Type Modulus of Elasticity
- (MPa x 1000)
Limestone 3-27
Dolomite 7-15
Limestone (very hard) 70
Sandstone 10-20
Quartz-sandstone 60-120
Greywacke 10-14
Siltstone 3-14
Gneiss - fine 9-13
Gneiss - coarse 13-23
Schist - Micaceous 21
Schist - Biotite 40
Schist - Granitic 10
Schist - Quartz 14
Granite - very altered 2
Granite - slightly altered 10-20
Granite - good 20-50
Quartzite - Micaceous 28
Quartzite - sound 50-80
Dolerite 70-100
Basalt 50
Andesite 20-50
Amphibolite 90

The large ranges emphasize the need for testing at each site.

Figure - Load/deflection paths for an arch dam

For example, as the reservoir behind the arch dam rises, the rock under the arch
responds along curve 1.

The concave upward curvature of this load/deflection path is typical for fractured
rocks on first loading because the fractures close and stiffen at low loads. When the
reservoir is lowered, the rock unloads along path 2, with a permanent deflection.

The dam will try to follow the loading, but since it is often more elastic than the rock,
it will move away from the rock on unloading. This could open joints in the rock or
concrete or simply lower the compressive stress flowing through the structure.
Repeated cycles of loading and unloading in response to cyclic operation of the
reservoir would produce the series of loops ('hysteresis').

Some sites have been considered unacceptable for concrete dams because of large
hysteresis even though the modulus of elasticity of the rock itself was considered
reasonable.

Deformability
The modulus of elasticity of rock is normally adequate, but due to the existence of
joints, faults amd seams in the rock mass - sometimes open and sometimes filled with
products of decompostion, the modulus of deformation may be inadequate.

The capacity of a rock to strain under applied loads or in response to unloading on

excavation is known as deformability. The strains present in rock concern engineers
even when there is little risk of rock failure, because large rock displacements can
raise stresses within structures.

For example a dam founded on varying rock types of different deformability

properties will develop shear and diagonal tension stresses due to the unequal
deflections of the foundations. The deflections can be handled by structuring the dam
correctly, if the rock properties are known and the variation of properties within the
foundations are determined.

Tectonic Stresses
The fact that rock may be in a state of high internal stress is often overlooked. It is
common to assume a vertical stress field due to the weight of overlying rock. The
corresponding horizontal stress will vary with the rock and the rock formation.
Frequently one horizontal principal stress will equal or exceed the vertical stress, the
other being much lower - indicating the existence of large shearing stresses.

Crustal horizontal stress increases with depth. As excavation proceeds and loading on
the strata is reduced, there will be upward changes in level. As a result of the
reduction in vertical restraint the strata can no longer transfer the horizontal forces,
but buckle upwards with horizontal cracking. This deformation reduces the horizontal
load on the layer so that the underlying strata tend to carry the horizontal tectonic
stress. As a result the strata down to considerable depths suffer disturbance to their
equilibrium.

If horizontal cracks are caused then erosion can occur and resistance to sliding will be
decreased.

Laboratory Testing
Compressive strength

 Unconfined compression
 Triaxial compression
 Splitting tension (Brazilian)
 Four-point flexure
 Ring shear

Shear tests

 Direct shear
 Triaxial shea

Field Testing
In-situ shear tests

Commonly carried out on 'undisturbed' specimens in the galleries of the dam.

Disturbance of the specimen should be kept to a minimum as the specimen is exposed
from the parent rock. The specimen is then protected and loaded in two directions. It
is important that the axes of the jacks pass through the centre of the zone under test. A
normal load is applied and held until any displacements have stabilised, the tangential
load is then applied in steps and displacements measured. By repeating the test with
different normal loads, values of cohesion and angle of friction can be derived.
Techniques for measurement

 Hydraulic Fracturing
 Flat Jack Method
 Overcoring

Surface Features of Valleys

The shape of a valley and the rock with which it is formed affect the type of dam and
its dimensions.
Type Chord-height ratio Diagram
Gorges Under 3
Narrow Valleys 3-6
Wide Valleys Above 6 or 7
Flat country plains -
This section is based upon Walter, R. C. S (1962) Dam Geology.

Dams in Gorges - Cupola or Dome

When the crest chord-height ratio is under 3 and the rock is capable of withstanding
high pressures, not being able to fail by shearing, thin arch or thin cupola dams are the
most successful and the most economical.

Soundness of the foundation is of paramount importance for all arch and cupola dams.

Dams in narrow valleys

Narrow valleys have a chord-height ratio of between 3 and 6. Gravity arch dams are
normally constructed in narrow valleys providing that the foundations are suitable.

Example : Piave di Cadore dam (Italy) was constructed as a thick arch dam with a
chord-height ratio of 5.5. It's thickness was less than a gravity dam but more than a
thin arch dam.

If the narrow valley is filled with permeable and compressible material, for example
from a glacial origin, the dam engineer has two choices:
  To increase the depth of excavation to bedrock
 If the depth of material is economically unfeasible to remove, then redesigning
the dam to an earthfill or rockfill design may be the only option.

More and more thick arch dams with a thickness of less than the gravity section will
be constructed in the future as more confidence is gained in:

 The reliability of new models confirm and even supplant the mathematical
analyses.
 The experience of strengthening weak foundations to carry heavier unit
pressures which are to be sustained compared with the gravity section.

Dams in wide valleys

Wide valleys may be defined where the chord-height ratio of the dam is above 6 or 7.
In a wide valley nearly every type of dam can be constructed, except a thick or thin
arch dam. The most influential factors in a wide valley in determining the type of dam
are:

 The geology of the site.

 The proximity of materials from which the dam is to be made.

Many different types of dams have been built in wide valleys;

Gravity Dams : there are many examples of masonry and concrete gravity dams in
wide valleys, especially where the bedrock is close to the surface. The earliest large
example in Great Britain is the Vyrnwy dam (masonry), which supplies water to the
city of Liverpool. The chord-height ratio of the dam is 7.

Earthfill Dams : because there are a great many wide valleys in England, there are a
number of examples of earthfill dams. These dams are most suitable if the foundation
is soft compressible sedimentary strata.

Rockfill Dams : the wide valley is suitable for all forms of rockfill dams.

Buttress Dams : with suitable foundations capable of withstanding direct pressures

and resistance to sliding, the buttress dam can usefully be adopted in a wide valley.

Example : Scotland, the Errochty and Shira dams are situated in wide valleys and have
chord-height ratios of 10 and 15 respectively.
Dams in Country Plains
Normally, dams are associated with valleys and are not built on level ground in the
middle of sandy plains. However, examples of dams on plains are to be found on the
Rhone diversion canals, the Rhone being diverted by means of gate-control barrages,
into canals. These canals are some 30 miles in length and lead the water from the
Rhone to normal gravity section dams, built several miles away on alluvial permeable
strata.

Other types of dams constructed on flat country and which may certainly be
considered dams, are the embankments of the large reservoirs of the Metropolitan
Water Board, and the large reservoirs at Cheddar, Bristol. There are also many
instances of what might be considered to be dams; the embankments of which are
measurable in terms of kilometres in length and which retain water well above
ground, such as the man-made levees on the Mississppi River.

Excavation and Filling of Valleys

Introduction

Valleys have been formed or have been modified by downward and lateral erosion of
running water and/or ice, and commonly contain unconsolidated deposits transported
by water, ice, or wind. The individual characteristics of a valley are a function of the
topography, climate, rock type and geologic structure.

Artificial reservoirs are usually created by construction of a dam or dams in a large or

small valley, commonly in a constriction. Correct interpretation of the various
physical aspects of a valley reveals much concerning the characteristics of bedrock
beneath a dam site and beneath the floor and sides of the reservoir basin above the
dam site.

Erosion, transportation, and deposition by running water

Running water erodes the materials in the bottom and sides of the channel by
corrosion, corrasion and cavitation.

Corrosion - is a chemical process whereby materials are taken into solution so as to

become part of the dissolved load of a stream. Limestone is very susceptible to this
process.
Corrasion - is a mechanical process that causes materials to wear away and includes
abrasion by solid particles carried by the stream, and evorsion, which wears down
compact materials by the impact of clear water carrying no suspended load.

Cavitation - requires high velocities in running water and results first from formation
of vapour bubbles because of pressure decrease associated with velocity increase in
accordance with the Bernoulli theorem, and then explosive collapse of the bubbles
where the velocity diminishes.

Deposition of the solid load is a consequence of a decrease in the stream gradient,

volume or velocity. Features of deposition in a stream are alluvial flood plains, deltaic
deposits and alluvial fans.

When considering the construction of a dam and reservoir in a valley the concern
generally is with only a relatively short segment of the total length of a stream, and
particular attention is given to whether in the floor of the valley erosional features on
the average dominate or are subsidiary to depositional features.

Glaciated Valleys

Streamcut valleys that have been modified by glaciers moving through them are of
interest. The figure shows an idealised plan and sections of a stream and glacier
eroded valley with two stages of glacier advance and retreat and prior and intervening
periods of stream erosion. Morainal ridges formed by deposition of glacial till along
the sides of the glacier are called lateral moraines. Stationary moraine is termed end or
terminal moraine.
Shear failure and slope stability of valley sides

See Slope Design Web Pages by H. Connolly

Gravity slip dislocations in steep-walled valleys

The alluvial, glacial, and landslide deposits on the floors and sides of valleys
generally have locations, configurations, and physical properties that are identified in
the field with relative ease. During planning, design, and construction of a dam and
reservoir an assessment of these deposits can be made without difficulty, and
appropriate measures can be taken for their removal or stabilisation.
In many steep-walled valleys, stream-cut or glaciated a relatively inconspicuous kind
of slope failure is present, especially in highly competent, crystalline igneous and
metamorphic bedrocks. Although they may not be easily observed, gravity-slip
surfaces may be present in bedrock as indicated in the figure below and contribute to
the instability of the foundation and abutments of a dam that might be constructed at
the site.

Obstructions in Stream Valleys

The two major consequences of impounding water in a natural or artificial reservoir

are -

 Deposition of all or much of the suspended and traction load transported by the
stream;
 Increase in downward and lateral erosion by clear or desilted water downstream
from the obstruction.

Attempts to control the rate of filling of reservoirs by sediment may include

construction of dams and reservoirs to intercept sediment upstream from a major
facility, such as a large dam for electric power generation, and regional programs for
soil stabilisation and conservation in upstream drainage basins.
Based on Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites by
E.E. Wahlstrom

Topographical and Geological Conditions for

Different Types of Dams
When the size of the dam has been determined, the type of dam envisaged requires
certain geological and topographical conditions which, for the main types of dams,
may be stated as follows.
Concrete Dams Embankment Dams
 Gravity Dams
 Rockfill Dams
 Buttress Dams
 Hydraulic Fill Dams
 Multiple Arch Dams
 Earthen Embankments
 Thick Arch Dams
 Composite Dams
 Thin Arch Dams

Gravity Dams

 Hard rock at or near the surface.

 Depth of soft material above the rock should not exceed 7-10m thereby
avoiding excavation.
 Materials for concrete, i.e. aggregate, stone and sand should easily be
accessible within 5-10 miles.
 Gravity dams are suited when the length of the crest is five times or more than
the height of the dam.

Buttress Dams

 The buttress dam is suitable where the rock is capable of bearing pressures of 2
- 3 MPa.
 Buttress dams require between a half and two thirds of the concrete required for
a gravity section, hence making it more economical for dams over 14m.
 Additional skilled labour is required to create the formwork.
 Threat of deterioration of concrete from the impounded water is more likely
than from a thick gravity section.
 There is also an elimination of a good deal of uplift pressure, the pressure
resulting from the water in the reservoir and possibly of water from the hillside
rocks gaining access through or under any grout curtain and exerting upwards
underneath the mass concrete dam.

An arch dam utilises the strength of an arch to resist loads placed upon it by 'arch
action'. The foundations and abutments must be competent not only to support the
dead weight of the dam on the foundation but also the forces that are directed into the
abutments because of arch action in response to the forces acting on the dam.
Therefore, the strength of the rock mass at the abutments and immediately downvalley
of the dam must be unquestionable and its modulus of elasticity must be high enough
to ensure deformation under thrust from the arch is not so great as to induce excessive
stresses in the arch.

Multiple Arch Dams

 The multiple arch concrete dam is a variety of buttress dam.

 The chief geological criterion is that the rock must be absolutely reliable to
bear 2-3 MPa or more without any appreciable settlement (<8mm)
 There is some saving in concrete compared with buttress dams.
 In respect of uplift, corrosion and economy the two types are very similar.

Thick Arch Dams

 The thick arch dam can be built where the crest chord-height ratio is between 3
and 5.
 The chief geological criterion is that the rock must be absolutely reliable to
bear 3.5 MPa or more without any appreciable settlement.
 A substantial saving in material compared with that of gravity dams.
 Thick arch dams are difficult to design on paper but are well determined from
trials on models.

Thin Arch Dams

 Thin arch dams require valleys to have a crest chord-height ratio of under 3,
with a radius of under 150m.
 The pressure exerted on the valley sides is between 5.5 - 8 MPa
 Where there is a vertical radius of curvature as well as a horizontal, this is
known as a cupola or dome type.
 Used where cement is expensive and labour is cheap.

Rockfill Dams

Rockfill dams can be built where the following conditions exist -

 Uncertain or variable foundation which is unreliable for sustaining the pressure

necessary for any form of concrete dam.
 Suitable rock in the vicinity which is hard and will stand up to variations of
weather.
  An adequate amount of clay in the region which may be inserted in the dam
either as a vertical core or as a sloping core.
 Accessibility of the site and the width of the valley is suitable for the
manipulation of heavy earth-moving machinery, caterpillar scrapers, sheepfoot
rollers and large bulldozers.

Hydraulic Fill Dams

 Suitable in valleys of soft material and are constructed by pumping soft

material duly consolidated up to moderated heights up to 30m.

Earthen Embankments

 Near the site there must be clay to fill the trench and embanking material
capable of standing safely, without slipping, to hold up a clay core.
 An advantage of earthen embankments is that troubles due to the deterioration
of the structure by peaty waters of low pH do not arise.

Composite Dams

 Not only can different types of dam can be built in the same valley, but the
same dam can be of different types owing to the varying geological and
topographical features of the dam site.
 Many buttress dams also join up with gravity mass concrete dams at their
haunches at the sides of the valley, and again at the centre have a mass concrete
gravity dam to form a suitable overflow or spillway.

Seismic Activity
An engineer is interested in two aspects of seismic activity:

1. Whether natural earthquakes are likely to occur in close proximity to the dam
and would they be of an intensity to cause damage to the dam or appurtenant
structures.
Natural Events

Preliminary investigations should include researching the earthquake history

of the region. This should involve investigating official records and local newspapers
which often reveal shocks felt by people in centres remote from any seismographs. If
no evidence of earthquake activity in the region is apparent, it would be unwise to
assume nothing could happen in the future. Field surveys should include the recording
of all faults in the region and the installation of seismographs in the region.

The scope of the seismic investigation is decided by the engineer. The engineer must
consider the probable cost in comparison with the cost of conservative assumptions in
design, the effect of such extra cost on the viability of the project, and the damage that
might occur by neglect of such investigations.

Appraisal of the seismicity of the site should be undertaken at the earliest possible
date. Seismographs should be installed to establish the magnitude of all natural events,
their epicentres and depths of focus. Background noise, such as quarry blasting should
be filtered out of the records. Records should be continued for at least 5 years after
filling of the reservoir, and preferably to cover periods of large drawdown and
refilling of the reservoir.

Seismographs - For large dams the installation of seismographs is not expensive.

These seismographs will be triggered to record major events of a predetermined
magnitude. It is usual to install such instruments on rock at the base of the dam, on the
crest of the dam and preferably on rock at a short distance from the dam.

The magnitude of an earthquake is an indication of its absolute size, or total energy

release. It is measured by the Richter Scale which is an arbitrary logarithmic scale. It
defines the magnitude in terms of the maximum amplitude of a standard seismometer
at a distance of 100 km from the epicentre.

The intensity of an earthqu

2- Whether filling of the reservoir might induce earthquake activity, with the
possibility of damage to the dam or liability for damage to other structures or persons.
Although the magnitude of the shocks maybe low, the proximity of the epicentres
could make the effects more serious.
Triggered Events Preliminary investigations should include researching the
earthquake history of the region. This should involve investigating official records and
local newspapers which often reveal shocks felt by people in centres remote from any
seismographs. If no evidence of earthquake activity in the region is apparent, it would
be unwise to assume nothing could happen in the future. Field surveys should include
the recording of all faults in the region and the installation of seismographs in the
region.
The scope of the seismic investigation is decided by the engineer. The engineer must
consider the probable cost in comparison with the cost of conservative assumptions in
design, the effect of such extra cost on the viability of the project, and the damage that
might occur by neglect of such investigations.

Appraisal of the seismicity of the site should be undertaken at the earliest possible
date. Seismographs should be installed to establish the magnitude of all natural events,
their epicentres and depths of focus. Background noise, such as quarry blasting should
be filtered out of the records. Records should be continued for at least 5 years after
filling of the reservoir, and preferably to cover periods of large drawdown and
refilling of the reservoir.

Seismographs - For large dams the installation of seismographs is not expensive.

These seismographs will be triggered to record major events of a predetermined
magnitude. It is usual to install such instruments on rock at the base of the dam, on the
crest of the dam and preferably on rock at a short distance from the dam.

The magnitude of an earthquake is an indication of its absolute size, or total energy

release. It is measured by the Richter Scale which is an arbitrary logarithmic scale. It
defines the magnitude in terms of the maximum amplitude of a standard seismometer
at a distance of 100 km from the epicentre.

The intensity of an earthqu

Geological Hazards
 Valley wall stability
 Valley bulging
 Mining

Valley Wall Stability

A gorge wherein the side slopes are equal to or steeper than the angle of repose of
loose rock is attractive as a damsite, however, in such a gorge instability of the slopes
can pose serious problems.
Landslips are a common feature of valleys in mountainous areas and large slips often
cause narrowing of a valley which may then look topographically suitable for a dam.
Unless they are shallow seated and can be removed or effectively drained, it is
prudent to avoid land slip areas in dam location, because their unstable nature may
result in movement during construction or subsequently on drawdown.

Valley Bulging
Valley bulges consist of folds formed by mass movement of argillaceous material in
valley bottoms, the argillaceous material being overlain by thick, competent strata.
These features cause stress-relief, that is, as stream erosion occurs within the valley
the excess loading on the sides causes the argillaceous material to squeeze out towards
the area of minimum loading. This causes the rocks in the valley to bulge upwards.

The valley movement of argillaceous material results in cambering of the overlying

competent strata, blocks of which become detached, and move down the hillside.
Fracturing of cambered strata produces deep debris-filled cracks which run parallel to
the trend of the valley.
Valley Bulging and Cambering

Mining
The existence of a mine either under a reservoir or a dam will present many problems
such as:

 Possible subsidence of the foundation of the dam

 Loss of water from the reservoir
 Flooding of the mine
 Excessive hydrostatic pressure at faces in the mine

When the mine is under a reservoir there is the possibility that sufficient water could
pass through the intervening rocks to flood the mine, or at least increase drainage
problems. Even if the rock series were sufficiently impermeable to impede the flow of
water, there is the possibility that excessive interstical pressure could build up - with
the danger to mine faces. If the mine is above and adjacent to the reservoir, saturation
of the hillside and change in the water table could lead to potential instability. Seismic
effects from blasting within the mine might then be sufficient to trigger a landslide.

Any site investigation must include both existing mines and potential mines, for
matters of liability.
HYDROLOGY CONTENTS

Hydrology is a science of prediction - the likelihood of recurrence of natural events.

Mathematicians may try to predict events based on past history but Nature is
unpredictable as to time and magnitude of occurence.

Based on past information the low flow characteristics of the river will control the
storage required and hence the normal full supply level of the reservoir. High flow
records and flood forecasting techniques provide the basis for design of the spillway,
and hence the flood storage required above normal full supply level.

Meteorology - Weather forecasting is important to the dam engineer because future

seasonal weather could influence the decision as to which type of dam is built. For
example, too short a dry season may preclude the economical construction of an
earthfill dam. A weather station should be established at a proposed dam site at the
earliest possible date. Records of temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind and air
pressures can materially assist the meteorologists in synthesising storm patterns and is
one step in the process of maximum flood estimation.

Whatever dimensions the Engineer selects for the dam and spillway there will always
be some risk, assessment of the acceptable risk is the art of dam engineering.

The cyclic movement of water from the sea to the atmosphere and thence by
precipitation to the Earth, where it collects in streams and runs back to the sea, is
referred to as the hydrological cycle. The cycle is not as simple as that, firstly,
precipitation may fall at all stages, secondly, there is no uniformity in the time a cycle
takes, thirdly, the intensity and frequency of the cycle depend on geography and
climate.
Water in the sea evapourates under solar radiation, and clouds of water vapour move
over land areas. Precipitation occurs as snow, hail, rain and condensate in the form of
dew, over land and sea. Snow and ice on land are water in temporary storage. Rain
falling over land surfaces may be intercepted by vegetation and evaporate back to the
atmosphere. Some of it infiltrates into the soil and moves down or percolates into the
saturated ground zone beneath the water table, or phreatic surface. The water in this
zone flows slowly through aquifers to river channels or sometimes directly to the sea.
The water that infiltrates also feeds the surface plant life and some gets drawn up into
this vegetation where transpiration takes place from leafy plant surfaces.

The water remaining on the surface partially evapourates back to vapour, but the bulk
of it coalesces into streamlets and runs as surface runoff to the river channels. The
river and lake surfaces also evapourate, so still more is removed here. Finally, the
remaining water that has not infiltrated or evapourated arrives back at the sea via the
river channels. The groundwater, moving much more slowly, either emerges into the
stream channels or arrives at the coastline and seeps into the sea, and the whole cycle
starts again.

Man can exercise some control only when the rain has fallen on the land and is
making its way back to the sea.

Storage Capacity
The storage capacity required in a reservoir may be determined in a number of ways.
In tropical regions it may be decided to store the whole runoff from precipitation in
one season. Whether this would ensure continuity of flow would depend upon the
season selected and the seasons occurring later. It may be decided to provide
sufficient storage to ensure continuity based upon a repetition of past history.
In evaluating storage requirements a hydrologist would use various hydrological tools
such as cumulative mass curves, runoff, estimation of flood design, flood routing and
other factors.

The storage capacity of a reservoir is defined as the volume

of water which can be stored. Initial estimates of storage
capacity can be made from topographic maps or aerial
photographs.

The reservoir volume can be estimated by planimetering

areas upstream of the proposed dam site up to the proposed
top water level. The mean of the two successive contour
areas is multiplied by the contour interval to give the
interval volume, the summation of the interval volumes
provides the total volume of the reservoir site.

The figure shows a typical mass curve.

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Freeboard
Freeboard - 'The vertical distance between the top of the dam and the full supply level
on the reservoir.'

The top of the dam is the level of watertightness of the structure and may be the top of
a parapet that is watertight throughout its length. Full supply level is the level adopted
in design for the maximum operation of the reservoir.

To determine a value for freeboard the following must be considered;

 Flood Surcharge
 Seiche effects
 Wind set-up of the water surface
 Wave action
 Run-up of waves on the dam.
  Inaccuracy of data;
 Large risks if breached;
 Type of dam.

Floods
Estimation of design flood

There are two methods now commonly used;

 The statistical analysis of past floods with extrapolation to estimate the

magnitude and probability of occurence of future floods, and;
 The estimation of probable maximum precipitation on to the particular
catchment under the worst meteorological conditions likely to occur over the
catchment, followed by an estimation of the run-off that would result from such
a storm.

The determination of probable maximum precipitation for a particular drainage basin

requires comprehensive study of major storms on record and is a job for experts. One
is limited by the lack of data, records usually do not go back more than 50 years,
which makes prediction of more than the 100 year flood impossible. As it is, 50 years
of data will predict a 100 year flood to within 25%, and 115 years will predict it to
10%.

The Engineer is faced with conflicting requirements in terms of safety and economy,
he is therefore obliged to use to the best advantage the data and procedures that are
available;

 Statistical analysis of past flow records at the site - and extrapolation;

 As above, but with extension of the flow records by correlation with flows from
adjacent catchments;
 Statistical analysis of rainfall records and extrapolation;
 As preceeding, but with extension of data by correlation with other stations;
 Correlation studies including both rainfall and flow records;
 Estimation of 'maximum possible' rainfall by Meteorological Services and
application of such data to the estimation of 'probable maximum flood' from
catchment;
 Comparison with known events and other designs adopted for the region by the
use of such means as the Creager coefficients.

Flood Routing
 When a flood enters a reservoir it will cause the water level
to rise, with consequent discharge over the spillway. The
reservoir level will continue to rise until the free discharge
over the spillway equals the inflow at time 'X' on the figure.
Spillway discharge will then exceed inflow until the
reservoir level falls to spillway crest level.

If spillway gates are installed they can be opened in advance

of peak of the flood. The rate at which they can be opened
will usually be governed by permissible river rise conditions
downstream. There is the danger that the flood inflow will
not reach the volume anticipated and the water will be
wasted or a flood of unjustifable size will be created
downstream of the dam.

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Hydrodynamic Flow Nets

Flow of water through permeable materials is directional and is in response to head
differentials. Flow can be graphically portrayed by hydrodynamic flow nets, which
are drawn in vertical section parallel to the general direction of flow. A flow net
consists of two sets of lines, flowlines and equipotential lines. Flowlines or
streamlines are the loci of the paths of flow of individual water particles.
Equipotential lines pass through points of equal pressure. All intersections between
the streamlines and equipotential lines are at right angles.

(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites

Symmetrical hydrodynamic flow net beneath a dam with its base at ground level
When the base of the dam figure 2, is set below ground elevation and a cut-off is
constructed there is a change in flow net compared to figure 1, that results in the
following advantages:

1. The uplift pressure at the heel of the dam is reduced and the total uplift pressure
downstream from the cut-off has been diminished. Accordingly, the moment of
uplift forces tending to lift the dam has been reduced.
2. The danger of piping and erosion at the toe of the dam has been reduced or
eliminated.
3. The longer flow paths along the streamlines below the cut-off causes a notable
decrease in the exit velocities downstream in the proximity of the dam and
reduces total seepage under the dam.

(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites

Hydrodynamic flow net beneath a dam with its base below ground level and with an
impermeable cut-off near the heel of the dam

Hydrology of Anisotropic Bedrocks

Almost an infinite number of possibilities exists with respect to the magnitude and
space distribution of zones of potential seepage in bedrock in the vicinities of dams
and in the reservoirs behind the dams. A few of the many possible configurations of
zones of potential are shown below;

Idealised cross sections of dams showing various kinds of zones of potential

seepage in bedrock.
Brittle, fractured sandstones in horizontal sedimentary sequence
beneath dam present a potential seepage.

Dam is situated on basltic lava flows and interlayered pyroclastic

deposits. Lava flows are fractured, brecciated at their tops, and
contain lava caves.

A brittle layer of quartzite in tightly folded metamorphic rocks is

likely to contain numerous intersecting fractures.

Sandstone layers alternating with shale layers in a syncline contain

fractures associated with development of a syncline.

A fault provides access of water to brittle sandstone layers which

dip upstream.

A fault provides egress for water moving through inclined, brittle

sandstone layers.
Brittle sandstone layers have been extensively fractured during
development of an anticline.

Fractured sandstones in folded rocks are intersected by a fault zone

which expedites groundwater movement to the surface beneath the
dam.

Faults in brittle crystalline rock provide channelways for

groundwater circulation.

Fractured sandstones, a weathered zone on granite beneath the

sediments, and a fault zone create channelways for subsurface
circulation of water.

Extensively jointed crystalline rocks are permeable to groundwater

flow.

A closely jointed igneous dike intersects a sedimentary sequence

and provides a channel for groundwater movement.

Idealised cross section of valleys at dam and/or reservoir sites.

Jointed sandstones present potential for seepage around dam
abutments when reservoir is full.

Basaltic lava flows and layers of pyroclastic rocks create potential

for seepage. Lava flows are jointed, have breccia tops, and contain
lava caves.

Fractured sandstones in a strike valley are prone to seepage.

A subsided block (arrow) has created an open channelway in a

massive horizontal sandstone layer.

Gravity-slip faults and fractures formed by elastic rebound produce

potential zones for groundwater movement in a glaciated valley.

A strong fault system renders crystalline rocks permeable on one

side of a valley.
A wide fault zone promotes deep circulation of water beneath dam.

Fractured sandstones and a weathered zone beneath an angular

unconformity enable easy circulation of groundwater.

Fractured sandstones in an anticline create a permeable zone

parallel to the valley.

Folded, jointed rocks and a strong fault create a potential for

groundwater flow.

A sheeted, jointed zone in crystalline rocks create a permeable

zone.

Joints in a brittle quartzite layer and a fault produce channelways

for underground water circulation.

(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites

Hydrology of Filled Reservoirs
Failure of slopes on sides of reservoirs frequently during drawndown when the
reservoir is nearly empty doesn't produce unmanageable problems. However, of more
concern is when rock and earth slides into a full reservoir causing sudden destructive
overflow of the dam.

Filling of a reservoir causes adjustments in the groundwater table in adjacent

materials. Over a period of time when the reservoir is full a new groundwater table is
established with coincides with the elevation of the water surface. The groundwater
surface is a free surface in contact through unfilled pore spaces with the atmosphere,
changes in atmospheric pressure are accompanied by changes in pore pressure in the
saturated zone. Wave action also undercuts the slopes and oversteepens them.

(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites

Figure 1 - Glacial till deposits in a glaciated canyon in crystalline rocks
A reservoir is located in an extensively glaciated valley in crystalline rocks. Lateral
morraines, consisting of a jumbled mixture of large and small boulders, gravel, and
rock flour have been deposited by the glacier that occupied the valley high on its
sides. Filling of the reservoir causes an elevation of the water table in the rill in the
moraines, and because of the cross-sectional configuration of the valley, considerably
increases the possibility for sudden downslope movement of the moraine material.
Failure of the slopes might occur at any time.
(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites
Figure 2 - Tilted alteration of sandstone and shale
The bedrock profile of a canyon eroded by a stream in a tilted succession of
sandstones and clay-rich shales. Unconsolidated materials in rock slides and stream
deposits are not shown. Water from the reservoir, by seepage through the sandstones,
comes into contact with the shale layers for a considerable distance into the canyon
walls, and by slow penetration of the shales, greatly reduces their strength. Under
these circumstances, a highly unstable condition is created, especially where the
sedimentary layers dip into the reservoir.
FOUNDATION
The foundations of a dam must be able to withstand without unacceptable deformation
the loads imposed upon it by the structure, both immediately after filling the reservoir
and in the long term.

With time, deteriotation by saturation and percolation of water can occur, whilst soft
rocks and clays usually exhibit lower residual strengths under sustained loading than
under rapid testing. It is the 10-20m of rock immediately below the dam that is of
greatest importance.

Terzaghi's advice might well apply to foundation testing - "...because of unavoidable

uncertainties involved in the fundamental assumptions of the theories and the
numerical values of the soil constants, simplicity is of much greater importance than
accuracy." The Engineer must use all the available resources, concentrating on the
zones of foundation that appear weak and that will be subject to stresses once loaded.

Foundation Preparation
Introduction

If it is economically feasible, all material under the base of a proposed dam which
could cause excessive settlement and leakage should be removed. If this cannot be
done, the dam design should be modified to take account of such material. Sometimes
it may be necessary to remove material to considerable depths in isolated areas of the
foundation. This is known as dental work. The general overall removal of material is
termed stripping, whereas the removal of loose masses of rocks on the abutments is
termed scaling. The engineering geologist has to determine the expected depth of
weathered or unsound rock or overburden that must be removed in advance of
construction.

Foundation programme

A planned programme of foundation excavation should be initiated with the view that
the volume of excavation and configuration of the excavation will approximate
reasonably to the plans and specifications established. It is the responsibility of the
construction engineer to ensure slopes for excavations will be permanently stable or
will not fail during construction. In earth materials slopes of 1.5:1 to 2:1 are excavated
in permanent cuts and slopes of 1:1 are established in temporary cuts, except where
unusual conditions are anticipated. In bedrock that is not closely fractured or does not
contain inclined planes of potential slippage, such as bedding planes in weak rocks,
slopes are excavated at angles up to the vertical.

Problematic foundation materials

In foundations in unconsolidated material excavation of natural deposits may reveal

inadequate localised or widespread foundation materials that require special treatment
or total removal. Unacceptable or inadequate materials rich in organic substances such
as topsoil, swamp muck or peat, loose deposits of sand or silt, talus accumulations and
plastic, active, sensitive, or swelling clays.

Poor foundation conditions in rocks are associated with close fracturing, weathering
or hydrothermal alteration, or poorly indurated sedimentary rocks.

Excavation in bedrock

The objective of excavation is the preparation of a clean surface that will provide
optimum contact with the dam materials, whether earth or concrete is to be placed on
that surface. Therefore excavations in bedrock should extend into firm, fresh rock.
Any closely fractured zones extending downward, especially if containing soft altered
materials such as clay gouge or other products of weathering, should be removed if
feasible.

Prolonged exposure of both earth and rock foundations to the atmosphere or to water
frequently results in deterioration by hydration, dehydration, frost action, shrinkage,
and expansion with changes in temperature. It is good practice to protect reactive
surfaces that will be exposed for long periods of time with bituminous materials.
Alternatively, original cover is not removed until final cleanup and just prior to
placement of the dam.

Construction on unconsolidated deposits

At an ideal site, excavations in unconsolidated deposits should extend to solid bedrock

for the full width of the dam, whether it is constructed of concrete or earth/rock fill.
However, there are many locations where the depth of the valley fill is so great that
dams must be constructed in part or entirely on unconsolidated deposits. Where this is
the case steps must be taken to improve the engineering properties of the foundation
materials and to reduce subsurface seepage to allowable levels.

Except for low dams of small gross weight, concrete dams are not built on
unconsolidated deposits because of their generally low bearing strength. Larger dams
constructed in whole or in part on unconsolidated deposits should without exception,
be earth or rockfill dams with the capacity to adjust to settlement in the foundation
materials.

CONCRETE

Preparation of foundations - the extent of the work that will be necessary in the
foundations for a concrete dam will be determined by two main factors, their strength
to sustain the loads that will be imposed by dam and the reservoir water, and the effect
of water entering the foundations under pressure from the reservoir.

Generally the quality of foundations for a gravity dam will improve with depth of
excavation however the abutments for an arch dam often do not improve with distance
excavated into the sides of the valley. Deterioration of clay could endanger the dam
and/or lead to collapse of abutments downstream from the dam.

Frequently the course of the river has been determined by geological faults or
weaknesses; proving of the river bed is therefore of first importance in the
investigation stage. The depth to be excavated will depend upon the nature of the
infilling material, the shape of the excavated zone, and the depth of cutoff necessary
to ensure an acceptable hydraulic gradient after the reservoir is filled.

Concrete dams may be constructed on foundations other than massive rock, i.e. shales,
glacial deposits or even sand for river works. Each case must be examined relative to
permeability, settlement, and load-carrying capacity (vertical and horizontal).

The final preparation of the foundation should be undertaken just prior to the
placement of concrete. It should include the removal of loose rock and all debris,
roughening of smooth rock surfaces, washing down of all surfaces, and the removal of
excess water from pools to leave a clean damp surface to receive the concrete.

Foundation Design
1. Pressures associated with dams and reservoirs
2. Mechanisms of Foundation Failure
3. Geologic Conditions Promoting Foundation Failure
4. Bearing capacity
5. Seepage
6. Settlement
Pressures Associated with Dams and Reservoirs
Construction of a dam and filling of the reservoir behind it create load stresses on the
floor and sides of a valley that did not exist previously.

The kinds and distributions of imposed stresses created by a dam on its foundation
depend on the shape of the dam and the materials used in its construction.

Dams built of masonry or concrete can be considered to behave as cohesive,

rigid, monolithic structures. The stresses acting on the foundation is a function
of the gross weight of the dam as distributed over the total area of the
foundation on which the dam rests.

Earth and rock fill dams exhibit gross semiplastic behaviour, and the pressure
on the foundation at any point depends on the thickness of the dam above the
point.

The pressures exerted by earth and rock-fill dams resemble in some respects those
exerted by the water in a reservoir, but pressure distribution is modified by the fact
that the materials of construction have some inherent strength, and fail only after some
threshold stress has been exceeded. Pressures exerted by water in the reservoir behind
a dam are hydrostatic and increase linearly with depth.

Figure 1 - Pressures due to water in a reservoir

The pressures are hydrostatic and increase with depth. On the assumption that the
pressures are directed normal to the floor and sides, they are shown as vectors of
increasing magnitude with depth.
 Figure 2 - Pressures from the weight of a rigid concrete dam

The deadweight load of a concrete dam is distributed over the total area of the
foundation and is shown by vectors normal to the surface beneath the dam. The
figures are essentially static, and depend only on the weight of the dam and the area of
the foundation.

Water exerts hydrostatic pressures not only on the floor and walls of a reservoir but
also on the upstream face of a dam. D is the depth of water in a reservoir, P is the
hydrostatic pressure per unit area acting on the vertical face of a concrete dam
assumed to behave as a rigid body. The change in pressure with depth (in the y
direction) is given by dP/dY=þg in which þ is the density of water and g is the
acceleration due to gravity.

Figure - Forces acting on a rigid dam owing to hydrostatic pressures

Torque about 0 = þgD³/6

Resultant Pressure = þgD²/2

In calculations of the stability of the dam the torque tending to rotate the dam about 0
should be added to the tendency of the dam to be rotated in the same direction about
the same point by uplift forces related to
seepage beneath the dam.

Figure 1 illustrates an earth dam, a nonrigid

structure that under stress behaves
semiplastically. Because of relatively easy
internal adjustments to loads, the pressure
exerted on the foundation are approximately equal to the weight of overlying prisms
of material of different heights. Pressures exerted on the dam by water in the reservoir
tend to cause greater adjustments near the base
of the dam than at shallower depths.

A cross section of a concrete gravity dam,

presumed to behave as a rigid body. When the
reservoir is empty, the weight of the dam is
directed vertically downward. When the
reservoir is full, a combination of hydrostatic
pressure on the upstream face of the dam and
the weight of the dam produces a force vector
inclined downstream away from the vertical force vector, and there is a tendency for
the dam not only to be displaced downstream but also to rotate about the downstream
toe of the dam because of a torque.

These figures show force vectors for empty

and filled reservoirs behind concrete arch
dams. Unlike gravity dams, arch dams
because of the egg-shell effect tend to resist
downstream dislocation and the displacing
forces, instead, are transmitted laterally
through the dam and toward the abutments.
Figures (C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites

Mechanisms of Foundation Failure

In general, failures in flat, nearly horizontal foundations of earth and rock-fill dams
are not the result of shearing dislocations owing to the load of the dam. Instead,
foundations give way because of inadequate treatment for seepage, either within the
dam or beneath it, or as a consequence of construction of a dam on a foundation
which slopes steeply upstream or downstream.

The figure below shows a mechanism of foundation failure under load that has been
widely employed in the analysis of bearing strengths of soils. This mechanism
responds to analysis by application of Mohr's thoery of shear failure called the plastic
method of analysis of bearing capacity.

(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites

Figure 1 - 'Plastic' Mechanism for shear failure of foundation materials; Load is
directed vertically
For a load directed vertically downward it is assumed and born out by model studies
that a symmetrical wedge is formed by shear dislocation. Extension of the shear
surfaces bounding the wedge, first as curved surfaces, and then as planar surfaces
intersecting the earth's surface, provides a mechanism for shear failure along
symmetrically disposed surfaces beneath the dam.

(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites

Figure 2 - 'Plastic' Mechanism for shear failure of foundation materials; Load is
directed asymmetrically
Figure 2 shows the consequences of application of an inclined load, either
because of an inclined surface at the base of the dam or because of an interaction
between the load component acting vertically due to the weight of the dam and the
pressure exerted on the dam by the hydrostatic pressure of the water in the reservoir.
The result is a tendency to shear along a single surface that intersects the earth's
surface downstream from the dam. If pre-existing planes of weakness of appropiate
orientation exist in the foundation materials, it should be expected that the shear
surfaces will deflect into them.

Geologic Conditions Promoting Foundation

Failure
The geologic conditions in foundations for concrete dams that should be avoided are
indicated below.

Brittle, fractured sandstones rest on a weak shale layer

dipping upstream.

Horizontally layered limestones rest on a weak shale

layer which extends downstream to a steep slope in the
valley floor.

Fractured crystalline rocks lie above a flat fault

containing sheared, gougy materials of very low
strength.

Intersecting strong conjugate joints have attitudes that

promote easy mass shear dislocations.
Sedimentary rocks dipping downstream are intersected
by a fault dipping upstream and containing materials of
low strength.

Folded rocks containing thin, weak layers of shale

present a potential for foundation failure.

Slope failures toward abutments (in direction of the dam axis) which disturb or
dislocate the abutments are rare. In concrete dams in which slopes in the abutment
areas maintain themselves during excavation for the foundation, the possibility of
downslope movement along surfaces that intersect the foundation of the dam is
remote because of the added stability provided by the weight and strength of the dam.
However, the possibility that slopes above the dam, especially in deep valleys, may
fail and bury surface structures with rock
and/or soil debris.

Figure - Conditions promoting possible slope

failure beneath abutments of an earth or
rock-fill dam along curves shear surfaces.
Shale beneath a sandstone layer has been
weakened by infiltration of water from the
reservoir.

Bearing capacity
To avoid shear failure, the foundation pressures used in design should have an
adequate factor of safety when compared with the ultimate bearing capacity of the
foundation. If failure is to be avoided, then a factor of safety must be applied to the
ultimate bearing capacity, the value being obtained being the safe bearing capacity.
The ultimate bearing capacity is defined as the least pressure which would cause
shear failure of the supporting soil immediately below and adjacent to a foundation.
However, this value still may mean risk of excessive settlement or differential
settlement. Thus the allowable bearing capacity which is used in design will take into
account all possibilities of ground movement and so its value will normally be less
than the safe bearing capacity.

Seepage – Introduction
Seepage under an embankment is much more dangerous than that for a concrete dam,
since embankments are usually built on soft material which is liable to be scoured out
and it is also vulnerable to influx of water; whereas a concrete dam is usually built on
rock which is not worn away so rapidly by the scouring action of water; and even then
a defective dam will not necessarily be endangered by passage of water through it or
even under it.

Basic seepage problems

Stored water behind dams, gives rise to three basic seepage problems, which can lead
to difficulties and in serious cases to total failure:

1. Piping occurs when water picks up soil particles and moves them through
unprotected exits, developing unseen channels or pipes through a dam or its
foundation.
2. Heave or slope failures caused by seepage forces.
3. Excessive loss of water.

Three basic methods for controlling seepage are:

1. Use of filters to prevent piping and heave

2. Seepage reduction
3. Drainage

Prevention of Piping Failures

Piping failures

Water that percolates through earth dams and their foundations can carry soil particles
that are free to migrate. The seepage forces tend to cause the erodible soil or soft rock
to move towards the downstream face of the dam. That is if the seepage forces are
large enough and the pore spaces in the material are large enough. Along the
unprotected discharge face AB, the soil will heave if the gradients are large enough.
Every seepage discharge surface, both internal and external, which could be
susceptible to piping or heave must be covered with filters that permit water to pass
but will hold the soil particles firmly in place.

Filter criteria

Since the core is stabilised with rock or gravel zones, it is necessary to prevent the
fine core material being sucked into the upstream shell material during rapid
drawdown of the reservoir, or forced into the downstream shell by seepage water
under reservoir head. Transition or filter zones must therefore be provided on each
side of the core.

The upstream filter, if non-cohesive and of proper grading, can serve a valuable
service by providing material for induced self-healing should a transverse crack
appear in the core. Selection of the best material for this purpose is well justified.
Although its prime function is to retain the core material against movement into the
rockfill, the downstream transition material should be selected and placed so as to
inhibit the propagation of a core crack into the compacted rockfill. It is good practice
to widen the transition zones towards each abutment, i.e. where tension and oblique
cracking may occur.

To prevent migration of fines from the core:

D15/D85 < 4-5

(filter)/(zone being filtered)

D50/D50 < 25
(filter)/(zone being filtered)

For sufficient permeability:

 D15/D15 > 4-5
(filter)/(zone being filtered)
To prevent segregation of the filter:
D60/D10 < 20
(filter)/(filter)
Problems associated with natural formations

The foundations and abutments of dams are usually stable under the influence of the
natural groundwater flow. However, reservoir filling greatly changes the groundwater
regime and may lead to piping and internal erosion. The potential for internal erosion
and piping may occur at joints in rock, beds of gravel and in cavities left by rotting
roots, animals burrows or other buried organic matter.

Recommendations for preventing piping in natural formations

Field exploration and geological mapping for dam projects should identify the
important soil and rock formations that could cause failure by internal piping or
heave. The geotechnical properties of these materials should be thoroughly
investigated. If the materials are proven to be unsuitable then remedial action should
be taken to improve their geotechnical properties.

All new dams and reservoirs should be carefully observed and monitored once in
service to detect the development of unsafe conditions. If seepage quantities increase
or if there is an unexplained change in seepage conditions then protective measures
should be put into action.

Such actions should include lowering the reservoir and placing weighted filters over
areas where seepage discharges occur.

Seepage Reduction
Basic considerations

Seepage-reduction methods make use of impermeable cutoffs, grout curtains, and

upstream blankets, which consume energy at locations within cross sections where
large water pressures and seepage forces have no detrimental effects. The net result of
these methods is that water pressures and seepage forces are reduced in the
downstream region. These seepage-reducing features are usually combined with
properly designed filters and drainage features, since seepage reduction can only be
partially effective by itself.
 (C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
Foundation grouting

Further details on grouting click on Foundation Improvements page.

Drainage Methods
Permeable downstream shells

At dam sites where there is an abundance of at least two different materials with
significantly different permeabilities, a zoned dam may be constructed. In such cases
permeable material is placed downstream of less permeable material, often with a
transition zone between. For example, in a zoned dam which has a thick impermeable
core and rests on an impermeable foundation, the flowpaths within the downstream
portion of the dam will be low. Thus seepage has a negligible effect on the stability of
the downstream slope, which is the ideal condition in zoned earth dams.
 (C) Craig R, F Soil Mechanics
Internal drain systems

Purpose

A homogeneous dam with a height of more than about 6 m to 8 m should have some
type of downstream drain. The purpose of a drain is:

1. to reduce the pore water pressures in the downstream portion of the dam
therefore increasing the stability of the downstream slope against sliding.
2. to control any seepage that exits the downstream portion of the dam and
prevent erosion of the downstream slope: i.e. to prevent 'piping'.

The effectiveness of the drain in reducing pore pressures depends on its location and
extent. However, piping is controlled by ensuring that the grading of the pervious
material from which the drain is constructed meets the filter requirements for the
embankment material.

Toe drains

The design of a downstream drainage system is controlled by the height of the dam,
the cost and availability of permeable material, and the permeability of the foundation.

For low dams, a simple toe drain can be used successfully. Toe drains have been
installed in some of the oldest homogeneous dams in an effort to prevent softening
and erosion of the downstream toe.
 (C) Craig R, F Soil Mechanics
For reservoir depths greater than 15 m, most engineers would place a drainage system
further inside the embankment where it will be more effective in reducing pore
pressures and controlling seepage.

Horizontal drainage blanket

Horizontal drainage blankets are often used for dams of moderate height.

Drainage blankets are frequently used over the downstream one-half or one-third of
the foundation area. The Bureau of Reclamation's 45 m Vega Dam is a homogeneous
dam which has been constructed with a horizontal downstream drain. Where pervious
material is scarce, the internal strip drains can be placed instead since these give the
same general effect.

Disadvantages of horizontal drainage blankets

An earth dam embankment tends to be more pervious in the horizontal direction than
in the vertical. Occasionally, horizontal layers tend to be much more impervious than
the average material constructed into the embankment, so the water will flow
horizontally on a relatively impervious layer and discharge on the downstream face
despite the horizontal drain.,p> Where this has occurred the downstream slope is
prone to slipping and piping. Repairs can be made by installing pervious blankets on
the downstream slopes or constructing vertical drains to connect with the horizontal
blanket. Such vertical drains are normally composed of sand and gravel.
Chimney drains

Chimney drains are an attempt to prevent horizontal flow along relatively impervious
stratified layers, and to intercept seepage water before it reaches the downstream
slope. Chimney drains are often incorporated in high homogeneous dams which have
been constructed with inclined or vertical chimney drains.

(C) Craig R, F Soil Mechanics

In some major dam projects, chimney drains have been inclined at a considerable
slope, both upstream and sometimes downstream. An upstream inclined drain can act
as a relatively thin core. In addition to controlling seepage through the dam and
increasing the stability of the downstream slope, the chimney drain is also useful in
reducing pore water pressures both during construction and following rapid reservoir
drawdown.

Dimensions and permeability of drains

The dimensions and permeability of permeable drains must be adequate to carry away
the anticipated flow with an ample margin of safety for unexpected leaks. If the dam
and the foundations are relatively impermeable, then the expected leakage would be
low. A drain should be constructed of material with a coefficient of permeability of at
least 10 to 100 times greater than the average embankment material.

Foundations Improvement
1. Pre-Consolidation
2. Densification of cohesionless soils
3. Dynamic Compaction
4. Grouting
 Pre-Consolidation
Pre-consolidation is a useful foundation treatment method in compressible soils,
depending on the rate of consolidation. If the rate is rapid (one to two months for
50%) it will be possible to pile up the soils removed from stripping and scaling of the
abutments to form an artificial surcharge.

If the rate is slower (one to two years for 50%) the dam weight can be used to
consolidate the soil and increase it's strength. It would be necessary to control the rate
of construction so that the weight applied does not exceed the ability of the foundation
to support the structure safely. It may, however, be necessary to increase the length of
the construction period to obtain a sufficient gain in strength. Drainage of the
foundation can also help to accelerate consolidation.

Densification of cohesionless soils

Densification of cohesionless soils is carried out using shock and vibration.
Vibroflotation is used to improve poor foundations. The process may reduce
settlement by more than 50% and the shearing strength of treated soils is increased
substantially. Vibrations can convert loosely packed soils into a denser state.

A vibroflot can be used to penetrate the soil and can operate efficiently below the
water table. The best results are obtained in coarse sands which contain little or no silt
or clay, since both reduce the effectiveness of the vibroflot.

Dynamic compaction
Dynamic compaction improves the mechanical properties of the soil by repeated
application of very high intensity impacts to the surface. This is achieved by dropping
a weight, typically 10 to 20 tonnes, from crawler cranes, from heights of 10 to 20
metres at regular intervals across the surface. Passes should be repeated over a site,
although several tampings may be made at each imprint during a pass. Each imprint
is back-filled after tamping. The first pass at widely spaced centres improves the
bottom layer of the treatment zone and subsequent passes consolidate the upper
layers. In finer materials the increased pore water pressures must be allowed to
dissipate between passes, which may take several weeks.

Grouting
 1. Grouting Operations in Bedrock
2. Dam Construction on Unconsolidated Deposits
3. Grout
4. Types of Grouting
5. Pattern Grouting
6. Blanket Grouting
7. Curtain Grouting
8. Off-pattern, Special Purpose Grouting
9. Grouting Consistency and Grouting Pressure

Grouting Operations in Bedrock

The goal of foundation and abutment grouting in bedrock is improvement of strength
and bearing capacity and the filling with grout of underground channelways that have
a potential for impermissible seepage. The most general technique uses drilling and
pressure grouting, either with water-cement mixtures or with other types of sealants.

Preliminary geological and geophysical investigations usually reveal only the general
characteristics of the bedrock, it is not until the keyway for the dam has been
excavated and the bare rock can be examined. This is a critical time because the
constructor is eager to proceed with the dam construction, however this is the last
chance to ensure that all the fissures are sealed to prevent water loss at a later stage
and must be extensively treated to assure ultimate safety of the dam.

Although grouting of a rock foundation may be conducted with meticulous care, the
possibiliy always exists that some channelways of underground water circulation
remain and that flow through these chanelways will accelerate as the reservoir is
filled. If the volumes are excessive then remedial steps must be taken, otherwise the
flows may be intercepted and diverted by drain holes or porous prisms.

Dam Construction on Unconsolidated

Deposits
There are many locations where the depth of valley fill is too great to remove and so
the dam or parts of it may have to be built on unconsolidated deposits. Cross sections
of several earth and/or rockfill dams constructed at least in part on unconsolidated
subsurface deposits are shown below. It is clear that considerable information as to the
distribution and permeabilities of subsurface materials is required prior to the design
and construction of cut-off features.
Rockfill dam. Impervious membrane
(asphaltic concrete) extends to a grout cap on
bedrock.

Cut-off trench extends to bedrock

Cut-off trench penetrates impervious layer in

unconsolidated valley fill

Cut-off extends to layer of impervious

material in unconsolidated valley fill. Grout
holes extend through a limestone layer in
bedrock below valley fill.

A cut-off is provided by sheet piling driven

into an impervious layer in valley fill.

Flow beneath dam is reduced by a leyer of

impervious material placed upstream from
the dam.

(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites

 Grout
Grout is a liquid, either a uniform chemical substance or an aqueous suspension of
solids that is injected into rocks or unconsolidated materials through specially drilled
boreholes to improve bulk physical properties and/or to eliminate seepage of
groudwater.

There are three basic types;

1. Portland cement-base slurries

2. Chemical Grouting solutions
3. Organic resins, including epoxy resins.

Portland based are the most widely used.

Types of Grouting
In dam foundations three kinds of grouting programs are identified:

1. Shallow blanket or consolidation grouting over critical portions

2. Curtain grouting from a gallery or concrete grout cap
3. Off pattern, special purpose grouting to improve strength

Some cross sections of dams with rock foundations showing locations of drilled holes
for foundation treatment.

 A - Curtain grout holes

 B - Blanket grout holes
 C - Special purpose, off-pattern grout holes
 D - Drain holes

Rockfill dam with impermeable concrete face

Zoned earth and rock-fill dam

Zoned earth and rock-fill dam

Earth dam

Concrete gravity dam with 'C' holes intersecting a fault

zone

Concrete gravity dam with double grout curtain and 'C'

holes intersecting a permeable fault zone

Concrete gravity dam with special purpose 'C' holes

Concrete gravity dam wiht a porous filter to collect
seepage water

Hollow conrete gravity dam

Concrete buttress dam

Concrete arch-dam

Concrete arch-dam

Pattern Grouting
Plans for dams commonly include broad specifications for a systematic program of
blanket and/or curtain grouting. Grouting is an uncertain process, it is impossible to
accurately estimate the amount of grout required, and usually the 'take' amounts
moderately to greatly in excess of the estimate. 'Grouting is an art and not a science.'

Pattern grouting is grouting included in the plans and specifications for a dam and
commonly is the basis for estimation prior to construction of the total footage of grout
holes and the expected amount of grout consumption. It is general practice to lay out
locations of grout holes in the plans with a definite, systematic pattern, spacing and
assumed depths.

Blanket Grouting
Blanket grout holes are usually shallow, not more than 6 - 9 m deep and are intended
to remedy flaws in the foundation, such as fractured rock, by reducing permeability
and increasing bulk strength. Although holes may be routinely drilled normal to the
foundation surface, there is considerable merit in directing the holes to intersect
specific local features identified in the dam foundation during excavation. Blanket
grouting must be completed before construction of a dam.

Locations of blanket grout holes

may usefully be indicated on plans
and specifications for several types
of dams. The drawings are entirely
schematic, and no scale is shown,
on the assumption that the actual
number of holes will be determined
by the area and the cross-sectional configuration of the excavation for the dam
foundation.

Curtain Grouting
In earth / rockfill dams, curtain grouting is usually completed before a dam is
constructed and involves filling a narrow excavated trench in the foundation with
concrete. The exception to the timing of the grouting operation is grouting after
construction for a grouting cap at the upstream heel of a dam.

Curtain grouting of the foundations of concrete dams is most effective after

completion of the dam, at a time when the full load is being applied to the foundation.
Under such circumstances higher pressures may be used in grouting so as to assure
maximum travel of grout in all directions along flow paths intersected by grout holes.
 In gravity and gravity arch dams of
moderate to large size it is common
practice to construct a gallery inside
the dam for drilling curtain grout holes
and drainage holes. Foundations of
small gravity and thin arch dams are
efficiently grouted from grout caps
along the contact of the upstream face
of the dam with rock.

Where there are no geological controls the depths of curtain pattern grout holes are
determined by a formula. A frequently used formula is: the vertical depth of grout
holes shall be a third of the dam height at the location of the hole plus (15 - 20m).

Off-pattern, Special Purpose Grouting

During investigations prior to dam construction, or as unanticipated geological

conditions are exposed in foundation excavations, the need for 'off-pattern' grout holes
may be required. These holes are drilled and grouted to improve the strength and / or
reduce the permeability of rock masses that are not intersected by blanket or curtain
grout holes.

The depths, directions and inclinations of the grout holes are determined by the three-
dimensional geometry of zones of incompetent and / or permeable rocks as revealed
by field examination of bedrock exposures in foundation and abutment excavations.
Inclined holes from the surface
and horizontal holes from a
shaft intersect steep faults and
associated fractures at depth.

Inclined holes are drilled to

intersect sheeted zones in
crystalline rocks.

Dipping sedimentary layers

present a potential for seepage
under a dam. Inclined holes
are drilled to intersect a
limestone layer and a brittle
sandstone layer.
Inclined holes are drilled into
jointed and sheared rock in
crests and troughs of folds.

Holes are drilled to intersect a

closely jointed igneous dyke at
depth.

Off-pattern grout holes

intersect a jointed, weathered
zone in crystalline rocks below
an unconformity.
Grouting Consistency and Grouting Pressure
The ability of cement grout to penetrate interconnected open spaces is limited by the
dimensions of the open spaces and the amount and size of the cement particles
suspended in the water base. Openings of slightly greater than capillary size that may
permit free circulation of groundwater are quickly filled and obstructed by cement
particles and lateral and/or vertical travel of the grout suspension is greatly impeded
or brought to a halt. In larger openings, presupposing interconnecting avenues of
circulation, grout suspensions move with ease and in some instances travel
surprisingly large distances.

If easy grout circulation continues with the progress of the grouting operation, the
suspension is gradually thickened and, if necessary, the pressure correspondingly
increased until filling of available openings is indicated by refusal of the grout hole to
accept additional grout. Grout leaks at the surface should be calked or otherwise
sealed to promote confined subsurface movement of grout suspensions.

The definitions of thin and thick are not precise, but generally thin mixtures are
construed to mean mixtures prepared by mixing 8-10 volumes water with one volume
of cement. Thick mixtures have volume proportions of cement to water of
approximately 1:1, or thicknesses that are not so great that the grout can not be
pumped with reasonable ease. In highly permeable materials thick grout mixtures are
indicated with inert additives such as clay or sand may be added to grout suspensions
as inexpensive fillers.

If grout pressures exceed certain limits there is the possibility of foundation

dislocation and new channelways being created. Because of a wide range in
complexity of patterns of underground circulation it is not possible to establish a rigid
formula for controlling grout pressures at the top of a grout hole. For curtain grouting,
a rule that is sometimes followed states that pressure in an initially thin grout
suspension is increased to a level which establishes a free circulation (assuming
channelways for circulation are present) but not in excess of the calculated hydrostatic
pressure of the filled reservoir at the elevation of the collar of the grout hole plus 0.7-
3.5 bar.

Premature thickening of grout or reduction of pressures to cause grout refusal in a

grout hole should be avoided unless it can be demonstrated that grout is escaping to
the surface well outside of the foundation area. So long as grout is circulating
somewhere in the foundation of a dam or in the near proximity of the foundation, it
must be assumed that it is contributing to an improvement of the engineering
properties of foundation materials and to a reduction in permeability to groundwater
seepage.

Settlement
All structures undergo some settlement, regardless of their construction or of the
quality of their foundations. Structures made of soil or founded on soil settle so much
that their performance is affected and their safety is compromised.

Concrete dams are almost always based on strong rock foundations where settlement
of the dam is kept to a minimum otherwise the dams would crack leading to serious
structural faults. Embankment dams can be founded on soft compressible materials
and are able to withstand large settlements.

 Causes of settlement
 Measurement of settlement
 Effects of settlement on structures
 Settlement due to changes in environment

Causes of settlement
1. Bearing capaicty failure or instability, including landslides.
2. Failure or deflection of the foundation structure.
3. Elastic or distortion of the soil or rock.
4. Consolidation (compression) of the soil or rock.
5. Shrinkage due to desiccation.
6. Change in density due to shock or vibration.
7. Chemical alteration of constituents, including decay.
8. Underground erosion.
9. Collapse of underground openings such as caves or mines.
10. Structural collapse due to weakening of cementation upon saturation.
Measurement of settlement
Measurement of settlement within a dam should illustrate the progress of
consolidation in the dam and point out whether addition of height will be necessary to
maintain freeboard. In embankment dams settlement measurements are helpful in
computing the volume of material placed in the dam from the dimensions of the
completed structure and provide a check on original design specifications.

Measurement of Crest Settlement

Crest settlement is measured by bench marks placed at intervals along the top of the
dam. Obviously these are tied to a reference bench mark on the abutment which is
immovable.

Measurement of Internal Settlement

Measurement of internal settlement is made using settlement plates embedded in the

dam or the foundation.

Diagram of settlement plates -

Effects of settlement on structures

The settlement configuration of a uniform load on a thick deposit of compressible soil
is a saucer shaped depression which extends beyond the limits of the structure. If the
loading is irregular or the soil uniform, the saucer shaped curve is distorted. If the
deposit is thin, the 'saucer' is flattened at the centre. The effect that the settlement has
on a structure depends on where the structure is located in the depression and on how
the movements at that location influence the performance of the structure.

 Total settlement
 Tilting
 Distortion

Total Settlement
The total amount of settlement a structure can undergo without damage is large
provided it is relatively uniform. However, with large amounts of settlement several
forms of trouble develop. In embankments and dams on earth foundations the result
will be a lowering of the crest. This is an insidious form of trouble since it usually
develops slowly, often without the operators of maintenance personnel being aware of
the loss of height and free board.

Allowances must be made for settlement in the design height, and periodic
measurements should be taken to be sure that the proper crest level is maintained. A
considerable part of the settlement, both of the foundation and of the embankment,
occurs during the construction period. This can result in discrepancies in the
computed volume of the structure unless it is anticipated and careful records of the
settlement are kept. With proper allowances, embankment settlements of a few metres
can be tolerated. Total settlement is not a serious matter if it is anticapted and
provisions made before hand.

Tilting
Tilting occurs in the parts of the structure that are outside the centre of the saucer-
like depression. It also takes place when the structure is unevenly loaded, or when
the soils are non-uniform. It is of importance mainly with tall structures such as large
retaining walls, transmission towers, water tanks, and smoke stacks. It is particularly
serious in structures that are inter-connected. The amount of tilt which can be
tolerated depends on the height-width ratio of the structure.
Distortion
Differential settlement which produces relative movement is known as distortion. The
load of an embankment on a uniform soil produces a settlement profile as shown
below. There is also a tendency for cracks to develop as indicated. These cracks may
lead to accelerated seepage, erosion, and even failure.

Figure 1 - The load of an embankment on a uniform soil produces a settlement profile

as shown and a tendency to develop cracks at the points indicated. Such cracks can
possibly lead to accelerated seepage, erosion and even seepage failure.

Figure 2 - The non uniform foundation thickness and the greater loading at the centre
than at the abutments brings about a sagging profile along the axis. Shear cracks tend
to form as shown. These are far more serious because they extend from upstream to
downstream and several dam failures have been attributed to such cracking.

Figure 3 - When a small portion of the embankment extends beyond the main section
shear cracks sometimes develop.

Figure 4 - Similar settlement adjacent to an overhanging abutment can create cracks at

their juncture.

Settlement due to changes in Environment

Changes in environment can bring about a reduction in void ratio in certain soils and a
corresponding settlement. Shock and vibration from earthquakes, blasting, and
construction machinery can cause loose cohesionless soils to densify. In addition,
flow failure may accompany the settlement if the soils are saturates. Detioration of
cementing agents from physical and chemical changes brought on by exposure and
inundation can cause the collapse of loose skeleton soil structures and settlement.

Bacteriological decay of organic materials can produce settlement accompanied by

formation of gas pockets. Such decay is inhibited by permanent submergence.

Exposure to soils to hot dry weather during construction can cause both settlement
and shrinkage cracking. A desiccated clay that is subsequently inundated may swell
and damage a superimposed structure or embankment by heave. Moreover, the
cracked, swollen soil is weakened and can be a cause of foundation failure.
Introduction to Embankment Dams
ICOLD defined an embankment dam as, "any dam constructed of excavated materials
placed without addition of binding materials other than those inherent in the natural
material. The materials are usually obtained at or near the damsite"

The materials available locally control the size and configuration of the dam. Many
small embankment dams are built entirely of a single type of material such as stream
alluvium, weathered bedrock, or glacial till. These are homogeneous dams,
constructed more or less of uniform natural material.

Larger embankment dams are zoned and constructed of a variety of materials, either
extracted from different local sources or prepared by mechanical or hydraulic
separation of source material into fractions with different properties.

An important element in a zoned dam is an impermeable blanket or core which

usually consists of clayey materials obtained locally. In locations where naturally
impermeable materials are unavailable the dams are built of rock or earth-rock
aggregates, and the impermeable layers of reinforced concrete, asphaltic concrete, or
riveted sheet steel are placed on the upstream face of the dam.

Embankment dams have been built on a variety of foundations, ranging from weak
glacial deposits to strong rock. An advantage compared with concrete dams is that the
bearing strength requirements of the foundation are much less. Minor settlement
during and after construction is generally not serious because of the adjustability of
the material.

Parts of an Earth Dam

 (C) Sowers, George Earth and Rockfill Dam Engineering

Note : Not all of the above ordinarily would be incorporated in any one dam

Layout of Earthfill Dam Projects

Earthfill dams require ancillary structures for diversion, such as low-level outlets and
spillways, whereas such features can be embodied into concrete dams. Power
waterways are much longer, requiring surge tanks. The layout must be given due
consideration to the scheme of diversion and location of ancillary features.

Earthfill Design
An earth dam is basically a trapezoidal embankment built in a valley to form a water
reservoir. The design has to ensure:

1. It is impermeable enough to prevent excessive loss of water from the reservoir.

2. The design must ensure stable slopes.
3. Settlement of the dam must not be excessive so as to reduce the freeboard of
the dam.
4. The upstream slope of the dam must be protected from the destructive action of
waves, and the downstream slope must withstand rainfall erosion.
5. A sufficient bond between the embankment and its foundation must exist to
prevent the development of seepage paths; excessive hydrostatic uplift must be
controlled by proper drainage.

Impermeable Zone Location

The location of the impermeable zone in a rockfill dam involves the same factors as it
does in the case of an earth dam.

The upstream deck has a number of advantages:

1. It is more stable under the water load, because the downward force of the water
produces frictional resistance to sliding
2. The permeable rock embankment develops no uplift, since the embankment
permits no movement of water upward from the foundation.
3. The impermeable deck can easily be inspected and repaired if necessary.
 4. During construction the height of the dam can be increased by dumping only on
the downstream side and extending the membrane upward on the sloping
surface.

The disadvantages of an upstream deck are:

1. The deck is vulnerable to weather and wave attack.

2. If constructed of earth, sudden drawdown greatly reduces its stability and may
cause it to slide.
3. Settlement of the rock embankment tends to produce tensile cracks in the
membrane.

The central core location has a number of advantages:

1. The core is equally supported and is more stable during a sudden drawdown (if
constructed from earth).
2. Settlement of the rockfill induces compressive stresses in the core, tending to
make it more compact.
3. There is less core volume and less cross sectional area for leakage for a given
height of dam and thickness of core.

The choice for dams with impermeable zones depends largely on the stability of the
core material. If it is strong, a near upstream location is often the most economical.
However, if the core material is weak a central location is better.

Slope Stability
Also see Slope Stability pages by H.Connolly.

Introduction

Failure of an embankment dam can result from instability of either the upstream or
downstream slopes. The failure surface may lie within the embankment or may pass
through the embankment and the foundation soil. The critical stages in an upstream
slope are at the end of construction and during rapid drawdown. The critical stages for
the downstream slope are at the end of construction and during steady seepage when
the reservoir is full.

It is common to install piezometers to measure pore water pressures and compare data
with the predicted values used in design. Since pore water pressures are a dominant
influence on the factor of safety of slopes, remedial action should be taken if the
factor of safety, based on the measured values, is considered to be too low.

To ensure stability a number of conditions must be investigated:

1. The slopes must be safe against surface slipping. To ensure this the slopes must
be no steeper than the angle of repose
2. The dam must be safe against sliding on the foundation
3. The mass of the embankment must be safe against a circular arc failure or
composite linear failure. This is likely to occur within an earth core or weak
foundation

The safety against failure can be increased by reducing the gradient of the slopes.

Homogeneous Embankment

1. Slip within embankment

2. Slip circle through foundation

Zoned Embankment

1. Within rockfill
2. Through rockfill and foundation
3. Through core and foundation

End of construction

Most slope failures occur either during, or at the end of construction. Pore water
pressures depend on the placement water content of the fill and on the rate of
construction. A commitment to achieve rapid completion will result in high pore
water pressures at the end of construction. However, the construction period of an
embankment dam is likely to be long enough to allow partial dissipation of excess
pore water pressure, especially for a dam with internal drainage. Dissipation of excess
pore water pressures can be accelerated by installing horizontal drainage layers within
the dam. However, a total stress analysis would result in an over conservative design.
An effective stress analysis is therefore preferred. A factor of safety as low as 1.3 may
be acceptable at the end of construction provided there is reasonable confidence in the
design data.

Steady seepage

When the reservoir has been full for some time, conditions of steady seepage become
established through the dam with the soil below the top flow line in the fully saturated
state. This condition must be analysed in terms of effective stress with values of pore
pressure being determined from the flow net. The factor of safety for this condition
should be at least 1.5. Internal erosion is a particular danger when the reservoir is full
because it can arise and develop within a relatively short time, seriously impairing the
safety of the dam.

Rapid drawdown in low permeability soils

Rapid drawdown of the reservoir after a condition of steady seepage will result in a
change in the pore water pressure distribution. If the permeability of the soil is low, a
drawdown period measured in weeks may be 'rapid' in relation to the dissipation time
and the change in pore water pressure.

Rapid Drawdown in high permeability soils

The pore water pressure distribution after drawdown in soils of high permeability
decreases as pore water drains out of the soil above the drawdown level. The
saturation line moves downwards at a rate dependant upon the permeability of the
soil. A series of flow nets can be drawn for different positions of the saturation line
and values of pore water pressure obtained. The factor of safety can then be
determined, using an effective stress analysis, for any position of the saturation line.
 Settlement
Settlement is a problem for embankment dams. It begins during construction and
continues for many years after the dam is complete. The two main causes are:

1. The migration or working of fines from between the points of contact between
the larger rock allows the particles to re-orient themselves into a more dense
structure
2. The crushing of the contact points between the larger rocks under the extreme
stress developed by the embankment weight causes the rocks to develop new
points of contact which in turn crush again.

The problem can be avoided by proper compaction during construction. In earthfill

dams it may be possible to overbuild the dam, to make a, say 50% higher dam which
will settle to the correct height. Multi-stage construction also helps.

a. Settlement in section
b. Settlement - elevation
 c. Irregular abutment
d. Overhanging abutment

Slope Protection
Both faces of an embankment dam must be protected against structural damage. In
normal circumstances the downstream will only be subject to the forces of nature. The
upstream face must be protected against erosion or disturbance by wave action, ice or
by impact of floating debris. Various methods of protection include large rocks (rip-
rap), precast concrete forms, soil cement or the waterproofing membrane of the dam.
Protection must be well above and below the operating range of the reservoir.

Soil Cement Slope Protection

Rip-rap size : Mass of individual rock = 1000 x (Wave Height Hs)3 (kg)

The rip-rap must be durable, weatherproof and of good quality sound rock to enable it
to withstand the changing harsh conditions.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Seepage Paths
Piping

Internal erosion of the foundation or embankment caused by seepage is known as

piping. Generally, erosion starts at the downstream toe and works back toward the
reservoir, forming channels or pipes under the dam. The channels or pipes follow
paths of maximum permeability and may not develop until many years after
construction.

Resistance of the embankment or foundation to piping depends on:

1. plasticity of the soil

2. the gradation
3. the degree of compactness

Plastic clays with a plasticity index >15, for both well and poorly compacted are the
materials which are most resistant to piping. Minimum piping resistance is found in
poorly compacted, through to well-graded cohesionless soils with practically no
binder. It is also found in uniform, fine, cohesionless sand, even when well
compacted. Settlement cracks in resistant materials may also produce piping.

Piping can be avoided by lengthening the flowpaths of water within the dam and its
foundations. This decreases the hydraulic gradient of the water flow and hence its
velocity. The flowpaths can be increased by:

 Cutoff walls

 Impermeable cores
  Impermeable blankets extending upstream from the upstream face

Seepage control

Seepage is the continuous movement of water from the upstream face of the dam
toward its downstream face. The upper surface of this stream of percolating water is
known as the phreatic surface. The phreatic surface should be kept at or below the
downstream toe.

The phreatic surface within a dam can be controlled by properly designed cores or
walls.

Internal drain systems

Purpose

A homogeneous dam with a height of more than about 6 m to 8 m should have some
type of downstream drain. The purpose of a drain is:

1. to reduce the pore water pressures in the downstream portion of the dam
therefore increasing the stability of the downstream slope against sliding.
2. to control any seepage that exits the downstream portion of the dam and
prevent erosion of the downstream slope: i.e. to prevent 'piping'.

The effectiveness of the drain in reducing pore pressures depends on its location and
extent. However, piping is controlled by ensuring that the grading of the pervious
material from which the drain is constructed meets the filter requirements for the
embankment material.

Toe drains

The design of a downstream drainage system is controlled by the height of the dam,
the cost and availability of permeable material, and the permeability of the foundation.

For low dams, a simple toe drain can be used successfully. Toe drains have been
installed in some of the oldest homogeneous dams in an effort to prevent softening
and erosion of the downstream toe.
For reservoir depths greater than 15 m, most engineers would place a drainage system
further inside the embankment where it will be more effective in reducing pore
pressures and controlling seepage.

Horizontal drainage blanket

Horizontal drainage blankets are often used for dams of moderate height.

Drainage blankets are frequently used over the downstream one-half or one-third of
the foundation area. The Bureau of Reclamation's 45 m Vega Dam is a homogeneous
dam which has been constructed with a horizontal downstream drain. Where pervious
material is scarce, the internal strip drains can be placed instead since these give the
same general effect.

Disadvantages of horizontal drainage blankets

An earth dam embankment tends to be more pervious in the horizontal direction than
in the vertical. Occasionally, horizontal layers tend to be much more impervious than
the average material constructed into the embankment, so the water will flow
horizontally on a relatively impervious layer and discharge on the downstream face
despite the horizontal drain.,p> Where this has occurred the downstream slope is
prone to slipping and piping. Repairs can be made by installing pervious blankets on
the downstream slopes or constructing vertical drains to connect with the horizontal
blanket. Such vertical drains are normally composed of sand and gravel.

Chimney drains

Chimney drains are an attempt to prevent horizontal flow along relatively impervious
stratified layers, and to intercept seepage water before it reaches the downstream
slope. Chimney drains are often incorporated in high homogeneous dams which have
been constructed with inclined or vertical chimney drains.

In some major dam projects, chimney drains have been inclined at a considerable
slope, both upstream and sometimes downstream. An upstream inclined drain can act
as a relatively thin core. In addition to controlling seepage through the dam and
increasing the stability of the downstream slope, the chimney drain is also useful in
reducing pore water pressures both during construction and following rapid reservoir
drawdown.

Dimensions and permeability of drains

The dimensions and permeability of permeable drains must be adequate to carry away
the anticipated flow with an ample margin of safety for unexpected leaks. If the dam
and the foundations are relatively impermeable, then the expected leakage would be
low. A drain should be constructed of material with a coefficient of permeability of at
least 10 to 100 times greater than the average embankment material.

Thin upstream sloping core

In an earth dam with an upstream sloping core of low permeability, the foundation is
assumed to be impermeable and in a steady state. Under steady state conditions the
small amount of water that seeps through the core flows vertically downward in a
partially saturated zone and then more or less horizontally in a thin saturated layer
along the impermeable foundation. For this type of dam the downstream shell must be
several hundred times more permeable than the core.

Partial cutoffs

An earth dam constructed without a cutoff on permeable or semi-permeable

foundations of earth or rock may lead to seepage beneath the dam creating
unacceptable uplift pressures and causing instability. If an impermeable cutoff is
installed to 60 % of the depth of the permeable foundation, the flow net and
downstream slope gradient is only slightly modified to a lower level. A theoretical
line of seepage for several depths is given here.
For an effective cutoff the positioning and depth of cutoff must be essentially 'perfect'.
Since this is impossible to achieve, other methods of seepage control should be used
in conjunction with cutoffs.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites
(C) Craig R, F Soil Mechanics

Filter and Transition Zones

Since the core is stabilised with rock or gravel zones, it is necessary to prevent the
fine core material being sucked into the upstream shell material during rapid
drawdown of the reservoir, or forced into the downstream shell by seepage water
under reservoir head. Transition or filter zones must therefore be provided on each
side of the core.

The upstream filter, if non-cohesive and of proper grading, can serve a valuable
service by providing material for induced self-healing should a transverse crack
appear in the core. Selection of the best material for this purpose is well justified.
Although its prime function is to retain the core material against movement into the
rockfill, the downstream transition material should be selected and placed so as to
inhibit the propagation of a core crack into the compacted rockfill. It is good practice
to widen the transition zones towards each abutment, i.e. where tension and oblique
cracking may occur.

To prevent migration of fines from the core:

D15/D85 < 4-5

(filter)/(zone being filtered)
 D50/D50 < 25
(filter)/(zone being filtered)

For sufficient permeability:

D15/D15 > 4-5
(filter)/(zone being filtered)
To prevent segregation of the filter:
D60/D10 < 20
(filter)/(filter)

Single filter between core and rockfill

Double filter to core

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
Cores
The core may be defined as a membrane built within an embankment dam to form the
impermeable barrier, the balance of the dam being provided to ensure stability. It may
be of natural materials, clay, gravels etc. or prepared materials such as cement or
asphaltic concrete, or of metal, plastic, rubber, etc.

The thickness of the core will depend

primarily on the material available, i.e. if
a good clay is available at low cost one
would tend to be liberal with the core.
The core width will often be related to the
type of foundation, the permissible
hydraulic gradient along the contact zone.

A core of natural materials may be

central, inclined and close under the
upstream face or in some intermediate position. A general core thickness is one half of
the height of the dam, depending on materials available. Permeability of the
compacted core should not exceed 10-5 cm/s.

The hydraulic gradient relative to the core is the ratio of maximum head of water to
the thickness of the core. Thin cores may be adequate for impermeability but it is
essential to provide well designed filters on either side. The greatest danger with thin
filters is the possibility that a 'blow through' may occur in a segregated zone.

The principal factors considered in determining core dimensions and embankment

zoning are:

 The type and volume of core materials available;

 The relative economics of earthfill and rockfill;
 The plasticity of the available core material and its effect on the risk of core
cracking;
 The extent and rate of reservoir draw-down;
 The nature of the foundation rock under the core.

Cracking of Core - cracks frequently occur in earthfill dams and in cores of rockfill
dams. Care must be taken to prevent such cracking and the Engineer must decide
whether the cracks are likely to extend and become serious or whether they are stable
and can be backfilled.
 Influence of Post Construction Settlement at Crest on Cracking
Crest Settlement
Kind of cracking
(mm)
Less than 50 No cracking of dams
Equal or greater
Transverse cracking of dams compacted dry may appear
than 50
Greater than 100 Reinforced concrete facing without perimetral joint may crack
Equal or greater
Longitudinal cracking between core and shell may appear
than 130
Greater than 160 Longitudinal cracking of core compacted dry may appear
Greater than 180 Hydraulic fracturing may appear
Equal or greater Transverse cracking of core compacted wet may appear. Longitudinal
than 220 cracking between core compacted wet and shell may appear.
Equal or greater
Asphaltic concrete facing may crack (self healed for settlement of 350mm)
than 350
Longintudinal cracking of core compacted wet may appear. Reinforced
Greater than 400
concrete facing with perimetral joint will crack
Greater than 1000 No uncracked dam in those studied
Greater than 1200 All dams exhibit transverse cracking
Equal or greater
Serious cracking of asphaltic concrete facing
than 1400
Equal or greater
Cracking needing substitution of reinforced concrete facing
tahn 3800
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Freeboard
A homogeneous embankment dam should never be overtopped and for preference no
permanent embankment dam should be overtopped. However, provision for freeboard
can be expensive because it requires enlargement of the dam section and hence much
more materials.

It may be convenient to pave the crest and downstream face. The level of the crest is
then determined to allow for only spray to pass over, or for the peak flood discharge
to pass over or even more frequent overtopping. However this is only used for dams
under 30m high.

An alternative method of reducing the quantity of fill is to provide a wave wall along
the crest of the embankment. See figure.
 (C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Crest Width
This is often governed by construction procedure and the access required either during
construction or as a permanent feature. The Japanese Code 1957 specifies crest width
(W) in terms of the height of the dam, as
W=3.6H1/3-3(m)
which would give crest widths as in the table.
Height of dam (m) Crest Width
30 8
50 10
70 11
100 13
200 18

Culverts under Embankments

At some locations it is necessary to construct a large culvert under the dam,
although this should be avoided where possible.

The conventional culvert is one of reinforced concrete designed to withstand both the
internal water pressure and external embankment loading. It is important that leakage
does not occur within the core area or upstream from it, or anywhere within an
homogeneous bank. To prevent this cut-off collars usually encircle the pipe, their
location and dimensions being governed by the head from the reservoir.

Earthfill Dam Introduction

An earthfill dam is an embankment dam, constructed primarily of compacted earth,
either homogeneous or zoned, and containing more than 50% of earth.

A rockfill dam where all the voids have been filled by finer materials by hydraulic
sluicing is usually regarded as an earthfill dam.
(C) Kollgaard & Chadwick, Development of Dam Engineering in the US

Types of Earthfill Dam

1. Homogenous
2. Central
Impervious
Core
3. Sloping
Impervious
Core
4. Hydraulic
Dams

Slopes of 1 in 1.33 are

suitable for concrete
faced rockfill dams, but
for effective placing
and stability of an
asphaltic concrete
facing, the upstream
slope must be about 1
in 1.7. It is significant
that men can walk on
this slope without
ropes, but on a slope of
1 in 1.33 safety ropes
are essential. An
asphaltic concrete
allows for more
movement due to
settlement that for a
rigid concrete deck.

Homogeneous Earthfill Dams

Such embankments are made of a single type of material or material from the same
source. This may be small particles placed by hydraulic means, or compacted earth or
gravels that are handled and compacted mechanically.

Basic properties required in the material for an homogeneous embankment or for the
core of a rockfill dam are:

 It must be sufficiently impervious to prevent excessive loss of water through

the dam, the acceptable loss being determined by the safety of the structure and
the value of the lost water;
 It must be capable of being placed and consolidated to give a practically
homogeneous mass, free from potential paths of percolation, either through the
fill or along its contact with the foundation;
 The soil should develop a maximum practical shear strength under compaction
and maintain most of it after the filling of the reservoir;
 It must not consolidate, soften or liquify upon saturation.

The stability of an embankment dam is enhanced if the downstream portion can be

maintained free from seepage. Internal drains are therefore put within the dam. See
figure, leaving the 'dry' compacted fill as support. The section A-A represents the
filter, drainage, filter divisions.

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

The location and inclination will depend on the materials used. It has been suggested
that maximum stability would result from locating it nearer the upstream face with the
angle ø less than a right angle.

Central Impervious Core Earthfill Dams

Where there is only limited supply of soil for the impervious core but plenty of
pervious material for the embankment, the designer has no option but to decide on a
thin core dam. However, where there are plentiful supplies of pervious and
impervious material, a thin core dam may be more economically or easily constructed
for a number of reasons:
 1. The unit cost of placing impervious materials may be more than the unit cost of
placing pervious materials.
2. The amount of embankment volume can be reduced in a thin core dam more
effectively than in any other type of dam.
3. The construction time available and the weather conditions may not allow the
use of an impervious core of large thickness.

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

The minimum thickness of core is dependent on a number of factors:

1. tolerable seepage loss;

2. minimum width which will allow proper construction;
3. the type of material chosen for the core and shoulders of the dam;
4. design of proposed filter layers;
5. past experience on similar projects.

Core Stability - The core material usually has less shear strength than the rest of the
embankment, therefore from a stability standpoint, a thinner core is better. However, a
thicker core has increased resistance to differential cracking; which may lead to
piping. Therefore, piping resistance is dependent upon the soil properties such as
plasticity and gradation of the core material.

Advantages of vertical cores:

1. One advantage of the vertical core is that higher pressures will exist on the
contact between the core and the foundation, and will provide more protection
against the possibility of leakage along the contact.
2. The vertical core tends to be slightly thicker for a given quantity of impervious
soil than the thickness of a sloping core.

The following criteria represent a rough cross-section of opinion among experienced

earth dam engineers:
  Cores with a width 30% to 50% of the head of water have proved satisfactory
on many dams under diverse conditions. Cores of this width are adequate for
any soil type and dam height.
 Cores with a width of 15% to 20% of the head of water are considered thin.
However, when adequately designed and constructed filter layers are used, then
the core is satisfactory under most circumstances.
 Core widths of less than 10% of the head of water are not used widely and
should only be used when a large leak through the core would not lead to
failure of the dam.

Sloping Impervious Core Earthfill Dams

Advantages of sloping cores:

1. The principal advantage of the upstream sloping core is that the downstream
portion of the embankment can be constructed first and the core placed later.
This a distinct advantage when there is only a short season of dry weather
suitable to allow construction of a core from fine-grained soils.
2. Another advantage is that the foundation grouting can take place whilst the
embankment is being placed.
3. Filter zones between the upstream and downstream pervious zones can be
constructed more thinly and are easier to install than in vertical core dams.
4. The sloping core dam is advantageous with the speed and economy of
foundation grouting which can be achieved. The advantage comes from the fact
that grouting can be performed while the main downstream pervious
embankment is being constructed.

Disadvantages of sloping cores:

1. At some sites the area of contact between the core and the foundation depends
on the depth of the foundation excavation: i.e. when the excavation is carried
deeper, the contact area moves upstream. However, in some cases the depth of
excavation required to provide a suitable contact between the earth core and
foundation cannot be determined reliably in advance of construction.
2. Due to the reason above it may be difficult to locate the grout curtain in the
desired position relative to the core contact area.
 3. If it is anticipated that additional grouting is required through the embankment
after the dam is completed then a central core design is preferred, because the
work can be done from the crest of the dam without lowering the reservoir.

Hydraulic Fill Earthfill Dams

A hydraulic fill dam is one in which the material is transported in suspension in water
to the embankment where it gets placed by sedimentation. The sorting effect of
flowing water is utilised in creating a fine-grained core at the centre of the
embankment with coarse shells on the sides. In a semi-hydraulic fill dam the material
is transported by hauling units and dumped at the edge of the embankment. It is then
washed to its final position by water jets. The use of this type of dam is rare, because;

 The cost of rolled earth has droped rapidly with the development of larger more
economical earth moving equipment.
 It is difficult to control the quality which makes them less dependable than
other types of dam.

(C) Sowers, George Earth and Rockfill Dam Engineering

Drainage of the core takes place in two ways, some of the water percolates
horizontally into the more pervious shell. The remainder moves upward to the surface,
allowing the centre of the dam to subside. The downward movement eventually
develops arching in the core and prevents its full consolidation.

Materials
The thouroughness with which borrow areas are investigated can have a major effect
on the cost of the dam. The best information is derived from trenches cut by
bulldozer. Two questions must be asked;

1. Is the material acceptable?

2. How will it be excavated?

The materials must be tested in the laboratory and must be representative of what
would be used in the final dam.
When selecting earth for a core or for a homogeneous dam, one must consider its
permeability, resistance to piping, shear strength, flexibility and resistance to
cracking. The water content will effect each of these differently; testing and
judgement are required to determine the optimum mositure content for the particular
soil in the particular part of the dam.

Introduction to Rockfill Dams

ICOLD defined a rockfill dam as, "an embankment type of dam, dependent for its
stability primarily on rock. As rockfill dams must contain an impervious zone - now
usually selected earth with filter zones, comprising a substantial volume of the dam -
the term Rockfill dam usually represents a dam that contains more than 50% of
compacted or dumped pervious fill. The dam is dependent for watertightness on an
impervious upstream blanket or an impervious core."

Like an earth dam it is composed of fragmental materials, with each particle

independent of the others. The mass stability is developed by the friction and inter-
reaction of one particle on another rather than by any cementing agent that binds the
particles together.

Types of Rockfill Dam

Composite Earth and
Rockfill

Central earth core

Sloping earth core

Upstream core

Rock with a thin

membrane or
diaphragm to hold
water
 Central thin membrane

Upstream thin membrane

or deck

Unbonded or dry
masonry

Dam with rubble

retaining zone

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Advantages of Rockfill Construction

 Economical - due to the use of cheap local materials.
 Suitable where the foundation conditions are not good, especially where high
hydrostatic uplift is likely to be a factor in design.

Rockfill is particularly suitable when there is no satisfactory earth available and when
a plentiful supply of sound rock is at hand. The rockfilling is especially adapted to
construction during wet and cold weather and permits continuous work under weather
conditions that would not permit earth or concrete construction.

Very rapid constructions are possible with rockfill because of its adaptability to bad
weather and because the process of filling does not have to be interrupted for rolling
or other separate compaction operations.

The rockfill dam with an upstream diaphragm is very well adapted to stage
construction. The dam height can be increased merely by dumping more rock behind
the impervious diaphragm without interfering with or encroaching on the reservoir.
The dam is then made water-tight by continuing the impervious face upward. The
stage construction concept is also suitable for cofferdamming, as the first part of the
dam serves as a cofferdam which protects the remainder of the foundation for further
construction.

Rockfill Materials
The quality of the rock is a major factor in the choice of a rockfill dam and in the
design of the structure. Extensive testing is necessary to judge whether the rock is
suitable for construction.

Quarrying - The cost of drilling and blasting constitutes a large part of the unit price
of rockfill. Quartzite for example has excellent qualities for rockfill but is extremely
expensive to drill. The way the rock breaks up is also important, sandstone produces a
lot of fines, others produce flat slate pieces which do not lend themselves to dumped
rockfilling.

Rock Durability - There is no entirely satisfactory test to determine durability of rock

over centuries, and hence good judgement has to be used. Examining old structures
such as walls and bridge piers built of the same material is helpful. Accelerated
durability tests do exist, where the samples are subjected to alternate cycles of wetting
and drying or freezing and thawing. Compressive strength tests can be made after
each series of wet-dry and freeze-thaw testing if there are sufficient samples.

Strength - In high dams where crushing of the corners of the rock pieces will result in
settlement, the strength is important. In general strengths of over 35MPa or more are
desirable for dams over 40m, while strengths as low as 14MPa are more suitable for
dams less than 15m in height. Friability, the tendency to become a powder during
crushing is important because too many fines can seriously interfere with
construction.

Petrography - The study of the rock under chemical reaction and under a microscope
to establish rock breakage.

Likely to be satisfactory Likely to be unsatisfactory

Granite, diorite Shale
Gneiss Slate
Basalt Schist
Sandstone Siltstone
Dense limestone Porous limestone
Dolomite Chalky limestone
 Quartzite
Massive Schist

Shear Strength - Large size triaxial or direct shear tests are the best method for
determining strength.

Earth Core Rockfill Dams

The rockfill dam consists of a number of components:

1. The main rockfill

2. The impervious zone
3. Auxiliary supporting members

The main rockfill provides the structural support for the dam by its weight and
internal stability. The impervious zone holds back the water. It is made up of the
membrane which holds the water and transition zone which transfers the water load to
the rockfill. The membrane may be a thick blanket or core of earth or a thin
diaphragm or deck of wood, concrete, steel, asphalt, dry rubble masonry or stone
masonry. The auxiliary support members help to sustain the membrane or parts of the
main rockfill. These components are similar to the shell, core, and appurtenances of
the earth-fill dam and are analysed in a similar way.

Decked Rockfill Dams

Timber Face - used mostly for mining purposes, relying upon dumped rock for
stability with a facing of timber for watertightness. Leakage under and around the dam
could not be prevented, but usually did no harm to a free-draining rockfill. Although
not used in present day construction, the value of timber should not be overlooked.

Steel Face - consists of large welded panels, connected by flexible joints to allow for
expansion and contraction and any displacement of the plates relative to the face of
the rockfill. To help reduce corrosion, coats of coal-tar epoxy resin preparation and
supplementary cathodic protection are provided below water level, giving about a 50
year life.

Cement Concrete Face - since cement has a very long life, it is an obvious watertight
membrane on rockfill dams. Details of typical facing are shown in the figure.
 The facing can
be tied to the
dam in two
ways, either
poured directly
onto the rubble
transition zone.
A mortar bed is
initially placed
which penetrates
into the rubble a
few centimeters.
This is
immediately
covered with the
concrete to form
a monolithic mass which extends into the rubble and is thus bonded to the dam.

Or, ribs are placed in the bottom of the slab by forcing grooves in the facing. The
ribbed support, however, is unnecessary if the bonding with the backing is effective.

Two types of facing have been used.

One is a thin monolithic slab of concrete with no joints. It is sufficiently flexible to

conform to movements in the backing without failure and the tensile forces are
distributed by the reinforcements so that numerous small cracks develop rather than
any major failures.

The second type, used in most concrete faced dams, has a facing which consists
of monolithic slabs, 10 to 30 sqm each. The concrete thickness is largely a matter if
experience. Only nominal
reinforcement is required,
about 0.5% concrete area in
each direction. Water tightness
is ensured by copper water
stops.

Asphaltic Concrete Face -

two types of asphaltic facings
have been used, a laminated
facing consisting of:
 1. Rubble concrete masonry transition
2. 10cm thick porous concrete
3. 15cm bituminous concrete, placed in two layers and rolled
4. Reinforced concrete protective and insulating layer 12cm thick.

The outer layer of concrete only serves to protect the bituminous side from sunshine
and physical damage. It is sprayed with water during very hot weather to keep the
bituminous concrete from sagging in plastic flow. The second form employs an
asphaltic concrete paving similar to that used in highways. It is placed in layers and
rolled as for paving. The advantage of a purely asphaltic paving is that it tends to
adjust itself to movement by plastic flow. As with other thin facings, a transition zone
is required to equalise settlement movements and to provide uniform support.

Rubble Retaining Zone - used in the upstream face to permit a

slope that is steeper than the angle of repose of the rockfill. This
makes it possible to reduce the volume of rockfill, but at the
expense of construction of the retaining zone. There are two types
for this zone, a wedge of compacted rockfill, where the steeper
slope is merely the angle of repose of dense rather than loose
rock. Slope angles of 45 degrees can be obtained this way.

The second form is an unbonded rubble masonry retaining wall. It

is essentially a retaining wall, and should be designed as such.
The typical width of the base of the supporting zone is 0.25 the
height of the dam.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites
(C) Kollgaard & Chadwick, Development of Dam Engineering in the US
Abutment - That portion of the foundation, especially in the sides of a valley, which is
in contact with a dam. Also, that portion of a dam which makes contact with and abuts
against the foundation at the sides of a valley.

Active Basin - The portion of a reservoir basin above a given elevation which can be
used for power generation or other beneficial purpose.

Active Capacity - The reservoir capacity normally usable for storage and regulation of
reservoir inflows to meet established reservoir operating requirements. It extends from
the highest of (l) the top of exclusive flood control capacity, (2) the top of joint use
capacity, or (3) the top of active conservation capacity, to the top of inactive capacity.
It is also the total capacity less the sum of the inactive and dead capacities.

Active Conservation Capacity - The reservoir capacity assigned to regulate reservoir

inflow for irrigation, power, municipal and industrial use, fish and wildlife,
navigation, recreation, water quality, and other purposes. It does not include exclusive
flood control or joint use capacity. It extends from the top of the active conservation
capacity to the top of the inactive capacity.

Active pool - See Active Basin

Active storage - See Active Basin

Aggregate - Natural material used in the manufacture of concrete. Also any natural
material, sorted or unsorted, used in dam or other construction. Aggregate for concrete
commonly is obtained from alluvial stream deposits or from rock quarries.

Appurtenant feature - Any physical feature other than the dam itself which contributes
to the operation of the dam and reservoir for its intended purpose or purposes.

Aquifers - Water bearing strata of the ground

Arch Dam - A concrete or masonry dam which is curved in plan so to transmit the
major part of the water load to the abutements.

Arch-Gravity Dam - An arch dam which is only slightly thinner than a gravity dam.

Artificial abutment - An abutment, usually constructed from concrete, to sustain the

lateral thrusts of an arch dam. Such abutments are constructed where existing
topographic or bedrock geologic conditions are not adequate for the design of the
dam.
Asphaltic concrete - An impervious mixture of aggregate and bitumens used in cores
or upstream surfaces of embankment dams.

Auxiliary Spillway - A spillway, usually located in a saddle or depression in the

reservoir rim which leads to a natural or excavated waterway, located away from the
dam which permits the planned release of excess flood flow beyond the capacity of
the service spillway. A control structure is seldom furnished. The crest is set at the
maximum water surface elevation for a 100-year flood or some other specific
frequency flood. The auxiliary spillway thus has only infrequent use.

Axis of dam - A reference line used for control of surveying during construction of a
dam. Commonly the axis defines the location of the upstream portion of the crest of a
dam, whether the crest is straight or curved.

Base Widthor Thickness - The maximum thickness or width of the dam measured
horizontally between upstream and downstream faces and normal to the axis or
centerline crest of the dam, but excluding projections for outlets, etc. In general. the
term thickness is used for gravity or arch dams, and width is used for other dams.

Bedrock - The natural, more or less undisturbed rock in the foundation of a dam.

Blanket - A thin blanket or inclined layer of material forming a part of an

embankment dam.

Blanket grouting - Shallow, systematic grouting with cement-water mixtures or

chemical solutions of bedrock exposed in an excavation for a dam.

Block - Many concrete dams are built in sections or blocks. A section of a concrete
dam emplaced within forms or contained between upstream and downstream forms
and adjacent sections of the dam is a block.

Borrow area - The source area for natural materials used in dam construction

Bucket - The curved bottom portion of a spillway. The bucket deflects upward and
outward the water flowing down the inclined surface of the spillway.

Bulkhead - A structure built to resist rock pressure or to shut off water flow, as in a
tunnel.

Buttress - A thin, erect, tabular concrete supporting member used in construction of

slab and buttress dams. Also a projecting structure providing lateral support to a rock
face or a portion of a dam.
Buttress Dam - A dam consisting of a watertight upstream part supported at intervals
on the downstream side by a series of buttresses (walls normal to the axis of the dam).

Cableway - A steel cable used in placing concrete in a dam and to transport excavated
materials and construction materials over and above a dam.

Chute - An inclined open trough or lined canal through which water is discharged.

Cofferdam - A temporary dam designed to contain and divert water away from the
excavation for a dam or other facility during construction. In some embankment dams
the cofferdam is subsequently incoporated into the main, larger structure.

Clay blanket - a thin layer of impervious clay placed upstream from an embankment
dam to reduce or eliminate seepage beneath the dam.

Compacted fill - Material in an embankment dam that has been compressed by rolling
or impact vibration.

Concrete piling - Pillars of conrete driven vertically downward into unconsolidated

materials below an embankment dam to reduce or eliminate seepage beneath the dam.

Control Tower - A tower commonly constructed a short distance upstream from a dam
and within the reservoir to control flow of water from the reservoir into the conduits
and tunnels.

Control works - Facilities such as valves and gates designed to control flow from the
reservoir through, voer, or around a dam.

Construction joint - A joint between adjacent blocks of concrete. Also, a joint, usually
nearly horizontal, between a leyer of concrete and the next one placed over it during
construction.

Core - The central portion or zone of an embankment dam consisting of impervious

material.

Core trench - The trench excavated below the general level of the base of an
embankment dam and filled with the impervious material used to construct the core.

Crest - The top of a dam.

Curtain - A zone of foundation grouting or piling parallel to a dam axis designed to

prevent or diminish seepage beneath the dam.
Curtain grouting - Grouting of foundation materials to produce a barrier to seepage
beneath a dam.

Curved Gravity Dam - A gravity dam which is curved in plan.

Cut-off - A fabricated structure or a grout curtain placed to intercept seepage flow

beneath a dam.

Dam - A barrier, either natural or artificially constructed, that impounds or diverts the
flow of water, especially in a water course. Also, the body of water confined by a
dam.

Dead Capacity - The reservoir capacity from which stored water cannot be evacuated
by gravity.

Dead storage - Water in the lower elevations of a reservoir that is unavailable for use
or diversion.

Design basis earthquake (DBE) - The earthquake which the structure is required to
safely withstand with repairable damage. Those systems and components important to
safety must remain functional and/or operable. For design purposes, the intended use
of this earthquake loading is for economic design of structures or components whose
damage or failure would not lead to catastrophic loss. For most usage in Reclamation,
the DBE is defined to have a 90% probability of nonoccurrence in a 50-year-exposure
period, which is equivalent to a recurrence interval of 474 years. Economic
considerations for specific projects may lead to consideration of other values.

Dike - A long, low embankment. The height is usually less than four to five meters
and the lenghth more than ten or fifteen times the maximum height.

Diversion Capacity - The flow which can be passed through the canal headworks at a
dam under normal head.

Double Curvature Arch Dam - An arch dam which is curved in plan and elevation,
with undercutting of the heel and a downstream overhang near the crest of
downstream cantilever.

Drain - A facility for collecting and diverting water that seeps through a dam or
through the foundation of a dam.

Drainage holes - Drilled holes designed to intercept seepage water within or beneath a
dam.
Drainage prism - A geometrically shaped zone of permeable materials installed in or
below an embankment dam to intercept seepage.

Drawdown - Reduction of the water level of a reservoir.

Dumped fill - Material that is placed in an embankment dam without special

additional treatment, such as rolling.

Earth fill - Material consisting of earth excavated from a nearby borrow area used in
the construction of an embankment dam. The term is imprecisely defined but is
generally applied to materials containing abundant soil and clayey substances with or
without rocky components.

Embankment - A raised structure built up from unconsolidated materials.

Emergency Spillway - A spillway which provides for additional safety should

emergencies not contemplated by normal design assumptions be encountered, i.e.,
inoperable outlet works, spillway gates, or spillway structure problems. The crest is
usually set at maximum water surface.

Exclusive Flood Control Capacity - The reservoir capacity assigned to the sole
purpose of regulating flood inflows to reduce possible damage downstream. In some
instances, the top of exclusive flood control capacity is above the maximum
controllable water surface elevation.

Fill - The natural material used to construct an embankment dam.

Filter zone - A porous zone in or below a dam designed to intercept and divert
seepage water.

Fish ladder - A structure built at the side or up the face of a dam to enable migration
of fish upstream and downstream.

Flash board - A wood plank or a steel member place at the top of a spillway to
increase the storage capacity of a reservoir.

Flat Slab or Slab and Buttress - A buttress dam with buttresses which support the flat
slab of reinforced concrete which forms the upstream face.

Foundation - The surface and the natural material beneath it on which a dam and
appurtenant features rest.
Foundation cut-off - An excavated trench beneath or adjacent to a dam filled with
impermeable material or a grout curtain designed to prevent seepage in the foundation
beneath a dam.

Freeboard - That portion of a dam maximum water level in a reservoir.

Gallery - A long, narrow passage inside of a dam used for inspection, grouting, or
spillway.

Gate - A movable facility for controlling flow of water over a dam through a spillway.

Gravity Dam - A dam constructed of concrete and/or masonry which relies on its mass
for stability.

Gravity tunnel - A tunnel through with water flows without restraint under the force of
gravity.

Grout - A mixture of water and cement or a chemical solution that is forced by

pumping into foundation rocks or joints in a dam to prevent seepage and to increase
strength.

Grout blanket - A grouted zone in the shallow portion of a foundation which has been
treated to improve its strength and reduce its permeability.

Grout cap - A cap, usually consisting of concrete, through which grouting operations
of foundations are performed.

Grout curtain - A zone in bedrock beneath a dam and parallel to its length that has
been injected with grout to stop or reduce seepage beneath a dam.

Grout trench - A trench excavated to enable construction of a grout cap.

Grout veil - The same as a grout curtain.

Grouting - The operation whereby grout is injected under pressure into openings in a
dam or in its foundations.

Gut - A term used for the cableway above a dam used for transportation of
construction materials.

Head - The hydrostatic pressure generated by water in a reservoir.

Headrace - The flow of water in the direction of a controlling valve or, more
specially, through a conduit or tunnel towards a power generating unit.

Headrace conduit - A conduit that conducts water under a head to a valve or into a
power generating unit.

Headrace tunnel - A pressure tunnel which conducts water from the reservoir to
control work and ultimately into a power generating unit.

Heel - The upstream contact of a dam with its foundation.

Hydraulic fill - Fill pumped or directed by channel flow into and embankment dam
during construction.

Hydraulic Height - Height to which the water rises behind the dam, and is the
difference between the lowest point in the original streambed at the axis or the
centerline crest of the dam and the maximum controllable water surface.

Impervious blanket - A thin layer of impervious material placed within and

embankment dam or on the floor of a valley upstream from the dam to reduce or
eliminate seepage through or beneath the dam.

Impervious core - A core in a zoned embankment dam consisting of impervious

material.

Impervious material - Material, usually rich in clay and/or silt size particles that
resists penetration by water.

Inactive basin - That portion of the bottom of a reservoir that contains water that can
not be put to beneficial use for drained from the reservoir.

Inactive Capacity - The reservoir capacity exclusive of and above the dead storage
from which the stored water is normally not available because of operating
agreements or physical restrictions. Under abnormal conditions, such as a shortage of
water or a requirement for structural repairs, water may be evacuated from this space.

Inactive storage - The storage in an inactive basin.

Infiltrate - If the gruound surface layer is porous and has minute passages available
for the passage of water droplets, the water is then said to infiltrate the subsurface soil.

Inflow Design Flood (IDF) - The flood used to design and/or modify a specific dam
and its appurtenant works; particularly for sizing the spillway and outlet works, and
for determining surcharge storage requirements. The IDF is equated to less than the
Probable Maximum Flood.

Inspection gallery - A gallery within a dam which enables examination of the

performance of the dam with time and reservoir filling.

Instrumentation - Devices installed on and within a dam to monitor cyclic or

progressive changes during and after construction of the dam.

Intake - The entrance to any water transporting facility such as a conduit or a tunnel.

Intake structure - The structure built at the intake.

Joint Use Capacity - The reservoir capacity assigned to flood control purposes during
certain periods of the year and to conservation purposes during other periods of the
year.

Left abutment - That portion of the dam that makes contact with it foundation on the
left side of a valley as you from upstream.

Left or Right Designation - The designation of left or right is made with the observer
looking downstream.

Length of Dam - The distance, measured along the axis of the dam at the level of the
top of the main body of the dam or the roadway surface on the crest, from abutment
contact to abutment contact.

Mass Concrete - Any large volume of concrete cast-in-place, generally as a

monolithic structure. Dimensions of the structure are of such magnitude that measures
must be taken to cope with the generation of heat and the resulting volume changes
and cracking.

Massive Head Buttress - A buttress dam in which the buttress is greatly enlarged on
the upstream side to span the gap between buttresses.

Maximum Controllable Water Surface - The highest reservoir water surface elevation
at which gravity flows from the reservoir can be completely shut off.

Maximum credible earthquake (MCE) - The largest earthquake that a fault or other
seismic source could produce under the current tectonic setting. The seismic
evaluation criteria determines which faults or seismic sources are assigned an MCE.
Maximum Water Surface - The highest acceptable water surface elevation with all
factors affecting the safety of the structure considered. It is the highest water surface
elevation resulting from a computed routing of the inflow design flood through the
reservoir under established operating criteria. This surface elevation is also the top of
the surcharge capacity.

Maximum design earthquake (MDE) - The earthquake selected for design or

evaluation of the structure. This earthquake would generate the most critical ground
motions for evaluation of the seismic performance of the structure among those
loadings to which the structure might be exposed. For example, if a site were assigned
MCEs for two separate sources, the MCE which would be expected to generate the
most severe ground motions would be the maximum design earthquake. The response
of the structure to specific ground motion parameters (frequency, duration, etc.) needs
to be considered in specifying this event. In certain cases, more than one maximum
design earthquake may be specified to reflect the differing response of various
components of the structure to earthquake loading.

Medium-thick Arch - An arch dam with a base thickness to structural height ratio
between 0.2 and 0.3.

Muck - A common expression or unconsolidated, usually wet and muddy natural

material.

Multiple Arch Dam - A buttress dam, the upstream part of which comprises a series of
arches.

Natural abutment - An abutment in natural foundation materials. Contrasted with an

artificial abutment which is constructed from concrete at the site.

Natural frequency (f) - The natural frequencies of a structure are the frequencies of
free vibration. Free vibration is vibration that occurs in the absence of forced
vibration. In a structure undergoing vibration, a mode of vibration is a characteristic
pattern (shape) assumed by the structure in which the motion of every particle is
simple harmonic motion with the same frequency. The fundamental mode of vibration
of a structure is the mode having the lowest natural frequency.

Natural period of vibration (T) - The period of vibration of a a structure is the time
required for one cycle of the simple harmonic motion in one of these characteristic
patterns (shapes). T = 1/f.

Normal Water Surface - The elevation at the top of the active conservation capacity.
The maximum elevation to which the reservoir may rise under normal operating
conditions exclusive of flood control storage. (The term is no longer used by the
Service but is offered because of its prior usage.)

Observation well - An excavated well or vertical borehole used to observe changes in

seepage flow through or beneath dams during filling and drawdown.

Operating basis earthquake (OBE) - The earthquake that the structure must safely
withstand with no damage. All systems and components necessary to the
uninterrupted functioning of the project are designed to remain operable during the
ground motions associated with the OBE. This includes the dam, appurtenant
structures, electrical and mechanical equipment, relays, spillway gates, and valves.
For most usage in the Bureau of Reclamation, the OBE is specified to have a 90%
probability of nonoccurrence in a 25-year-exposure period. This is equivalent to a
recurrence interval of 237 years. Economic considerations for specific projects may
lead to consideration of other values.

Outlet - Any facility, such as the exit of a tunnel, from which water issues by
controlled flow.

Outlet structure - A fabricated structure at the conflict of a canal, conduit, or tunnel.

Overflow section - That portion of a dam, usually occupied by a spillway, over which
water above the spillway elevation flows.

Outlet Works - A combination of structures and equipment required for the safe
operation and control of water released from the reservoir to serve various purposes,
i.e., regulate stream flow and quality; release floodwater; and provide irrigation,
municipal, and/or industrial water. Included in the outlet works are the intake
structure, conduit, control house-gates, regulating gate or valve, gate chamber, and
stilling basin.

Parapet - Usually construed to be a low protective wall along the crest of a dam.

Pendulum Shaft - A narrow vertical opening in a dam used for surveying control
during structures and subsequently for occupation of deflections of the dam under
load.

Penstock - A conduit, commonly steel pipe, leading from the reservoir to a power
generating plant downstream from the reservoir.

Pervious Material - Material through which water flows with relative ease. Contrasted
with impervious material.
Phreatic Surface - As the groundwater percolates down the acquifer becomes
saturated. The surface of saturation os referred to as the groundwater table or the
phreatic surface. It falls during dry spells and rises in rainy spells.

Piling - Elongate, post like steel or concrete members or steel sheets driven into a dam
foundation to reduce or eliminate seepage.

Power Intake - The intake to a conduit or tunnel which leads to a power generating
unit.

Power Plant - The facility constructed at or near the downstream face of a dam to
generate hydroelectric power.

Pressure Tunnel - A tunnel which transmits water under moderate to high pressure.

Prestressing - Strengths of rocks in foundation and elements within concrete dams are
increased by installation of steel rocks or steel cables which are injected to tensioning.
The procedure that is followed is called prestressing.

Purge tunnel - A tunnel that is used to much more frequently used tunnels of
obstructions or deposits of sediment.

Relief Well - An excavated well below a dam to collect seepage water in the
foundation.

Reservoir - In the present context a reservoir is a basin, usually artificially created,

that impounds and stores water.

Right abutment - The abutment to the right as observed from a point upstream from a
dam.

Rock blanket - A layer of rocks placed on the face of a dam to prevent wave erosion of
deeper materials.

Rock bolt - A threaded steel rod placed in a drilled hole and tensioned to increase
strength of rock masses.

Rock fill - Rock aggregate placed in an embankment dam.

Rolled fill - Fill, usually rich in clayey or silty components, that is compacted by
rolling, especially with sheep's foot rollers or vibratory compactors.
Saddle Dike - A small dam built in a topographic low in the periphery of a reservoir
basin.

Service Spillway - A structure located on or adjacent to a storage or detention dam

over or through which surplus or floodwaters which cannot be contained in the
allotted storage space are passed, and at diversion dams to bypass flows exceeding
those which are turned into the diversion system. Included as part of the spillway
would be the intake and/or control structure, discharge channel, terminal structure,
and entrance and outlet channels.

Sheet Pilling - Plates of steel driven into the foundation of a dam to reduce or
eliminate seepage beneath a dam.

Sluiced fill - Fill usually clayey, placed in an embankment dam by running water.

Spillway - The structure on or at the side of a dam that contains and guides the flow of
the excess water supplied to a reservoir. Spillways inside the reservoir are called glory
holes and consist of a vertical shaft a tunnel which exits below the dam.

Spoil area - An area used to dispose of materials that are unwanted or surplus in dam
construction.

Stilling basin - A basin downstream from a dam that receives the discharge from
tunnels or conduits or overflow from a spillway.

Structural damage - Damage resulting from failure of a dam or its appurtenant

features.

Structural Height - Distance between the lowest point in the excavated foundation
(excluding narrow fault zones) and the top of dam. The structural height of a concrete
dam is the vertical distance between the top of the dam and lowest point of the
excavated foundation area, excluding narrow fault zones. The structural height of an
embankment [earth or rockfill) dam is the vertical distance between the top of the
embankment and the lowest point in the excavated foundation area, including the
main cutoff trench, if any, but excluding small trenches or narrow backfilled areas.
The top elevation does not include the camber, crown, or roadway surfacing.

Surcharge Capacity - The reservoir capacity provided for use in passing the inflow
design flood through the reservoir. It is the reservoir capacity between the maximum
water surface elevation and the highest of the following elevations (1) top of exclusive
flood control capacity, (2) top of joint use capacity, or (3) top of active conservation
capacity.
Surge tank or shaft - A vertical shaft above a pressure tunnel that provides equal
pressures at the tunnel level in response to sudden pressure changes caused by
increasing or decreasing the flow of water.

Tail water - The water issuing downstream from tunnels, conduits, or spillways.

Tail race - The movement of water below a valve or after it has passed through a
power generating plant.

Thin Arch - An arch dam with a base thickness to structural height ratio of 0.2 or less.

Thick Arch - An arch dam with a base thickness to structural height ratio of 0.3 or
greater.

Thrust block - That part of the foundation of and arch dam against which horizontal
thrust is exerted by the dam as the reservoir behind it is filled.

Toe - The downstream contact of a dam with its foundation.

Top of Active Conservation Capacity - The reservoir water surface elevation at the top
of the capacity allocated to the storage of water for conservation purposes only.

Top of Exclusive Flood Control Capacity - The reservoir water surface elevation at
the top of the reservoir capacity allocated to exclusive use for regulation of flood
inflows to reduce damage downstream.

Top of Inactive Capacity - The reservoir water surface elevation below which the
reservoir will not be evacuated under normal conditions.

Top of Joint Use Capacity - The reservoir water surface elevation at the top of the
reservoir capacity allocated to joint use, i.e., flood control and conservation purposes.

Total Capacity - The reservoir capacity below the highest of the elevations
representing (l) the top of exclusive flood control capacity, (2) the top of joint use
capacity, or (3) the top of active conservation capacity. Total capacity is used to
express the total quantity of water which can be impounded and is exclusive of
surcharge capacity. Live Capacity. That part of the total reservoir capacity which can
be withdrawn by gravity. This capacity is equal to the total capacity less the dead
capacity.

Tower - A vertical structure upstream from a dam designed to control flow of

reservoir water through the dam into power generating facilities.
Trash rack - The screening facility built at the intake end of conduits or tunnels to
prevent entrance of debris.

Transpiration - Evaporation of water from the surfaces of green plants, largely

through the stomata, pore openings to the intercelluar spaces in the leaves.

Valve chamber - A chamber within a dam containing valves to control the flow of
water from a reservoir.

Valve vault - An opening excavated in bedrock at the side of a dam and containing
valves or control of flow from the reservoir.

Volume of Dam - The total space occupied by the materials forming the dam stucture
computed between abutments and from top to bottom of dam.

Water stop - A membrane placed in joints in concrete dams to prevent seepage of

water.

Weir - A channel of known cross section which enables measurement of the volume
of flow of water after calibration. The top of a spillway set into a concrete dam is also
sometimes designated as a weir.

Zoned dam - An embankment dam in which materials of different properties are

placed systematically in various portions of the dam.
 Gravity Dam Contents
A concrete gravity dam has a cross section such that with a flat bottom, the dam is
free standing. That is, the dam has a center of gravity low enough that the dam will
not topple if unsupported at the abutments. Gravity dams require maximum amounts
of concrete for their construction as compared with other kinds of concrete dams, and
resist dislocation by the hydrostatic pressure of reservoir water by sheer weight. A
favourable site usually is one in a constriction in a valley where the sound bedrock is
reasonably close to the surface both in the floor and abutments of the dam. The
availability of suitable aggregate for manufacture of concrete is also an important
consideration.

Masonry dams that relied upon their weight for stability against sliding and
overturning date back 3000 to 4000 years, both upstream and downstream faces were
sloped and the base thickness was many times the height. In 1872 Rankine proposed
that there should be no tensile stress in a gravity dam. In 1895 Levy proposed that the
compressive stress in the material of the dam at the upstream face should be greater
than the water pressure at the corresponding depth in the reservoir.

The danger from uplift had been recognised in 1882, and the danger of sliding was
highlighted by the failure of the Austin Dam, USA. The most recent advance has been
in the application of the finite element method of analysis.

Typical Section Example

Hoover Dam, Nevada-Arizona (221m)

Grand Coulee Dam, Washington State (168m)

Fontana Dam, Tennessee (137m)

 Studen Kladenetz, Bulgaria (67.5m)

Sakuma Dam, Japan (140m)

Topolintza Dam, Bulgaria (85m)

(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites

Design Concepts and Criteria

A gravity dam shall be:

 Safe against overturning at any horizontal plane within the dam.

 Safe against sliding at any horizontal place within the dam.
 So proportioned that the allowable stresses in both the concrete and the
foundation shall not be exceeded.

Loading Criteria

See Loading and Factor of Safety Page

In 1940 Houk and Keener, listed twenty five basic assumptions that should be
considered relative to the design of important masonry dams.

1. The rock that constitutes the foundation and abutments at the site is strong
enough to carry the forces imposed by the dam with stresses well below the
elastic limit at all places along the contact planes.
2. The bearing power of the geologic structure along the foundation and
abutments is great enough to carry the total loads imposed by the dam without
rock movements of detrimental magnitude.
3. The rock formations are homogeneous and uniformly elastic in all directions,
so that their deformations may be predicted satisfactorily by calculations based
on the theory of elasticiy, by laboratory measurements on models constructed
of elastic materials, or by combinations of both methods.
4. The flow of the foundation rock under the sustained loads that result from the
construction of the dam and the filling of the reservoir may be adequately
allowed for by using a somewhat lower modulus of elasticity than would
otherwise be adopted for use in the technical analyses.
5. The base of the dam is thoroughly keyed into the rock formations along the
foundations and abutments.
6. Construction operations are conducted so as to secure a satisfactory bond
between the concrete and rock materials at all areas of contact along the
foundation and abutments.
7. The concrete in the dam is homogeneous in all parts of the structure.
8. The concrete is uniformly elastic in all parts of the structure, so that
deformations due to applied loads may be calculated by formulae derived on
the basis of the theory of elasticity or may be estimated from laboratory
measurements on models constructed of elastic materials.
9. Effects of flow of concrete may be adequately allowed for by using a somewhat
lower modulus of elasticity under sustained loads than would otherwise be
adopted for use in technical analyses.
10. Contraction joints are properly grouted under adequate pressures, or open slots
are properly filled with concrete, so that the dam may be considered to act as a
monolith.
11. Sufficient drains are installed in the dam to reduce such uplift pressures as may
develop along areas of contact between the concrete and rock materials.
12. Effects of increases in horizontal pressures caused by silt contents of flood
waters usually may be ignored in designing high storage dams, but may require
consideration in designing relatively low diversion structures.
13. Uplift forces adequate for analysing conditions at the base of the dam are
adequate for analysing conditions at horizontal concrete cross sections above
the base.
14. Internal stresses caused by natural shrinkage and by artificial cooling
operations may be adequately controlled by proper spacing of contraction
joints.
15. Internal stresses caused by increases in concrete temperature after grouting are
beneficial.
16. Maximum pressures used in contraction joint grouting operations should be
limited to such values as may be shown to the safe by appropriate stress
analyses.
 17. No section of the United Sates may be assumed to be entirely free from the
occurrence of earthquake shocks.
18. Assumptions of maximum earthquake accelerations equal to one tenth of
gravity are adequate for the design of important masonry dams without
including additional allowances for resonance effects.
19. Vertical as well as horizontal accelerations should be considered, especially in
designing gravity dams.
20. During the occurrence of temporary abnormal loads, such as those produced by
earthquake shocks, some increases in stress magnitudes and some
encroachments on usual factors of safety are permissible.
21. Effects of foundation and abutment deformations should be included in the
technical analyses.
22. In monolithic straight gravity dams, some proportions of the loads may be
carried by twist action and beam action at locations along the sloping
abutments, as well as by the more usually considered gravity action.
23. Detrimental effects of twist and beam action in straight gravity dams, such as
cracking caused by the development of tension stresses, may be prevented by
suitable construction procedure.
24. In monolithic curved gravity and arch dams, some proportions of the loads may
be carried by tangential shear and twist effects, as well as by the more usually
considered arch and cantilever actions.
25. The distribution of loads in masonry dams may be determined by bringing the
calculated deflections of the different systems of load transference into
agreement at all conjugate points in the structure.

Uplift
Two factors directly affect the design of a dam, the intensity of hydrostatic pressure at
various points within or under the dam and the area upon which pressure acts.

It is now accepted for design purposes that uplift pressures act on the full area of the
section. The intensity of pressure may be represented by the diagram showing the
ideal case of underflow conditions for an impermeable dam with a straight base on a
homogeneous isotropic foundation of unlimited depth and horizontal extent.

Headwater and tailwater depth are represented by h1 and h2, respectively. The
concentric semi-ellipses represent lines of flow of water passing through the
foundation. The hyperbolas, drawn normal to the lines of flow at all points, represent
lines of equal hydrostatic pressure within the foundation and at the base of the dam.
This network of flow lines and pressure lines is called a flow net. The diagram
indicates an almost linear distribution of pressure on the base, and this is the
distribution for which the stability of the dam should be checked if no drainage is
provided. (or all drainage is blocked.)

Drainage is in the form of curtain of cored vertical holes

150mm or more in diameter at 3-5m spacing and located
304m from the upstream face. A gallery runs from one end to
the other of the dam, above the tailwater level. Drainage from
the holes is led away via open gutters, with measuring weirs
installed to record the flow.

It is now general to adopt a distribution of uplift pressure as

above, the value of factor k being decided having due regard
to the porosity of foundation rock and the existence of joints
and cracks therein. It is important to expend effort and money
on a drainage system to ensure satisfactory function over the entire life of the dam.

Variation in contraction joints and uplift.

(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Stresses in Gravity Dams

Considering vertical cantilever sectionsm of unit width it is a simple matter to
compute vertical stresses on horizontal planes for the cases of reservoir empty and
reservoir full. In general, efforts are made to avoid tensile stresses in the concrete for
normal loadings. Compressive stresses are not usually high in gravity dams.
 The usual analysis stresses normal to horizontal planes are
assumed to have a linear trapezoidal distribution. Finite
element methods show the stress distribution to be as in the
figure.

It is significant that the maximum stresses do not occur at the

downstream toe, and there may be tension rather than
compression at the upstream heel. However, there is similarity
between the two methods. It is important to check the
distribution and intensity of stress around galleries and other
openings in the dam and to provide adequate reinforcement to
prevent propagation of cracks from points of high stress
concentration.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Contraction Joints
Transverse Joints

It is good practice for normal methods of construction to provide contraction joints in

gravity dams. They are usually spaced about 15m apart, experience having shown that
cracks are likely to develop in monoliths much wider than this. It is however, essential
to locate the joints to best advantage relative to the shape of the abutments.

For example, in figure 1, the protrusion of a rock ledge

into the monolith would almost certainly result in a crack
in the concrete; the second arrangement would be more
satisfactory. Or the shaded area should be placed
separately, and cooled or allowed to cool to rock
temperature. The monolith is then started from the base
AB as an old joint. All joints are grouted solid
eventually.

Longitudinal Joints

For large structures the problems of cooling large masses of concrete are enormous.
Resulting in limiting the dimensions of monoliths to 15m squares, keyed on all sides.
There is now a tendency to decrease the number of longitudional joints or even omit
them all, since there are doubts of the final behaviour of dams built in columns.
 (C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Galleries
The normal function of a gallery is to provide access for inspection purposes, to
monitor the behaviour of the dam, and to carry out remedial work if required. It must
therefore be of sufficient height to permit easy movement of personnel and minor
equipment, commonly 2.13m but varied to suit construction methods. The width is
usually 1.5m but should be related to the function of the gallery. Wide opennings
induce quite high local stresses with consequent cracking of the concrete. Spiral
staircases can link other galleries, ventillation and pipes in quite a small shaft.

Circular shafts are the most desirable, with a removable floor

covering drainage, but it is harder and more expensive to
form. Rectangular galleries require greater amounts of
reinforcement. Galleries also should be well lit and ventillated.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Appurtenant Structures

(C) Kollgaard & Chadwick, Development of Dam Engineering in the US

Spillways

Go to Spillways Page
Power Station

At many sites a power station is embodied in the structure of the dam.

Prestressed Gravity Dams

Strengths of rocks in foundation and elements within concrete dams are
increased by installation of steel rocks or steel cables which are injected to tensioning.
The procedure that is followed is called prestressing.

The reluctance to use cables has been related to a lack of knowledge of steel cables
when embedded in concrete. It is however generally agreed that steel does not rust
when embedded in high quality concrete or cement grout in which there are no cracks
or interconnected voids.

If prestressing is accepted in the design then it is prudent to make provision for

retensioning if required, replacement of bars or cables, or the installation of new
cables. Serious corrosion of cables can be detected by the regular measurement of
their electrical resistance.

The actual behaviour of the dam will depend upon the nature of the foundation rock,
any initial stress in the rock and the effect of saturation of the rock mass.

For reasonable stress distribution the depth of the anchorage should be not less than
the width of the base of the dam. The advantages of wires over bars are:

 The allowable working stress in high tensile wires is usually greater than in
bars
 Wire cables can be fabricated on site in one length, avoiding the use of couplers
that are necessary with bars and are a source of trouble
 Cables can be accomodated in drilled holes whereas bars with couplers usually
require larger pits

Prestressed Gravity Dams 2

 From point B, the downstream corner of the foundation, draw an
arc AC passing through the anchorage point A.
 The position of point C will in general be outside the upstream foundation
corner D at which the highest tensile stresses tend to exist, but nevertheless the
line AC will correspond approximately to the possible crack location.
 Assuming this line to correspond to an open fissure, i.e. allowing full
hydrostatic pressure to be developed along it, compute the effective uplift
forces U2 and U3 acting along AB and AB respectively (for calculation of the
latter a linear decrease of uplift pressure between A and B can be assumed).
 Computing the remaining forces acting on the dam and the portion of the
foundation BAC, i.e. the external water pressure on the upstream face U1 and
the weights of the dam, W1 and the portion ABC of the foundation W2, the
magnitude and position of the resultant force R acting on the section AB can be
determined.
 Clearly if this falls outside the point B reliance must be placed on tensile
stresses acting along AB and stability is therefore endangered.
 The only possibilty of resisting the overturning forces entirely by compressions
is if this reaction R falls within the length AB, even so admitting a certain
amount of cracking along this length if the reaction is close to the point B.
 To ensure a certain factor of safety it is necessary to arrange the anchorage at
such a depth that the reaction R passes well within the section AB.
 If the stresses occurring in the section AB are computed according to some
reasonable assumption, such as linear distribution, and the maximum value of
the principal stress is found to fall within permissible limits for the foundation
material, an adequate factor will be assured.
 In this calculation, no allowance should be placed on tensile stresses and the
section AB should be permitted to crack as far as is required.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
Introduction to Arch Dams

The ultimate complexity of design and analysis of stresses is attained in arch and
dome dams. These dams are thin, curved structures commonly containing
reinforcement, either steel rods or prestressed steel cables the volume of concrete
required is much less than for gravity and gravity arch dams, but the competency of
bedrock in foundations and abutments to sustain or resist loads must be of a high
order.

Arch dams are usually built in narrow, deep gorges in mountainous regions where
access and availability of construction materials pose especially acute problems.

Arch dams are of two kinds.

Constant radius arch dams - commonly have a vertical upstream face with a constant
radius of curvature

Variable radius dams - have upstream and downstream curves (extrados and intrados
curves) of systematically decreasing radii with depth below the crest.

When a dam is also doubly curved, that is, it is curved in both horizontal and vertical
planes, it is sometimes called a dome dam. Some dams are constructed with two or
several contiguous arches or planes and are described as multiple arch or multiple
dome dams.

Analysis assumes that two major kinds of deflections or dislocations affect the dam
and its abutments. Pressure of water on the upstream face of the dam and uplift
pressures from seepage beneath the dam tend to rotate the dam about its base by
cantilever action. In addition the pressure of reservoir water tends to flatten the arch
and push it downstream.
Photograph (C) Kollgaard & Chadwick, Development of Dam Engineering in the US
Design Concepts and Criteria
An arch dam transfers loads to the abutments and foundations both by cantilever
action and through horizontal arches, and a method of distribution was developed
by Stucky in Switzerland and the USBoR.

The assumptions made are not strictly true so the effect of each must be understood
before accepting the design.

 The concrete in the dam and the rock foundations are homogeneous and
isotropic;
 Stresses within the elastic limit for both concrete and the rock formations and
that stress will be proportional to strain;
 That plane sections before bending remain plane after bending;
 That direct stresses vary linearly between the upstream and downstream
faces, in both arch and cantilever elements;
 That the modulus of elasticity of concrete and the modulus of deformation of
the foundation are the same in tension as in compression;
 That temperature stresses and strains are proportional to temperature
changes;
 That water load on the reservoir walls does not cause differential movements
at the damsite;
 That foundation deformations are independent of the shape of the
foundation;
  That tensions are relieved by cracking so that all loads are carried by
compression and shear in the uncracked portions;
 That the dam acts as a monlith, i.e. that contraction joints or slots have been
tightly grouted and that all shrinkage of the concrete has taken place before
this.

The parameters controlling design, other than actual geometry include:

 The loads on the dam; Loading and Factor of Safety

 The degree of fixity to foundation and abutments;
 The properties of the component materials of the dam and the foundations.

Steel reinforcement can reduce the thickness of the dam but at a cost. If
reinforcement was not used then cracking in the faces of an arch dam may result
from:

 Excessive tensile stress due to dam geometry;

 Secondary tension resulting from high compressive forces in thin members;
 Secondary tensile stresses at the arch haunches and parallel to the abutments;
 'Hang up' of concrete adjacent to a near vertical abutment;
 Temperature effects - either due to hydration of the cement or climatic
conditions.

Definition of different arch dams based on base thickness (h is height of the dam):

Thin arch <0.2h

Medium arch 0.2h - 0.3h

Thick arch >0.3h

Arch-gravity >0.5h

Reinforcement is not generally required in arch-gravity dams or thick arch dams. Its
use in thin arch dams is favoured, however for a 90m high dam the cost of
reinforcement will be many millions of dollars, which could mitigate the adoption of
such a dam.

Uplift - is not usually of importance in thin arch dams, but in thick arch dams
provision is made for internal drainage, as for gravity dams. If the design assumes that
the concrete will crack if tensions exceed say 0.4MPa, then it is consistent to assume
that full hydrostatic pressure can act in such cracks.

Tensile stresses - the aim of the designer is to eliminate tensile stresses, although this
is not always possible since an irregular cross-section can generate local stress
concentrations, and necessary excavation of abutments beyond the design limits will
alter the geometry of the dam, and possibly affect the degree of fixity.

Abutment Stability
In the rock body the following are involved:

 The weight of the rock;

 Static tectonic and dynamic seismic stresses;
 Hydrostatic thrusts and buoyancy after filling of the reservoir;
 Forces transmitted from the dam.

Minimum safety is usually found in the upper part of the double curvature dams
because:

 The upper zones of the valley are less tight and earthquake forces here cause
stronger reactions;
 The rock overburden is less - providing less normal loading on possible sliding
planes;
 The direction of the resultant forces from the dam often meet the abutments at
less favourable angles.

Percolation of water under pressure may affect the strength of a rock abutment:

 Saturation frequently decreases the strength of rocks, probably due to

infiltration of microcracks;
 Natural rock stresses will be modified by the water pressure, and
 Shearing resistance may be decreased.

Shell Geometry
Constant-Radius Arch Dam

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

The simplest form of arch dam with a vertical cylindrical upstream face and a
uniformly inclined downstream face. Used in wide valleys with the possibility of slip
forming construction methods.

Constant-Angle Arch Dam

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Variable-Radius Arch Dam
 (C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
Double curvature - Cupola Dam

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Vertical curvature introduced so that the weight of the dam will offset vertical
tensions due to water load. Cupola dams are ideal for narrow valleys and are similar to
the thin arch dams in regard to foundation requirements.

(C) Wahlstrom, Ernest Dams, Dam Foundations and Reservoir Sites

Cross Sections of typical arch dams
Contraction Joints
It has been normal practice to provide radial contraction joints in arch dams at
approximately 15 meter spacing. This dimension has evolved from experience since
cracks often appeared in monoliths of 20 meter or more in length, where full control
of concrete temperature was either impractical or uneconomical; cracking occurred
particularly at sides subject to sudden and large falls in ambient temperature. For
constant radius arch dams the joints are radial and plane, whereas for double curvature
dams they are frequently warped; in some cases they are formed to leave the rock
almost normal to the contact surface.

Since monolithic action is required in

the arch, provision is made for the
injection of cement grout into the
joints after the concrete has cooled to
mean temperature, or has been
artificially cooled to a little below
mean temperature in order to
introduce some compression into the
arches.

Each joint is usually divided by

horizontal grout stops so that zones
from ten to fifteen meters high may be
grouted progressively to ensure
stability of the completed sections
against inadvertent overtopping by
floods.

Arch dams are usually sufficiently

flexible to defect measurably under the forces exerted by joint grouting; the
effectiveness of the grouting can therefore be assessed by comparing measured with
calculated deformations. To prevent harmful overstress regular observations should be
made during grouting on joint meters embedded in the concrete across the joints, on
dial gauges fixed to be upstream and downstream faces of the joint, on clinometers on
faces of the dam and galleries and on plumbobs and survey targets as convenient.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Prestressing
In seeking further economies in the construction of arch dams it appears to be
necessary to consider means of applying external loads to the dam to counteract
undesirable tensile stresses that would otherwise develop. Many dams have now been
built with compressive stresses up to 8.5 MPa but to increase these stresses would
most likely not be possible without prestressing to counteract the higher tensions.

Potential application of prestressing to arch dams

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
Prestressing induces vertical compressive stresses upstream at the heel of the dam and
downstream near the crest. This can be achieved by two processes, firstly by the
information of flat jacks to force open the end joints of the shell which would defect
the dam upstream, secondly by applying a radial load at the crest by means of a
horizontal cable to defect the upper part of the dam downstream.

Introduction to Buttress Dams

Buttress dams were first developed to conserve water in regions where materials were
scarce or expensive but labour was cheap. Dams were used for irrigation and mining
purposes. As designs have become more sophisticated, the virtues and weaknesses of
the buttress type dams have become apparent.

 The pressure of water on the inclined upstream at face adds to the stability of
the dam, both by its magnitude and direction.
  With free drainage of the foundations between the buttresses, uplift on their
bases is considerably reduced.
 The general flexibility of the dam can accommodate differential movement of
the foundations.
 Unless the foundation material was erodible minor leakage should not endanger
the dam.
 A minimum of materials is required but its accurate placement involves skilled
tradesmen and higher unit costs.
 Whilst construction is at low levels, the work can be overtopped by floods
without serious damage - with considerable saving in river diversion works.
 For large dams the stress distribution in the buttresses [from water load, own
weight, thermal effects and foundation movements] is complex and does not
conform to linear distribution on horizontal planes. Models show tensile
stresses near the foundation of buttress heads in the case of good foundations -
though such stresses are not evident from conventional analytical analysis.
Preliminary designs should therefore be supplemented by detailed studies using
finite elements or photoelastic methods.
 The buttress type of dam finds particular application in wide valleys where
sound rock would be the exception rather than the rule. Thorough
investigations are therefore essential particularly if the dam is to be rigid.
 If a buttress dam is of slender dimensions, especially a multiple arch, and flood
waters are to pass over it, a very careful examination is necessary of possible
modes of vibration. What may not be serious for a gravity dam could be
disastrous for a buttress dam.
 Lateral stability of buttresses is not now considered to be serious except for
high dams, but it should be checked, especially in areas of known seismicity.
 There appears to be a case for studying large span multiple arches in wide
valleys, i.e. the arches would be thick, unreinforced, and constructed by mass
concrete methods.
 There is considerable scope for the application for prestressing to modify
stresses within buttress dams as well as to improve their stability.
(C) Kollgaard & Chadwick, Development of Dam Engineering in the US

The flat slab is simply supported on the buttress heads to avoid negative bending and
cracking on the upstream face of the slabs. Flexible seals should be installed to
prevent water loss around the ends of the slab as they defect. Some buttress dams have
been constructed with the slab continuous over one or more buttresses.

1. Simple slab deck

2. Continuous slab deck

To avoid tensile stresses in a thin slab, and hence the need for reinforcement, the
massive head buttresses were developed.

1. Massive Head (flat head)

2. Massive Head (round head)

The relative economy of buttress dams will depend on the foundations, the cost of the
materials, and the cost and reliability of the skilled tradesmen at the particular site.
However, for a height of 20m a flat head buttress would require 40% of the concrete
used in a gravity dam.

For dams up to 150 meters high it should be possible to dimension a buttress type of
dam so that the first principal stress does not exceed 7 MPa, i.e. a stress comparable
with that in a thin arch dam.

Multiple arch dams evolved at approximately the same time as the slab and buttress
dam, but at a slower rate. The factors influencing the selection of multiple arch dams
as a preferred type are similar to those for slab and buttress structure relative to
reduction in materials, low uplift forces, and adaptability to a wide variety of canyon
configurations.

(C) Kollgaard & Chadwick, Development of Dam Engineering in the US

Multiple arches are continuous monolithic structures where loss of an important

structure component could lead to loss of the entire dam. Thus these structures require
better foundations.

The majority of multiple arch dam where constructed before 1935, and although state
of the art at the time, by today's standards are deficient relative to seismic and
hydrologic conditions.

For small dams the buttresses are usually analysed as gravity blocks subject to the
inclined water load, their own weight and small uplift. A buttress can also be
considered as composed of a system of curved beams, each of which trasmits part of
the water load and its own weight to the foundations.

The columns can be proportioned to develop uniform compressive stress and curved
to avoid eccentricity of loading. In order to avoid secondary tensile stresses the
buttresses of many large dams have been built with contraction joints following the
directions of the principle stresses.
A major advantage claimed for buttress dams, including the hollow gravity dam is that
uplift forces acring on the dam are minimal. It is usual to adopt a distribution of uplift
pressure, acting on 100% of the area, as shown in the figure.

For this to be factual there must be release to atmosphere, or tailwater pressure,

around the buttress footing. Should the foundation be horizontally stratified then uplift
could act on a layer of rock only a little distance below the dam; drainage of such a
foundation is therefore essential.

Example, Muda Dam, Malaysia. Using post tensioned restressible cables fixed to the
foot of the buttress to prevent uplift and sliding.

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

When flood waters are to be passed over buttress dams the following factors deserve
attention:

 The nappe must be adequately aerated to avoid vibrations or pulsations that

could be transferred into the dam to cause overstressing or into the foundations
to weaken their shearing resistance.
 The nappe should impact on to reinforced concrete slabs that are adequately
anchored into the foundations. Erosion behind the buttress heads or arches
should be prevented by provision of a concrete turbulence control wall or
suitable paving.
  It must be possible to destroy most of the energy of the surcharge withiut
rupture of the river bed downstream from the dam. Should excesscive erosion
occur the shearing resistance of the foundation could be lost.

Prestessing is used to minimise the quantity of concrete and counteract tensions that
would otherwise exist. It is usually used as an extra factor of safety on an otherwise
adequate structure, for example to cope under extreme flooding or earthquake
conditions.

Prestressing can be applied in at least three manners to a buttress dam,

1. To 'pull down' the upstream face

2. To 'jack up' the downstream face
3. To compact the buttress on to the foundation rock to improve the resistance to
sliding of dam onrock, at the same time tightening seams to improve the
resistance to sliding within the foundations.

Spillways – Introduction
The provision of adequate spillway facilities can pose more problems than the design
of the dam. Complete protection against the greatest flood that might occur would in
almost all circumstances be unjustifiable. The existing or possible future habitation in
the valley below the dam must influence decisions to be made regarding the spillway.
Four standards for dam design have been suggested;

 Freeboard and still capacity sufficiently to ensure that the dam will not be
overtopped by floods up to probable maximum categories;
 Such that the dam can be overtopped without failing, and in so far as
practicable, without suffering serious damage;
 Such as to ensure that breaching of the structure would occur at a relatively
gradual rate; and
  The height of the dam and storage are small enough that no serious hazard
exists downstream in the event of breaching.

Retention in Storage - In rare cases it is economically possible to store the entire

volume of the design flood within the reservoir without overtopping the dam. The
occurence of a subsequent storm shortly after the first must also be considered. In
some cases an auxillary spillway or fuse plug spillway may be built in for
emergencies.

Auxiliary Spillway to another valley. At

certain locations it is possible to build one or
more spillway outlets on the rim of the storage
basin and to divert flood waters into adjacent
valleys. Impact on the total environment must
be considered before floods can be by-passed
in this manner. Generally the main valley will
have carried floods of maybe half the design
flood and it is simple to assess the damage
likely to be done by larger floods. The owner
of the dam will be responsible for damage resulting from diversion of a major flood
into a valley not normally subject to large floods.

Fuse-Plug Spillways are structures built instead of an auxiliary spillway. They may
be simple earth banks, flash boards, or other devices designed to fail when
overtopped. Such plugs should only be used when the sudden release of water is both
safe and not over-destructive to the environment. For preference fuse plugs should be
so constructed as to make their intensional destruction. This is much more positive
than endeavouring to design a structure to fail at a predetermined overload.
 Spillway Location Options - The sites indicated by the
red areas are the most favourable locations for spillway
positioning. The order of preference for rapid concrete
construction is indicated by the numbering.

Passage over or through the dam - Many dams are

designed for the safe passage of controlled and
uncontrolled flood waters over the crest. Radial or
sector gates are also used in large diversion weirs,
however spilling over the crest is the cheaper method.

Bottom spillway
Advantage - provision can usually be made for its use for
the passage of floods during construction.
Disadvantage - once built its capacity is finite wheras the
forecasting is indefinite.
- a single outlet can be blocked by flood debris

Siphon Spillway
Disadvantage - construction is expensive
- sudden appearance of flood water downstream
- large flood debris can block outlet

Gates or no gates - many Engineers are not inclined to place full reliance on effective
operation of gates at the time of a major flood. The provision of gated spillways is
usually economic, whatever height of dam the cost remains roughly the same and is
only dependent on the magnitude of the flood provision. The possibility of
maloperation can not be overlooked and their accessibility is important. If proper gate
operation can not be guaranteed then the effect of flood water passing over the top of
gates must be investigated. Hydraulic gates are most reliable, followed by
mechanically and electrically operated gates.

Spillway gates may therefore be installed:

 Purely on economic considerations of total cost of dam and spillway, or

 In order to protect upstream property or installations, or
 In order to exercise control over the magnitude and duration of flood flows
below the dam - having due regard to flow in downstream tributaries, or
 In order to derive some economic benefit from water stored above the fixed
crest level.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
The discharge over a spillway crest is given by the formula:
Q=C.L.H3/2

where Q=discharge, C=coefficient, L=length of the crest, H=effective head of water.

Crest Profile - the crest of an overfall spillway is usually

dimensioned to conform to the underside of the nappe of the free-
falling jet. Greater efficiency is obtained by operating a spillway at
greater than design head, as can be seen in the figure showing the
effect of nappe profile on coefficient.

It is common practice to choose the design head for the nappe as 75%-80% of the
maximum expected head. When the spillway so designed does pass the greater flows,
pressures lower than atmosphere will occur over the crest, causing problems
associated with cavitation.

The flow over a spillway gives rise to self-excited vibration, in which three coupled
elements are involved; the jet, the overflow crest and the air cushion between dam and
jet. This can be avoided by using splitters on the crest.
 The cross section of a dam is normally determined to meet stability
requirements. Optimum nappe can be obtained by the provision of
an upstream overhang, as can be seen in the figure on the left, with
the overhang not less than 0.3 times the height of the dam.

With the reservoir at a particular level the discharge over the spillway will be
proportional to its length. It is possible to introduce variations in the plan shape of the
spillway crest so that the effective length is increased, for example, rectangular
'duckbill' spillway or triangular sections.

In narrow gorges it is often expedient to adopt the glory-hole spillway. The design of
a glory hole spillway is involved since it includes flow over the weir, free or forced
flow in the shaft, flow around the bend and flow in the discharge tunnel. Since
velocities are very high at the bottom of the shaft damage to lining is likely to occur.
The main disadvantage with the glory-hole spillway is that beyond a certain surcharge
the discharge only increases slowly with increased head. It does not provide any
substantial margin for underestimation of the maximum flood.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
The decision for gates is more often economic, but sometimes topography may be the
controlling factor. Gates use mechanical devices and are liable to malfunction,
however they can be submerged and can operate at any head and are useful to pass
floods during construction or to control a filling reservoir.

The Engineer is concerned with the loads concentrated on certain parts of the dam by
the system for supporting and operating the gates. This is very important when one
gate is closed and the other open. Large gates require special formwork, complicated
reinforcement and probably prestressing of anchorages which puts the price up.

The minimum length is determined by the debris which could be expected to flow
through the gate. The location chosen must be easily accessible during normal
operation and during extreme floods. The engineer must be responsible for the
procedures for operation of the gates. Automatic gates may be required in remote
locations however the expense and reliability issues do not favour their installation.

Types of Gate - the trend is towards simplicity.

 Vertical-lift Gates
 (C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Nanairo Dam, Japan - Vertical-lift spillway gates

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Eildon Dam, Australia - Vertical-lift spillway gates

 Submerged Radial Gates - used to provide greater discharge for a particular
size of gate.
(C) Thomas,
Henry H. The
Engineering of
Large Dams

Sainte-Croix Arch Dam - Submerged Radial Gate

 Flapgates

Spilling dam - Flap gate with downstream

jack

1. Concrete sill
2. Flapgate panel
3. Trestle
4. Support
5. Slide
6. Jack
7. Swivel
8. Inspection Gallery

(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

 Inflatable dam - rubberised fabric, shaped as a seal tube, capable of being

pressurised with either air or water, adaptable for installation on any reasonable
sill for flood control and other purposes.
 (C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

Koombooloomba Dam, Australia - Inflatable 'Fabridam'

Advantages of inflatable dams

 Comparatively low cost

 Little maintenance
 Readily collapsed to allow free flow of floodwaters
 Fail-safe so long as the resulting flood wave is acceptable in the valley

Disadvantages of inflatable dams

 Relatively limited life - 20 years

 Vulnerable to vandelism
 Availability of replacement parts in the future
 Possibility of downstream flood due to malfunction
 A chute is the means by which water is transferred over the crest to the river
bed below the dam. Its function is to prevent damage to the valley walls that
could endanger the dam. It may or may not serve to dissipate some of the
energy in the water.
 Cascade spillways - used to dissipate energy

The rock must be massive and free from close jointing and
competent. The rock excavated must be used in the dam if the
scheme is to be economically viable.
  Lined Chutes - at most sites a concrete lined chute is required. The chute
width is determined by the length and arrangement of the spillway crest, the
total energy in the water and the economical relation between the width
(including excavation costs) and the height of the side walls of the chute. The
height of the chute wall is also important because the water could erode the side
slopes.

At the bottom of the chute the water may enter a dissipator

basin, or be directed around a flip bucket so that much of its
energy is dissipated in air. Vibration will cause movement of the
slabs and even failure of them. It is essential that slabs are
anchored to the rock with steel rods. The figure shows the
correct way of laying slabs so they do not lift up.
 (C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
 The passage of flood waters from reservoir level to tailwater level will involve
the dissipation of vast energy. The velocities and pressures involved are huge
and destructive.
 Free Overfall - energy dissipated in a downstream coffer dam stilling basin
unless overflow is very high, say 80m&SUP3;/s/m or the height of the overfall
exceeds 100m. For example the scour below a free overfall at Kariba Dam is
over 50m.
 Flip Bucket Spillways - the purpose of this type is to throw the water well
clear of the structure. The jet of a ski jump spillway leaves horizontally wheras
the jet of a flip bucket is deflected upwards to induce disintegration in the air.
The spray produced can cause damage to the countryside and may adversely
affect nearby electrical installations.

A. Roller Basin
B. Deflector Bucket
C. Flip Bucket
D. Non-radial spillway and sluice
buckets
E. Schoklitsch dissipator
Stilling Basins - are usually associated with overflow dams of gravity
type. Dissipation of energy depends upon the formation of rollers,
turbulence and/or standing waves. Dentations are often provided to
assist in dissipation of energy. The blocks are subjected to highly
fluctuating pressures of such low minimum values that serious
cavitation and destruction can occur.

The figure shows a baffled apron spillway used for energy dissipation.

 (C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams

 3D simulation of free-surface over a chute spillway
By Fayi Zhou and C.S. Song
 In spillway design, the free surface pattern under different geometry needs to
be known. The 3-D free surface flow in chute spillway is of typical super-
critical. An unsteady three-dimensional free-surface flow model is developed
based on the compressible hydrodynamic euqations and large eddy simulation
concept using an explicit finit volume scheme.
 The simulation process is divided into three steps for computational efficiency.
Approximate free-surface profile and average velocity distribution were
determined first assuming steady one-dimensional non-viscous flow. The fully
developed 3-D turbulent flow filed is simulated next holding the free-surface
profile fixed. Finally, the free surface is set free to move and the fully
developed flow with strong gravity waves are simulated.
 A free-surface smoothing and a wave steepness constrainbt approaches were
used to assure numerical stability while waves up to certain specified steepness
can be resolved.
 3D free surface pattern along the whole spillway region
  3D free surface pattern at the upper part of spillway

 3D free surface pattern at the lower part of spillway

General Construction
1. Safety
2. Specifications
3. Plant
4. Cost and its control

Safety - with the ever increasing height of dams there is greater need for
precautions, especially against falling objects or persons. Double curvature
structures have made access and movement of personnel difficult. All site personnel
must be alert at all time for the accidents that might happen. The insurance is
regular meetings of staff and representatives of the work force, where knowledge
and experience can be pooled - especially in the planning stage of an unusual
operation.

(C) Kollgaard & Chadwick, Development of Dam Engineering in the US

Specifications
For all types of dam, the specification should cover the following:

 The required date for completion, with a schedule to indicate dates for
completion of stages of the work;
 The degree of responsibility to be accepted by the Contractor in the
dimensioning of diversion works, for losses due to floods, for river pollution
and general care of the river;
 Clearing of the site and works areas;
 The extent of foundation preparation required and the sharing of
responsibility for unforeseen conditions;
 Protection of the environment, disposal of soil, rehabilitation of borrow areas,
beautification, etc.;
 Premliminary work that will be done by the Owner and the degree of
responsibility accepted by the Owner for consequences of such work.
Plant - The cost of purchasing plant and its operation are major items. On a dam
involving 2 million cum of concrete, the purchase and operation might each
represent 18-20% of the direct cost of the dam. For an embankment dam this may
be of the order of 25-35%. It is therefore important to select the correct plant to
achieve optimum cost.

The specification for some major contracts calls for the use of only new plant and the
main advantage is that suitable plant can be matched to the particular job. Material
transporters can be matched to quarry equipment for example. For compaction of
embankments - soil or rock, it is important to select the most appropiate equipment
and this can be best determined by means of a trial embankment. It is also necessary
to have a supply of spare parts since many sites are remote. Plant should be simple
and rugged, and preferably modular to simplify the replacement of parts.

Consistently high quality of materials is the objective of all dam builders and to
sacrifice quality for a doubtful saving in cost is poor engineering.

Cost and its Control - Safety, Time and Cost are interrelated and usually conflicting.
Safety is always paramount, and hence time and cost directly relate to quality and
degree of perfection required. There is an optimum time for any operation and beyond
this time will incur extra costs. Cost is made up of direct charges for manpower and
materials, plus overheads and interest. Interest is out of the control of the Engineer.

With regard to the direct charges, the selection of the type of dam will be the major
decision and this might well be influenced by local conditions rather than
mathematical economies.

 Is a labour-intensive job required in the interests of the local community?

 Is skilled labour available?
 What degree of mechanisation is desirable or possible at the particular site?

For a concrete dam, for example, the dissection of costs may be;
Materials 25%

Formwork 20%

Plant Purchase 19%

Plant Operation 19%

 Placing and consolidation of concrete 4%

Precooling concrete 3%

Concrete Treatment 3%

For an embankment dam, for example. the dissection of costs may be;

Quarry Operation 30-40%

Haulage 20-30%

Spreading and Compaction 25-30%

Face rolling, mesh, etc. 15-20%

River Diversion
Regardless of the type of dam, it is necessary to de-water the site for final geological
inspection, for foundation improvement and prepartation, and for the first stage of
dam construction. The magnitude, method and cost of river diversion works will
depend upon the cross-section of the valley, the bed material in the river, the type of
dam, the expected hydrological conditions during the time required for this phase of
the work, and finally upon the consequences of failure of any part of the temporary
works.

At most sites it will be

necessary to move the river
whilst part of the dam is
constructed; this part will
incorporate either permanent
or temporary openings through
which the river will be
diverted in the second stage. If
the first diversion is not large
enough the initial stages of
construction will be inundated,
if the second stage outlets are
too small, the whole works
will be flooded.

At some sites there is a distinct seasonal pattern of river flows and advantage can be
taken of such conditions but noting that Nature is random.

Construction of the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam, South Africa required a sophisticated

arrangement of cofferdams. An approach was developed based on the frequency and
distribution of floods that could occur over a five year period of construction. The
following is an extract of the original detailed specification:

First Stage (A) -

 Construction from each bank of the river of groynes a short distance upstream
of the dam, to alter the direction of flow and thus to move the low water
channel towards the left bank of the river at the dam site.
 Construction of a semi circular concrete arch cofferdam on the right bank of the
river.
 De-watering of this cofferdam and excavation within it for the main dam
blocks, the proportion of the overspill apron and the sections of the mid channel
cofferdams.
 Concreting of the dam blocks, numbers 14 to 28 up to a minimum level of 1200
meters, the portions of the overspill apron and of the mid channel cofferdams
within this cofferdam. In blocks of the dam constructed on this stage,
temporary openings were formed through which the river was later diverted.

Second stage (B) & (C) -

 Construction of a semi circular arch cofferdam on the left bank of the river.
 Construction of the flanking portions of each of the upstream and downstream
mid channel concrete arch cofferdams which cross the river upstream and
downstream of the central section of the dam.
 Excavation of a channel along the right bank, leading to the temporary
openings through the dam, demolition of portions of the right bank cofferdam
to permit the diversion of the river through the temporary openings and such
clearing out of the right bank diversion channel as may be necessary.
 The cutting of a channel through the portion of the right bank groyne adjacent
to the bank to form an entrance to the diversion channel described above.
 The placing of rockfill to connect together the right and left bank groynes so as
to divert the river flow into the right bank diversion channel, thereby cutting
down the velocity of the water in the vicinity of the mid river cofferdams.
 Completion of the upstream mid river cofferdam completion of the downstream
mid river cofferdam.
 Placing of spoil, excavated from the works, in the flood channel on the left
bank upstream of the dam to prevent the river flooding into the area to the
protected by the mid river cofferdams.
Third stage (C) & (D) & (E) -

 De-watering of the left bank cofferdam and excavation for the dam blocks and
the portion of the overspill apron within this cofferdam.
 Concreting of the dam blocks numbers 9 to 27 to a minimum level of 1206
meters.
 Demolition of the left bank cofferdam.
 Demolition of the remaining portion of the right bank cofferdam within the
areas protected by the mid channel cofferdams.
 The de-watering of the mid channel cofferdam and excavation within it for dam
block numbers 1 to 7 and 2 to 12 and portion of the overspill apron.
 Concreting of dam blocks 1 to 7 and 2 to 12 to such levels that the contraction
joints in the lower part of the dam up to gallery can be grouted.
 Concreting within the mid channel cofferdams of the portion of the overspill
apron downstream of blocks 1 to 7 and 2 to 12.
 Cooling of the concrete and grouting of the dam construction joints.
Diversion can also be achieved by means of a tunnel, which depends on the nature of
the rock and depth of weathering and should be far away from the dam itself to not
interferre with the foundations. The tunnel also should be large enough to avoid the
possibility of job jams.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
Concrete Dam Construction
1. Aggregate Production
2. Concrete Handling, Placing and Consolidation
3. Formwork
4. Built in items
5. Cooling of Concrete
6. Economical Construction

Aggregate Production - The acceptability of

natural aggregates is judged upon the
physical and chemical properties of the
material and the accessibility, proximity to
the site and economic workability of the
deposit.

Concrete Handling, Placing and

Consolidation - The procedure to be
adopted for moving concrete from the
mixers on to the dam will be governed by site conditions. The problem is to transport
it to the dam with the least possible segregation or change in its consistency so it may
be compacted uniformly into the dam without unreasonable effort. The cableway is
probably the simplest arrangement. The tilting mixers will feed the buckets; these are
then moved to a pick up point under the cableway, transported smoothly to the block
and emptied quickly through an air operated gate.
Three Tower Cableway

The use of a belt conveyor has also been considered, but problems occur in keeping
the belt temperature stable in warm weather and also in windy conditions. The
conveyors are usually covered and cold air is blown over the concrete to lower its
placing temperature.

The placing of a low-slump concrete, four layers in 2.3m lift

Tractor mounted vibrators at Emosson Dam, Switzerland

Proper consolidation of low-slump concrete is laborious and requires continuous

supervision. The most efficient compactor is usually the two man hand-held high-
speed vibrator.

Formwork - Probably the most widely used lift is 1.5m, however, on large dams a
height of 2.3-3.0m is frequently used. With the larger lifts there are fewer movements
of forms and fewer horizontal lift surfaces to be cleaned. The high-lift formwork is
unique and expensive with less prospect for re-use, heavier equipment is required for
lifting the forms and the heat problems and risks of cracking in the concrete are
accentuated. Modern steel formwork is of cantilever design, see figure. Where
possible the use of slip forms will expedite the work and lower the costs. At some
locations it may be expedient to use precast concrete slabs for formwork with set-
retarding agent on the inner surface.
Built in items - The installation of built in items is always a major source of delay on
construction. Advance planning is required with close attention to detail. The
complication of installation of reinforcement, prestressing, gate hinges, drainage wells
and gate wells are common on spillways. There has been a tendency to use precast
concrete units for galleries to save time, however this prevents the inspection of the
concrete in the interior of the dam. The simplest method of forming galleries is
vertical formwork extending the full height of a lift. When this is removed, precast
concrete beams or slabs can be laid over the opening and concreted into the next lift.
Reinforcement is usually required above and below rectangular galleries and this is
best installed as prefabricated units.

Cooling of Concrete - The method of cooling concrete during the first few days after
placing can be of the utmost importance if cracking is to avoided. It is essential to
give attention to both internal and external factors that may induce cracking;

 Temperature rise, which will depend upon the heat of hydration of the
cement, the quantity of cement per cubic metre, the concrete placing
temperature and the rate of construction;
 Heat dissipation, which will depend upon the conditions of exposure -
including the temperature of the underlying concrete and the thermal
diffusivity of the concrete. If it is considered necessary to heat the underlying
concrete the rate of rise of its temperature should not exceed 2° Celsius per
day;
 The effects of restraint from a cold surface, i.e. rock or concrete say 14 days
old, it will depend upon the temperature gradient which can be reduced by
 placing concrete in half lifts for a predetermined height, say 3m above the
cold surface;
 The arrangement of cooling pipes - at 0.25 and 0.75 of the height of the lift
may be more efficient than on the top of the old lift and at mid-height of the
new lift. The horizontal spacing will depend upon the rate of heat removal
required and the temperature of the cooling water (i.e. river water of varying
temperature or refrigerated water);
 The local weather conditions - humidity, temperature and wind.

Economical Construction - Concrete dams are expensive, however mechanisation

over the last 40 years has reduced by a factor of four the number of man hours
required to place a cubic metre of concrete in a mass concrete dam. Although every
Engineer strives for perfection, consideration must be given to the degree of
perfection that is really necessary. Close co-operation between the Owner and
Contractor will save time and money. Questions have to be asked at all stages such
as;

 Is it permissible to design for tensile stress in the concrete?

 Will arching of the dam result in overall economy?
 Are longitudinal contraction joints necessary in large gravity dams?
 Can the transverse contraction joints be omiited, located at wider spacing etc?
 What clean up is necessary on horizontal construction joints?
 Should the height of lift be specified by the designer?
 Should the cement content of the concrete be specified or only the properties
required in the concrete?
 Can the dams of intricate shape be justified?
 Should ancillary works be separated from the dam to minimise interference
with a continuous or cyclic process of dam building?
 What is the optimum layout and design for galleries?

Looking at the 'Construction - General Section' to see the proportion of costs in a

concrete dam, assumuing that the materials have been predetermined, the
Contractor should concentrate on formwork, the purchase of plant and its operation.
(C) Thomas, Henry H. The Engineering of Large Dams
Embankment Dam Construction
1. General
2. Phases of Construction
3. Quarry development and Haul Roads
4. Material Compaction
5. Earth Dams
6. Hydraulic Fill Dams
7. Rockfill Dams

General - Considerable economy can often accrue if there is 'Progressive Design' -

the aim is to provide design flexibility to cover the probability that materials will not
be in true accord with samples tested nor will foundations conform to assumptions.

Phases of Construction -

1. Evaluation of plans, specifications, basic requirement, and features of the site.

2. Planning and scheduling of the job
3. Making the site ready
4. Building up the structure
5. Clean Up

Quarry development and Haul Roads - The quarry site should be determined
primarily on the basis of rock quality, i.e. the fragmented rock must be sound, hard
and clean. If the location is not dictated by rock quality, then it is desirable to
separate the quarry and the haul roads from other works such as the intake, spillway
or power station construction. Attention should be given to environmental factors
such as noise, vibration from explosives and dust. In designing the explosive charge,
the form of muck pile must be considered, i.e. for rubber-tyred loaders a wide low
pile thrown well out from the face is desirable for minimum loading costs.

Haul roads must be built to suit the required speed of construction, and this involves
the size of the haulage units. The roads should be at least 13m wide for two way
traffic, for preference, on way traffic should be organised on a large job. The gradients
must be such as to give minimum cost for the vehicles involved. The general layout of
haul roads and ramps can be greatly facilitated with scale models.
Material Compaction -

 Fine - Trial embankments should be constructed to determine relationships

between moisture content, layer thickness, type of roller, number of passes of
the roller and the resulting density and permeability of the fill. Additional
water during compaction usually improves the impermeability of residual soils
by a factor of at least ten compared with compaction on the dry side of
optimum moisture content.
 Plastic clays - a little wetter than optimum moisture content, can be
compacted by rubber-tyred rollers, which are water ballasted. A disadvantage
of the rubber-tyred roller is that layer and shear planes tend to form in some
materials. Since the fine materials are usually sensitive to moisture the field
Engineer must be extremely weather conscious. If heavy rain is expected the
surface of the fine material should be rolled smooth with sufficient gradient to
shed water from the working area.
 Filter or Transition Material - The thickness of the filter and transition zones
will depend upon the water pressure to be sustained and the materials
economically available. For a large dam the fine filter is often of crushed rock
which is expensive. Its width would normally be the narrowest than can be
placed and compacted. Setting out of the zone boundaries is important,
especially for curved dams with a thin fine filter. The number of passes should
be determined such that future settlement of the core and the filter zone will
correspond as closely as possible.
 Rock Compaction - The steel-faced vibratory roller is normally used for the
compaction of rock. On the sloping faces a roller of 1.5t is most useful. The
thickness of the layer of rockfill and the maximum acceptable size for rocks
should be regarded as factors pertinent to the design of the dam.
 Water to aid compaction of rockfill - Wet rock will compact better under
rolling than dry rock. Firstly, the friction is less between the rocks and
secondly many rocks lose strength when wetted so that crushing occurs at
points of contact during the third or fourth pass of the rollers.
 Provision for Instrumentation - This will inconvenience construction and
failure of the equipment to work will represent a financial loss for the cost of
its purchase and installation, and little can be done about it after the dam is
built. Vital information about the behaviour of the dam will be lost if care is
not taken in its installation.

Earth Dams -
The most important variables affecting construction of earthfill embankments are the
distribution of soils, method of placement, water content, and compaction.

Soils may be classified by engineering properties into various groups. These groups
fall into two main divisions, the course grains and the fine grains. Course grains are
those larger than a number 200 sieve size and include gravels and sands. Fine grains
are smaller than a number 200 sieve size and include silts and clays. Course grain
material is used for the outer zones of an earthfill embankment, and fine grain
material is used for the impervious core or central portion of the dam. A sieve analysis
test will determine the percent of material passing a given sieve size.

The soil material must be placed in horizontal layers not more than 15 cm. thick after
being compacted. The soil should be homogeneous and free from lenses, pockets,
organic material, or other imperfections. Prior to placement, the material should have
the optimum moisture content required for the purpose of compaction. The optimum
moisture content, or the water content that produces the maximum density, may be
obtained by a laboratory Proctor test.

Good compaction of a cohesive soil reduces permeability and increases shear strength
and the stability of the dam. Compaction equipment includes sheep-foot rollers,
pneumatic rollers, and hand tampers. The dry density of the soil should not be less
than 95 percent of standard Proctor test.

Hydraulic Fill Dams -

Excavation - dredging, with hydraulic giants or dry with the aid of a hog box. The
choice of the methods depends on the cohesion of the soil and on the topography of
the site.

Transport - The materials are transported in suspension in pipelines. Typical mixes are
from 10-20% solids by volume or 25-50% solids by weight.

Fill Construction - To start the fill two parallel dikes are constructed at or just inside
the embankment toes as shown in the figure. Often these are the permanent rock toes
themselves but they can also be made of rolled pervious earth. The pipelines (called
beach pipes) are laid on top of these dikes or are carried on low trestles just above
them. Outlets are provided to allow full discharge of the pipe. In filling, several
adjacent outlets are allowed to discharge into the area between the dikes. The coarse
materials settle close to the discharge points while the finer ones are carried to the
centre, still in suspension. A pool is created between the 'beaches'. The core level is
always below the beach level because the rate of sedimentation there is much slower.
The width of the core is controlled by the percentage of fines in the borrow soil and
the level of water in the core pool. At the start of each 1-2m lift, the level in the core
pool is raised to provide a width somewhat greater than the maximum limit of core in
the shell. Filling commences when the coarse materials settling on the beach above
the pool and encroaching on the pool limits. As the beach rises the core pool narrows
and becomes deeper. Filling is stopped when the pool width is close to the minimum
permissible core width. A core zone with jagged edges, as shown, is the result.

Re-working the Fill - It is seldom that the beach will conform exactly to the desired
dam shape since the deposition will vary with the distance from the outlet. Draglines
are placed on the outer edges of the shell to reshape the dam to the proper dimensions.
A new pair of dikes, if necessary, is built and the process is repeated.

From time to time fingers of core develop into the shell beyond the established limits.
These are removed by digging them out, and replacing them with the shell material.
Zones of shell material in the core are likewise equally dangerous. These develop
from slides into an excessively deep core pool or as a result of too small a proportion
of fines available from the borrow pits. A small hydraulic dredge is used to excavate
the core material and discharge the mix back into the core pool so that the coarse
materials will be widely dispersed.

Reworking the shell also tends to reduce the loose structure which often develops
when fine sands are deposited out of water. Such loose cohesionless soils are potential
sources of failures and are real hazards in hydraulic dam construction.

Rockfill Dams -

Pore Pressures - Excessive compactive effort relative to the particular material may
induce pore pressures in the earthfill greater than uplift pressures that will result from
filling of the reservoir. This would mean a lower factor of safety during construction
than when the dam is in operation. If this is not acceptable then extra money must be
spent to ensure slope stability during construction. On the other hand, a slope slide
during construction would not compare in importance to a slide in a completed dam. It
may therefore be a justifiable risk for the short term. If this were to be done then it
would be mandatory to monitor pore pressures so that it would be known definitely
when the design factor of safety was established. There is justifaction for reduction of
construction pore pressures especially when the height reaches 150m for example.

An advantage of the thin core is that construction pore pressures should normally drop
by 50% by the end of the construction period. In thick cores, the pressures may
remain for years.

Dumped Rockfill - the main body of fill is placed by dumping. The initial part of the
fill is dumped from clamshell cranes, cableways, or from ramps on the abutments to
form a mound or bank. The remainder of the fill is dumped from the top of this
mound, allowing the rock to fall down the sloping surface. The combined effect of
sliding, tumbling and impact casue the pieces to become tightly wedged together. Not
more than 15% fines should be in the dumped rockfill, since they prevent good
compaction and make drainage of water difficult.

Rolled Rockfill - if the rock is soft and breaks readily into pieces less than a third of a
cubic metre, a rolled rockfill can be used. It is placed in layers and then rolled by
heavy rubber tyred rollers and heavy vibrating rollers. Four to eight passes are
required for compaction.

Reshaping the Fill - the dumped rockfill assumes side slopes of the angle of repose. If
a flatter slope is required it can be formed by introducing horizontal berms as
required.

http://community.dur.ac.uk/~des0www4/cal/d
ams/fron/contents.htm
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14. Toll, D. G. 1996-7. Lectures on Geotechnics, University of Durham.
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