A STUDY ON RESERVOIR FILLING PRACTICES FOR SMALL EARTHFILL DAMS

2022-12-16
Kurter, Ege Can
The initial filling is considered to be the first safety test of the embankment followed after construction. The earth material acts significantly different during the first interaction with water. The majority of the failures occur during initial filling. The reasons of failures are mainly attributable to crack formation and internal erosion followed by piping. The filling is commonly practiced in multi-stages where intermediary holds are provided for monitoring purposes before the embankment is further loaded. This study focuses on the behavior of the embankment during first filling and aims to propose certain hold durations as well as the components affecting the durations. The finite element model is applied on a 20 m high earthfill dam using GeoStudio software. Coupled stress and pore-water pressure analyses are carried on in which the transient behavior of filling process is clearly identified. Hydraulic fracturing phenomenon is considered as the driving mode for crack and internal erosion formation. Furthermore, the study findings investigate the effect of uncontrolled filling rate on the durations of the holds. It is found that the initiation of hydraulic fracturing is more influenced from the initial conditions of the soil rather than a planned filling schedule. The earth material placed in dry conditions caused crack formation at the higher elevations of upstream side of the core. Additionally, the study proposed certain hold duration for intermediary hold up to a low pool level and revealed the positive effect of waiting at higher pool levels against hydraulic fracturing.

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Citation Formats
E. C. Kurter, “A STUDY ON RESERVOIR FILLING PRACTICES FOR SMALL EARTHFILL DAMS,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2022.