Geomechanics

Embankment dams are often built up by compacting successive layers of earth materials to form water retaining barriers. A typical rockfill embankment dam is shown in Figure 1, which consists of a core made of very low permeable materials (i.e. compacted clays), covering layers made of more permeable materials (i.e. earth fill or rockfill materials) placed on the upstream and downstream sides, and drain filter (spillway). The covering layers help to prevent erosion by wind or rain and protect against catastrophic washouts when the water flows overtop the dam. Embankment dams are vulnerable to overflow of water eroding the dam structure, so each must be provided with a drain filter (spillway) that can release water from the reservoir if the water level becomes too high.

The stability of the embankment dam during the construction stages and operation stages discussed in Section 2 is analysed using SLOPE/W with the Bishop method. Students are required to perform stability analysis (i.e. determining the lowest factor of safety and possible slip surface) for the embankment in the following cases:

3.1 During stage 1 of construction.

3.2 During stage 2 of construction.

3.3 During stage 1 of the normal operation of the embankment.

3.4 During stage 2 of the normal operation of the embankment.

3.5 During stage 3 of the normal operation of the embankment.

Geología Ingeniería civil Redacción académica

Nº del proyecto: #31919090

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