Upper Dam

Method Statement Contract A
Upper Dam and Appurtenant Structures
INTRODUCTION
This method statement covers the construction works of Contract A for the Siah Bishe Pumped Storage Project, particularly the general site installation and the works necessary for the construction of the upper dam and the appurtenant structures. The following works and structures have already been presented and are therefore not included in this document: Rehabilitation of diversion tunnels Construction of cofferdams.
The following method statements will be presented separately and is therefore not included in this document: Underground works For certain works, more detailed method statements will be presented prior to their commencement. This statement refers to the following works: Excavation Embankment Rock fill of body of the dam
Concrete works, including plinth, concrete face of the dam, spillway Roads Any other particular works in the project
Method StatementUpperDam.doc
It should be noted that it might be necessary to update this document if during detailed design other solutions are proposed than the assumed at this stage. Alternatively details of certain construction procedures may be presented later in separate documents without updating this method statement as new appendices. Since at that time the document should be complete itself, then some of descriptions in present document might be repeated in the above said appendix briefly. Finally we will have a complete method statement. In order to make it possible to read this document on its own, extracts of the technical specifications have been included in this document where necessary.
1 UPPER DAM SITE 1.1 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

The following chapters of Technical Specification Lot 1, Civil Engineering Works, Section D, are relevant for the execution of the main construction works at the upper dam site:
Volume III
Volume IV Volume V Volume VIII
Volume IX requirements
Chapter 0 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 9 Chapter 11 Chapter 23 Chapter 26 Chapter 28 Chapter 31 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37
General Information Survey Site installation Earth and rock works Underground excavation (for galleries) Embankments Dewatering Grouting Concrete Geotechnical investigations Rock anchor bolts Joints Construction tolerances Grounding Standards list Scope of works and interface
In addition, the Technical specifications Volume X to XII, Section E Bill of quantities with unit price definitions are relevant for the execution of these works.
1.2 DESIGN ASPECTS 1.2.1 Main Dam

The dam is designed with upstream slope of 1:1.6 (v:h) and downstream slope of 1:1.5 (v:h). The crest consists of a parapet wall of 3 meters height at the upstream edge and has a final width of 12m. The foundation of the parapet wall is at elevation 2409.50 m above sea level (asl) and at this elevation has a width of 16m, sufficient for the equipment for the facing concrete. The plinth and the transition zones, namely fine transition zone (material 2AA), semi-pervious transition zone (material 2A) and coarse transition zone (material 2B) should be founded on sound or slightly weathered rock. The upstream part of the dam below the face (rockfill 3A) shall be founded on rock, whereas the downstream part of the dam (rockfills 3A, 3B and 3C) will be founded on the alluvium and colluvium encountered after stripping the topsoil, and removing loose overburden to a level appropriate for the foundation of the dam body.
1.2.2
Spillway
The detail design of the spillway has not yet been finalized at this stage and consequently the approval for it could not obtained so far. Therefore the described arrangement shall be considered provisional for the time being. The spillway is located on the left abutment of the dam; with the 20 m wide ogee crest slightly downstream of the dam axis. The approach channel to the ogee has its base at elevation 2390 m asl. The 20 m wide stepped spillway chute leads in eastern direction from the ogee level of 2406.50 m asl down to elevation 2365.50 m asl where a stilling basin is located. Until this point, the whole spillway structure is founded on rock and made of concrete. After the stilling basin the spillway crosses the stabilizing fill at elevation 2370 m asl with minimum slope in a wider channel made of concrete and rip-rap, possibly with some provisions for sealing the channel against the stabilizing fill. The slope of the fill towards the river will be equally protected with riprap against erosion.
1.3 SCHEDULE AND SEQUENCES OF WORKS: GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

In the following, the construction schedule, sequence of works and important interdependences will be described briefly. Further details are shown in Appendix 3.1, which highlights the sequence of the works every 3 months in a graphic form and Appendix 3.2 contains the detailed construction schedule for the activities at the upper dam site.
1.3.1
Year 2004
Some works has been completed in 2004, for example repair works on the diversion tunnels of both dams and construction of cofferdams. Since this method statement is going to be submitted in 2005, we will below focus on the activities which should be done during year 2005 and afterwards.
1.3.2
Year 2005
The construction starts with excavation works on the left abutment for the spillway down to the elevation 2370 m asl and in the upstream part of the dam where excavation is required to the rock surface. The excavation of the plinth, which is founded on sound or slightly weathered rock, will be done simultaneously with the upstream dam excavation. Once the Chalus road has been relocated, the same procedure for excavation in the upstream part of the dam will be executed on the right abutment, followed finally by the excavation works in the bottom of the valley. Due to a delay in relocation of the Chalus Road caused by other parties, and considering the critical time nature of subsequent valley bottom and plinth construction activities, it has been decided to separate right bank excavation into two major sub-divisions: 1st phase: excavation before relocation of the Chalus road 3rd phase: excavation after relocation of the Chalus road
Due to the decision to rotate the axis of the upper dam, alterations to the mobilisation activities are required. Some of these changes can be done before relocation of the Chalus road: Construction of new offices Relocation of existing offices.
Other changes should be performed after the relocation of the Chalus road, of which the most important is the construction of a new access road to the site, because the existing access road will be crossed and cut by the excavation of plinth. This phase of construction and excavation is called 2nd phase. The estimated volumes of excavation are detailed below: Left bank 1st phase of right bank 2nd phase of right bank 3rd phase of right bank Bottom of valley 150000 m3 100000 m3 20000 m3 150000 m3 100000 m3
Simultaneously with the excavation works described above, embankment of the stabilizing fill will start with materials from the dam, spillway and headrace tunnel excavations. The rock fill downstream of the upper dam commenced in 2004, the embankment of the downstream part will continue up to elevation 2340 m asl. After the completion of excavation of right bank, embankment will continue to the level 2365 m asl. It should be noted that it is important to complete the excavations of the dam and construction of plinth on the valley bottom and some higher elevations on both banks in 2005. Failure to complete this would mean rockfill operations could not be followed intensively in 2006, which would cause significant delay to the time schedule. Therefore excavation of both banks, bottom of valley and construction of plinth, leading to rockfilling, lies on the critical path. In the upstream part of the dam, foundation treatment and anchoring works for the plinth are scheduled to start towards the end of year 2005, after reaching the final excavation depth in the bottom of the valley. Once the excavation works at the left bank have reached levels below 2400 m asl in the dam crest area and elevation 2370 m asl at the start of the stabilizing fill, construction of the spillway can start. According to the latest design of spillway, it can be divided in 3 parts: Upper part, consisting of intake and ogee area, and step wise chute Middle part, consisting of S shaped channel
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Lower part, consisting of the channel leading to the river
Because of significant differences in location, structure, material and method of construction of each part of spillway, each of abovementioned parts of spillway can be constructed independently. It is desirable to start with the upper part, then the middle part and finish with the lower part. This is because the main part of excavation of the upper part should be performed at the same time as the excavation of the left bank, while the excavation of the lower part will cut the access road to the d/s part of the dam, which is necessary during construction of body of dam. Thus the excavation of upper part of spillway is foreseen to be done in 2005, but excavation of the S shaped channel is in 2006, and the lower part will be left up to the time that the elevation of embankment of body of dam has risen to elevation 2395 m asl, by which time most of the rock fill will be completed. In November and December, the access gallery to the drainage gallery at elevation 2360 m asl in the right abutment of the dam will be excavated. One of the main activities during 2005 is related to the excavation and completion of the plinth, mainly on left bank, bottom of valley, and at least some part of the right bank up to an elevation such that the embankment in 2006 could be started easily. At the moment the excavation of plinth in valley bottom and low elevation portion of right bank would generate a major problem of stability for the existing Chalus road, but after relocation of this road it will be a major priority to complete the plinth in this zone as well as the left bank. At the downstream part of the dam, the embankment is scheduled to reach elevation 2361 m asl in December, before winter, and also the plinth in the upstream part should be finished. At the start of April 2006, rockfill will continue as a major activity and the remaining part of construction of the plinth on right bank will be followed at the same time, as required by the critical path. The total volume of rockfill up to elevation 2361 m asl, which is the first elevation of instrumentation, is estimated to be about 650,000 m3. Approximately 100,000 m3 of this volume is planned to be completed in 2005. The daily progress for this part is planned to be approximately 2000 m3/day. In addition, the random fill part of the stabilising fill will be performed continuously. The main material for embankment of this part is the
material from dam abutment, spillway foundation, and headrace tunnel excavations. With regard to the drainage works, the excavation of the access to drainage gallery in the right abutment will be started at middle of May with a daily progress of 1m per day. The outdoor grouting works from the plinth will start at the beginning of good weather on April of 2006. Once the hydraulic model tests are completed, the construction works at the spillway will start. All the concrete works of the structure; from the intake down to the stilling basin at elevation 2370 m asl will be executed during 2006 and 2007.
1.3.3
Year 2006
This year will be dedicated primarily to the rockfill of the main dam. After terminating the embankment to elevation 2361 m asl in the downstream part, and concreting of plinth at valley bottom and lower elevations of both abutments in 2005, the execution of the rockfill will be performed with a daily progress of 5000 m3/day. It is foreseen that by the end of year 2006, the elevation of rock fill will be about 2378 m asl. The volume of rock fill will be more than 1,000,000 m3. At the same time, the embankment of random fill of stabilizing fill is going on continuously. At the levels of the dam instrumentation (base, 2361 m, 2378 m and 2395 m, respectively) time is provided for the installation works of the instruments. It is foreseen that this activity can be completed by one week (7 days) for each elevation. In August the remaining part of plinth at higher elevations of right abutment will be completed. The outdoor grouting can be started in June, when the first phase of the rockfill is finished and there is no interference is there between these two activities. The curtain grouting works will continue during the whole year. In the middle of August, after finishing the concrete works of the plinth on right abutment, and the embankment of the dam having reached a level of approximately 2350 m asl, the works for preparing the perimeter joints and construction of the starter slabs will begin and are scheduled to finish by the end of year, before winter. Since the existing drainage gallery design is no longer suitable after the rotation of the axis of the upper dam, excavation of a new drainage gallery is foreseen. This activity should be started immediately after completion of excavation of access gallery, at the end of July 2006. At
the same time, the concrete works for the invert of the access gallery should be started, and should be completed by the middle of December 2006, before winter. After this, grouting works for stabilizing of tunnel can start and progress during the winter. One of the major activities in 2006 is inside the diversion tunnel. The installation of the steel lining at the upstream side of the gate chamber can be started in July, during the dry season. The complete method statement will be submitted at a later date, but in summary in the dry season the river water inside the diversion tunnel can be led through a temporary by-pass pipe so the installation of the 150 m pipe steel lining can be started. It is important to note that the operations inside the diversion tunnel can only be done during dry seasons of 2006 and 2007. These activities include: Installation of steel lining Construction of gate chamber Operation from gate chamber to end of tunnel Construction of outlet structure Completion works
There is a danger of flooding during the wet season of 2007 and bypass pipes probably will not have enough capacity for this flood. Commencement of activities for construction of the gate chamber and other parts from gate chamber to outlet structure is risky, and it is preferable to start the execution of works of this part in the latest dry season, when the risk of flooding in the next wet season no longer exists. The result of this is that installation of the steel lining can be started earlier than last dry season. It is foreseen to start this activity on July 2006 and complete it by the middle of October, and simultaneously fill the space between the pipe and concrete lining of tunnel. Contact grouting can be started afterwards and continue during the winter.
1.3.4
Year 2007
During the first half of 2007 most of activities at the upper dam site will be finished, including: Rockfill up to elevation 2395 m asl Downstream stabilizing fill Perimeter joint and starter slabs
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Drainage galleries Drilling works for all the galleries Lining of main drainage gallery Lining of access gallery to drainage gallery Upper part and middle part of spillway
By starting the second half, which is the start of dry season in 2007, two important activities should be undertaken in parallel: The last phase of rockfill of dam body up to elevation 2409.5 m asl Start of pre-requisite activities relevant to concrete face.
The latter activity should be started at this time; if the start of activities for the concrete face has to wait for completion of the dam body up to crest elevation, then the concrete face should be started at latest at the beginning of September, when there is only 3 or 4 months to the winter. For this reason, preliminary activities of rockfilling should not have any delay from 1st July onwards. This can be accomplished in two ways: Dividing of the last phase of rock fill along the crest to left and right parts, completing of rockfill at one part and then preparation for concrete face, including installation of rebar and vertical joint water stops at the same time of rockfilling of the other part, then the same facing on the first part with slipform while preparation of second part. Starting of face concreting by individual modular panel forms at lower elevations, while rockfill operations is continuing on higher elevations. The main requirement is to start the concrete face sooner than September, and finish it before winter. In this way the complementary works can be done on early spring of year 2008, and impounding can be started in wet season, which is of great importance. Hence if there be any delay, there are 3 months during the winter to come on time schedule by some additional expense because of problems of winter. But on the other hand as it is mentioned before, if all activities of concrete face wait for completion of the dam up to crest elevation, then the end of activities and start of impounding will be on dry season, without any float or time factor of safety. Once the concrete face is finished, approximately in December, the crest of the dam will be finalized by constructing the parapet wall and filling the last two meters of the embankment up to the final crest
elevation 2411.50 m asl. In parallel to the works on the dam crest, the upstream earth fill with materials 1A and 1B will be placed against the concrete face up to elevation 2377 m asl. Before the winter of 2007, the lower part of the spillway will be constructed down to the riverbed. In addition, during second half of 2007, works in the reservoir such as slope protection will be performed and the bed load retention dam will be constructed. The works in the diversion tunnel for the conversion to the later lowlevel outlet will most probably be executed between June and December 2007. It is scheduled to start impounding the upper reservoir on 6th May 2008.
1.4 EXCAVATION WORKS 1.4.1 Excavation Left Abutment for Dam and Spillway
The highest point where the excavation at the left abutment starts is located above the bend of the approach channel to the spillway ogee. The excavation of this slope will be performed with a bench height of 8 m, slope of 1:1 and berms of 4 m width. These values may be adapted during excavation according to the rock conditions encountered. Temporary access roads will be constructed to allow the excavation equipment such as backhoes and loaders, trucks and drilling equipment to access the work front. Slope support measures such as rock bolts and anchors; wire mesh and shotcrete will be applied during the excavation according to the assessment of the Contractors geologist and the Engineer. Where systematic support is deemed necessary along the upper part of the benches, works will be carried out from a temporary intermediate berm in order to secure easy and safe access. The lowest berm of this excavation at the level of the dam crest, elevation 2411.50 m asl will be sufficiently wide to give the room necessary for the permanent access road to the intake gate shaft. Once the dam crest elevation is reached, excavation works may continue simultaneously at the upper part of the spillway down to elevation 2370 m asl, which corresponds to the final elevation of the stabilizing fill and the upstream part of the dam and particularly the
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plinth. For the lower part of the spillway excavation the slope may be steepened in case the rock conditions allow and in accordance with the construction drawings, to some 5:1 slope and even steeper where the wall will be concreted directly against the rock surface. For these excavations, pre-splitting will also be considered in order to produce a neat finish and minimize over break. All excavated material will be placed in stabilizing fill, according to specifications. Rocky material is preferred to be placed closer to the downstream slope, and overburden material within the random fill zone. It should be noted that actually the main access road to the left bank connects the area of the power intake with the upper levels of the left bank towards quarry No.1 and the so called surge tank road. As soon as the left bank excavation starts, this existing road will be exposed to rock fall and as the excavation progresses further downstream will even be removed. Therefore, the left bank roads will be relocated to give access to the bottom of the valley from both the upstream and downstream sides (see also Chapter 2.1). Since the works should be started from highest elevation and developed to lower parts, the start of excavation activities of left abutment depends on the completion of access road, which comes down from the Chalus road and passes over the cofferdam and connects to the intake tower area at elevation 2412.50 m asl. This road will be used as the main access road from state road to the site, and rock fall will not cause any interruption in the traffic.
1.4.2
Excavation of the upstream part of the Main Dam
The upstream part of the dam shall be founded on moderately weathered rock or better which means that all overburden must be excavated and removed. This excavation work will be done starting from the dam crest level on both abutments downwards on a descending platform created with the excavated material. This platform will facilitate the work and also permits the simultaneous rock excavation for the plinth. Any required foundation treatment, such as shotcrete, will also be executed following the descending platform. The excavated materials, progressively shovelled down, will be loaded and transported to disposal from intermediate height accesses. The necessity of protection for stripped rock should be determined at the site, after inspection of
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rock type but based on available data, it is expected that systematic support measures may be needed to protect the stripped rock surface. Commencement of works for excavation of the overburden material requires previous completion of spillway excavation at least up to the level of its inlet platform. Then the stripping works at the left bank from the elevations below the intake access road will be started and continued downwards. The lower limit of this excavation is the temporary access road, shown in the Fig. 1. This road is the hauling road for transportation of excavated material of the elevations above.
Fig. 1: General view of left bank of upper dam It is of great importance that this road must be operative up to the time of completion of excavation as well as transportation of material from elevations higher than this road. It means that any excavation below the elevation of this road, which results in destroying it, must not be started before the completion of the transportation of all excavated material from the higher elevation. After this, there is no reason to stop excavation below the road path No.2 and the excavation can be continued down to lower elevation of left bank but not in the valley bottom. The valley bottom should not be excavated before relocation of the Chalus road because as mentioned before, there is the potential of instability of the right bank due to the excavation of the riverbed. This fact was observed during some test pit operations (See Fig.2 & 3).
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The overburden excavation for Plinth at the left bank and strip zone will be limited to the excavated portal area of the headrace tunnels. The works will progress in a downwards direction, thus allowing evaluation of the rock in undisturbed conditions, as well as reliable estimation of the depth of the rock excavation for Plinth and for the materials 2A, 2AA and 2B. The excavation will be carried out by means of bulldozers and finished by backhoe. The excavated material will be loaded on trucks and transported to authorized spoil areas, which is assumed to be the as the random fill area of the stabilizing fill. While the rock surface is being exposed, a final cleaning by means of compressed air and of other suitable hand tools will be carefully performed to bring into evidence any weak seam or shear zone, in order to make the geotechnical assessment of the rock condition. This evaluation is necessary for the definition of final dimensions and shape of the trench for the plinth. Site investigations as well as construction drawings indicate that a large portion of the left bank of upper dam has a very thin layer of overburden material, especially in downstream part. Steep slopes and very thin superficial material indicate that in the downstream part of left bank the excavation work is limited only to shallow excavation, and in some areas only cleaning works. Before rockfill operation of each layer, one excavator will strip and clean the available area. In the upstream part of the dam foundation, especially in the vicinity of the plinth, the depth of overburden is much greater, up to 15 meters, so the excavation works will focus on this part. Note that excavation of the bottom of the valley down to 15 meters will cause instability of the right bank and will endanger the existing Chalus road, so the excavation of the valley bottom is forbidden in this stage. Prior to the placement of zone 3A, seams and other defects in the foundation will be excavated and solidly filled or covered with zone 2AA, 2A, 2B and/or filter material. Over the remainder of the rockfill foundation, where the foundation rock in local areas is other than moderately weathered or better rock, such rock will be covered with 0.5 m thick layer of zone 2B and/or filter material.
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1.4.3
Excavation of the downstream part of the Main Dam
The downstream part of the dam is not necessary to be founded on rock. The general criterion is that the foundation shall consist of material with adequate deformation and shear strength characteristics. In practise this means that all topsoil, organic and clay material has to be removed. In the case of alluvial and colluvial overburden material removal must take place to reach layers with an estimated SPT value of at least 15, or equivalent characteristics. Generally it is an accepted practice that the alluvial material can be left in place at the riverbed, except in a limited part near the plinth. These layers of coarse material usually have high modules of compressibility that some times may be more than modulus of compressibility of rockfill material. In this condition usually settlement is not a major problem. But sandy material area, in which the risk of liquefaction is high, is the exception and in the upper and lower dams the risk of liquefaction is not possible. At the upper dam site, it was expected to find granular or non-PI material in the riverbed in a few meters depth. Some test pits in the riverbed in different depths, for which the sieve test curves attached, confirmed existence of this material at this depth. General specification of this material shows non-PI with the classification GP/GW. The percentage of fine material is less than 10% that is a good and suitable bed for rock filling on down stream part of the upper dam. Sampling from depths about 1.5m below the riverbed has been done and the results were similar to the previous samples. The necessary excavation will start in the bottom of the valley. In parallel with the rising rock fill embankment in the downstream part of the dam, which will be used as a platform, the necessary overburden material to be removed at both valley flanks will be excavated with a loader and/or backhoe and transported by trucks to the stabilizing fill and/or deposit area. In cases the material to be removed would reach too far into the slope and therefore endanger the local slope stability and consequently the equipment and personnel in charge of these works, excavation would locally start from a higher point. The borders of the excavation area should be well defined based on existing condition. Excavation in the left abutment is in the form of stripping that can be limited to rock outcrops, but in the right abutment the case is completely different. In this abutment, the main problem is that excavation is not possible because of risk of slide of the
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Chalus road. Collapse, slide and instability will certainly occur in this case as shown in Fig No. 2. Material in the right abutment may include organic material or weathered rocks, slope wash, topsoil or crushed material which was produced during the construction of Chalus road. It is not possible to start any excavation before relocation of the Chalus road. One of the main problems is seepage of underground water to excavation area, while operations are going on. Seepage has two main resources: Right and left abutments Up streamside of the working area.
Underground water and also above-ground water, which penetrates the whole area and is drained into the excavated area, is the source of seepage from the abutments. Unfortunately at this stage there is no chance to prevent this penetrated water. The only practical way is to conduit the penetrated water into sumps and then pump the water from the sump behind the cofferdam into the diversion tunnel.
Fig.2: Sliding in the right abutment of upper dam while excavating.

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1.4.4
Excavation of the Right Abutment
The general view of right bank of upper dam is shown in Fig. 3 and 4. Once the old Chalus road has been relocated, the same procedure for dam excavation in the left bank will be executed on the right abutment, followed finally by the excavation works in the bottom of the valley. Due to a delay in relocation of the old Chalus Road caused by other parties, and considering the critical time nature of subsequent valley bottom and plinth construction activities, it has been decided to separate right bank excavation into three major sub-divisions:
Fig. 3- General view of right bank of upper dam
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Fig. 4- General view of right bank of upper dam 1st phase: excavation before relocation of Chalus road, mainly between new and old road 2nd phase: construction of new access road from existing state road to the job site 3rd phase: excavation after relocation of Chalus road, mostly below the road It is desirable to start the 1st phase as soon as possible, before the opening of new road. However based on the latest construction drawings, it seems that new road should be supported against any probable collapse or sliding during and after excavation of right bank. It should be mentioned that sliding in this area is a serious problem. It is noted on some documents which have been prepared before this tender, that some parts of the Chalus road in the vicinity of the Duna sliding mass, sliding and settlement of the Chalus road has been a problem for many years and every time after this settlement the surface of state road has been repaired by some layers of asphalt. The thickness of asphalt is up to 1m in some areas. This problem has been observed during hard winter of 2005, as well as after disposing some material from excavation of new road near the old Chalus road, as shown on Fig.5. The surface of road has serious cracks and settled about 30 centimetres.
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Fig. 5: Deep cracks on the surface of the road due to disposal of excavated material on top of the adjacent hill The overburden stripping operation on the right bank needs to have reliable information about the depth of rock and depth of over burden. At the moment, the construction drawings indicate that 3 possible situations may occur: 1The depth of bedrock is less than 2 meters. In this case no retaining wall is needed 2The depth of bedrock is more than 2 meters but less than 6 meters. In this case a gabion retaining wall should be constructed. 3The depth of bedrock is more than 6 meters. In this case a reinforced retaining wall should be constructed. Unexpectedly as some parts of the road, the depth of bedrock is more than ten metres for stretches up to forty metres. In this area some other solutions must be found before October 2005, when the wet season starts and there will be danger of instability of high excavations. (See fig.6)
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Fig.6: Right bank of upper dam- against the gully, beneath the new road, where the depth of bedrock is more than 10 meters Excavated material can be transported from two elevations: Firstly, from the road at an approximate crest elevation of 2411 m asl, which is the same elevation that is visible on Fig.6. Secondly, from the existing Chalus road, at the same elevation visible on Fig.5. The danger of rock fall over the existing road is serious and to eliminate this danger one 4 m wide berm with a supporting dyke is envisaged. When the bulldozers are working in this area, the traffic will be stopped in co-operation with the road-police. After the relocation of the road, when the excavation of the right bank is going to start at an elevation below the road the only access road to the site will be cut because it crosses the alignment of the plinth. Thus it is necessary to create another access road to the job site. The situation is shown on Fig.7. This phase of activities, called phase 2, must be done after relocation of road. The reason is that construction of new road requires deep excavations just near the road with heavy traffic.
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Fig. 7: Situation of access road to the site during excavation of right bank of upper dam The 3rd phase is related to the completion of the right bank excavation, and will be done after the phase 2. The main principles for excavation is just similar to left bank but the depths of over burden are estimated to be greater than for the right bank. It is noted that some excavated material has been disposed by other parties in the vicinity of the new road, just above old road that was the source of slide of Fig. 5. These materials are on the downstream part of the dam, near the toe. They have been deposited without any compaction, and have a significant failure potential. For these reason these materials should be removed. The estimated volume of excavation is as below: Left bank 1st phase of right bank 2nd phase of right bank 3rd phase of right bank Bottom of valley Reservoir
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100,000 m3 100,000 m3 20,000 80,000 m3 m3 150,000 m3 80,000 m3
Upper part of spillway Middle part and lower part of spillway
100,000 m3 45,000 m3
TOTAL ESTIMATED VOLUME OF EXCAVATION 1.4.5 Excavation of the Plinth According to the technical specifications, the plinth and the transition zones 2AA, 2A and 2B will be founded on sound to slightly weathered rock Depending on the local topography and the way the weathered zones penetrate into the foundation, high concrete blocks may be required under the plinth foundation level as defined in the construction drawings, for which complex stability conditions may be encountered when the height is greater than 3 to 4 m. The trench for the plinth will be excavated with a 3:1 (v:h) slope from the u/s rock surface. The width of the trench includes from the u/s toe of the slope a 5 m wide area that serves as a working platform and allows excavation locally to deeper levels as required, the 4 m of the external plinth and the necessary width to found the transition zones 2AA, 2A and 2B. The slope of the trench towards d/s will be excavated with a 1:1.6 (v:h) slope, which means parallel to the concrete face. As described above, the plinth excavations are executed simultaneously to the upstream part dam excavation, starting from the dam crest level, in order to take advantage of the excavated materials descending platform. Controlled blasting techniques will be required to limit disturbance of the sub-lying rock foundation. The final layer with minimum thickness of 30 centimetres will be removed by an impact hammer technique. In case of a steep slope foundation, the pre-splitting technique will be applied. If the plinth is accessible after stripping and removal of overburden, then it is possible to check the actual contour lines of the rock surface, and the project level of plinth can be confirmed or modified. The excavated plinth and transition zones will be cleaned with an air jet and slush grouted. Weak seams and shear zones will be removed and cleaned with a high air/water pressure jet and backfilled with slush grout or dental concrete. In case this zone is closely jointed, it will be covered with a concrete layer of at least 10 cm.
675,000 m3
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The definition of a working procedure for the rock excavation for the plinth will have to consider the differences in conditions and quality of the rock on the abutments, which will require the implementation of working procedures with some differences in equipment, materials and manpower demand. The plinth should be excavated concurrently with the stripping. Otherwise, there will be difficulties accessing the working area for transportation of materials, rebars, formworks and concrete at the time of construction of the plinth. 1.4.6 Working procedure Access roads As mentioned above, the excavation works are mostly concentrated on upstream part and will be developed from higher elevations towards valley bottom. The depth of excavation depends on the depth of over burden. Much of the excavation required takes place on the steep hill surface, and the process of transporting excavated material to the disposal area is now not a simple process of connecting two arbitrary points with a road. Excavation on the steep surface is not a linear operation where excavation proceeds along the road axis, but is an operation where the excavation proceeds generally perpendicular to the road, down the slope. The road starting point must, however remain fixed and this means the road becomes steeper. The road has a maximum allowable steepness, and in addition topographical restraints and a fixed origin mean the road network cannot extend over the whole hill surface. This means that excavated material must be double handled down the slope to reach the nearest access road. Double handling is in many cases a necessity and affects estimates of machinery numbers, costs and activity durations. It is planned to have access roads for transportation every 25m of height. The access roads to the working area on the left bank are shown in Fig. 8. There are three main access roads for hauling of material: 1. Access road from the Chalus road to the Intake area to access to the upper elevation, which is called Road No. 1. 2. Old access road from the headrace tunnels area to access to the intermediate elevations of left bank, which is called Road No. 2.
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3. Access Road from the headrace tunnels area to the bottom of the valley, which is called Road No. 3. Since the works should be started from the highest elevation and developed to the lower parts, the start of excavation of the left abutment will be from the above-mentioned access road No.1. The road No.2 is subjected to rock fall because of excavation at higher elevations above this road. Road No.2 will be used for hauling of material which has been excavated from higher elevations, and after completion of activities on this area; the excavation front will be extended downwards to the bottom of valley. Some additional access roads will be needed too. 4. Since the stripped zone on the upstream side of the plinth needs to be supported, there will be one or more access roads to this area and these roads should be adjusted as much as possible with the situation during the progress. It is important to support an excavated strip on a linear pattern horizontally, (like a berm) and after finishing a berm, the machinery can continue to excavate another horizontal line and supporting too and this pattern can be followed continuously down to the bottom of the valley. These roads are called Road No. 4. 5. The road that connects to the downstream side of the dam is a major branch from the Surge Tank road and connects this road to the bottom of the valley on the downstream side. It can be developed with some branches to have access to the body of the dam on different elevations during rock filling operation. 6. Besides working on the plinth, the installation of rebar and formwork, concreting and grouting works for the grout curtain from the plinth, all need access roads to form a new road network. This network is shown on Fig. 8. The roads on the valley bottom and right bank are shown in Fig. 9. In this area there will be: 7. Road No.7 for access to crest of dam on right bank 8. Road No. 8 for access to the different elevations of plinth area during excavation and construction and grouting works. Additional roads maybe considered during construction, according to the situation.
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Fig. 8 : Access Roads on the left abutment
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Fig. 9: Access Roads on the right abutment
1.4.7
Time schedule
The volumes of excavation have been estimated. Assuming that the daily excavation capacity for each set of machinery, including one bulldozer D155A or an excavator with similar power, is approximately 600 m in this side hill and 700 m in the bottom of the valley (flat area), and 10% extra time for unforeseeable problems, and considering 2 shifts work each with 10 hours working time, then the duration of each activity can be calculated. Location estimated duration (days) Left bank 140
volume (m) 100,000 m3
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90 20
1st phase of right bank 2nd phase of right bank phase of right bank
100,000 20,000 150,000 120,000 20,000 80,000 60,000 125,000
m3 m3 m3 m3 m3 m3 m3 m3
3rd 150 45 30 88 90 30
Bottom of valley u/s Bottom of valley d/s Reservoir Upper part of spillway Middle part and lower part of spillway
TOTAL ESTIMATED VOLUME OF EXCAVATION 775,000 m3 The machinery resources needed for performing of each of these activities have been calculated based on assumptions about the performance of bulldozers as 500 m3 per shift, and 0.5 hour for each cycle of travel for each truck. The results are on attached tables and are considered in the PRIMAVERA file of time schedule.
1.5 TRIAL EMBANKMENT TESTS

Prior to starting with the rockfill embankment, a trial embankment test will be performed in order to determine the optimal layer thickness and number of passes with the compaction equipment available. The tests for the 3A rockfill material from quarry No.1 will be carried out at the location of the stabilizing fill or other suitable area, the other materials will be tested at an available area close to the quarry and processing plant. A typical arrangement for the rockfill trial embankment tests consists of 4 test sections, 8 by 16 m each, separated by buffer zones of 4 m width. The following table gives the characteristics of each of the sections to be tested:
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Section 1 2 3 4
Water added 200 l/m3 200 l/m3 200 l/m3 200 l/m3
Layer thickness 80 cm 80 cm 100 cm 100 cm
Roller passes 4 6 4 6
Number of lifts 4 4 4 4
After compaction of the sections according to the described procedure, the following tests will be performed: Settlement: surface measurement with precision survey In-situ density: by means of the water balloon volumetric method Grain size distribution: excavation of a test pit and sieve analysis Permeability: water absorption test.
All results will be summarized in a report with a recommendation for the embankment works and submitted for approval to the Engineer. For further details refer to document SBP PM 2/AT-PM/l/60400, submitted on 14 June 2004.
1.6 EMBANKMENT OF MAIN DAM AND STABILIZING FILL 1.6.1 General Procedure
As soon as the excavation allows, embankment will start in the downstream part of the dam in order to decrease the peak month production rates and to produce the settlements in this part, which is not founded on rock, as early as possible during construction. The fill in the downstream part of the dam will be done in stages corresponding to the levels of instrumentation and will reach elevation 2340 m asl. However, it is not certain if this work can start before the Chalus road is relocated, so this activity has been divided in two separate phases on left and right bank. The left bank can be started before relocation of Chalus road. The depth of superficial and loose material is not great in left bank, especially on the downstream part, and in this way rock filling will be started only after excavation in the valley bottom down to alluvium and colluvium, removing loose material and rock filling.
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Deep excavation in the right bank is forbidden because of the danger of instability of the road, so after the traffic is diverted from the existing road there will be two strategic activities: 1. 2. valley Starting the 2nd and 3rd phase of excavation of the right bank Starting the excavation of the plinth at the bottom of the
While the excavation and construction of the plinth in the bottom of the valley and low levels of both abutments is going on, excavation on right bank will continue in parallel and rock fill of downstream on the right side will be done subsequently. The upstream embankment will start after constructing the plinth in the bottom of the valley and will be done in the same stages as the downstream part. From elevation 2340 m asl embankment in both the upstream and downstream parts will continue to elevation 2361 m asl, which is the first elevation of instrumentation above the foundation. So the upstream and downstream parts of the dam will be placed together from elevation 2340 m asl. All materials will be placed according to the zoning of the dam shown on the drawings or as adjusted based on material availability, filled and compacted as indicated in the specifications and determined from the trial embankment tests. Temporary haul roads within the rockfill embankment will be built with slopes of maximum gradient of 13%. According to the technical specifications, section 6.1.3.1, approach or construction ramps on the faces of the embankment will be removed and ramps and haul roads inside the embankment will be thoroughly scarified and re-compacted before placing new lifts of fill material on top of them. No ramps will be built in the transition zones 2A and 2B, which will be constructed in horizontal layers from abutment to abutment. The following sub-chapters detail the procedure for each of the fill materials in the embankment, approximately in the order of their first use.
1.6.2
Stabilizing Fill Embankment Zone 3A
In general, the stabilizing fill is placed along the river valley between the downstream toe of the main dam and the outlet of the diversion / bottom outlet tunnel. Together with the drainage gallery it will ensure the stability of the right bank abutment downstream of the dam.
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The rockfill zone 3A will be placed along the bottom of the valley to a thickness of 6 meters in order to serve as drainage layer. The material will be delivered from quarry No.1 with 35-ton dump trucks, spread by bulldozer to reach lift thickness of 80 centimetres and compacted with a 10-ton vibratory roller. 3A material will be dumped over the previous layer and bulldozer is used to push and spread this material (See fig. 10). This causes coarse material to go to the bottom of layer and fine material to come to the top and this natural segregation makes a layer with higher amount of horizontal permeability in each layer that results in more permeability for the body of dam. (See fig. 10) Water required for sluicing can be obtained from the river after the outlet of the diversion tunnel, and pumped into the location under high pressure. Compaction with 4 passes of the ten ton roller will then take place.
Fig. 10: Orientation of machinery in rockfill operation
1.6.3
Stabilizing Fill Embankment Zone 3D
On top of the 3A material along the bottom of the valley, a transition layer will be incorporated before random material fill, which will be used for the rest of the stabilizing fill. The procedure for placing and compacting the material is the same as for material 3A, with lift heights up to 1.2 meters and compaction consisting of 4 passes of the 10-ton vibratory roller.
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1.6.4 Stabilizing Fill Embankment Zone 3A beneath spillway channel-middle part

Due to the changed spillway design, which does not anymore include a concrete chute over the stabilizing fill, but rather a channel protected by shotcrete and riprap it could be possible to construct the whole of the stabilizing fill with non-rock fill material. However, since during detail design the necessity arose to place 3A material below the spillway channel, that material would be placed according to the corresponding specifications. In addition, in order to minimize the unfavourable post construction settlements below the spillway channel, (which crosses the stabilizing fill almost horizontally at elevation 2370 m asl and on the downstream slope towards the river) the following general measures may be adopted in the detail design and indicated correspondingly on the construction drawings: The best quality disposal material 3A, preferably from quarry No.1 will be placed beneath the spillway channel The uppermost 5 meters beneath the spillway channel will be placed in layers of maximum 1.0 meter in order to obtain best compaction.
1.6.5
Stabilizing Fill Embankment Random-fill Zone
The stabilizing fill embankment will be levelled and trimmed to reasonably regular lines and slopes. The finished outer slopes in the cross-section will be at least 1:2.3 (h:v) and at the spillway channel according to the drawings. Permanent drain gutters and/or other slope protection measures will be introduced as required to ensure that surface run-off will not erode the surfaces of the embankment. For more detail see Appendix 3.
1.6.6
Main Dam Embankment Zone 3A
After stripping the topsoil and excavating the downstream dam foundation area to a depth where the materials satisfy the design criteria, the 3A material is the first to be placed in the bottom of the valley. The same material will be used for the embankment of the whole upstream part of the dam. The 3A material consists of good quality dense material, able to carry the main part of the water load and, properly compacted, producing minimal settlements. The maximum grain size is 900 mm. According to
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the technical specifications, the grain size will be between 40 and 60% passing a 100 mm sieve, between 15 and 30% passing a 20 mm sieve, less than 15% passing a 5 mm sieve and less than 4% passing a 0.1 mm sieve. The material will be produced in quarry No.1 and delivered to the dam site with 35 ton dump trucks, spread by bulldozer to reach lift thickness of 1.0 meter and compacted with a 15 ton vibratory roller with at least 4 passes or as determined by the trial embankment tests. On the upstream border of the embankment, within 5 meters adjacent to the coarse transition zone 2B, the material will be placed in layers of maximum 0.5 m after compaction with a corresponding maximum grain size which allows proper compaction, in order to ensure that large rock fragments are not placed immediately adjacent to the coarse transition zone, thus contributing to smaller displacements in the upstream part of the dam. Furthermore, only sound rock fragments of best quality available in the quarry will be placed in the uppermost 20 m below the dam crest in order to assure best compaction possible which contributes to less deformation of the crest area during earthquake shaking. If necessary, the required volume of this best quality 3A material will be stockpiled during quarry operation.
1.6.7
Main Dam Embankment Zone 3B
Zone 3B material is used in the downstream part of the dam up to level 2390 m asl, from which up to the crest only 3A material will be used. According to the technical specifications, the grain size distribution of 3B material shall be the same as for 3A but it is allowed to be placed in greater lifts of 1.5 meters to accommodate the oversize rock from the quarry. The oversize rock, which shall not be greater than the lift thickness, shall be permitted up to 10% in this zone. However, at least for the higher zones of the dam where the upstream and downstream parts of the dam embankment will be placed together, it might be more convenient to adopt a single lift thickness of 1.0 m for both zones, 3A and 3B. The general procedure for placing and compacting the material is the same as for zone 3A described above. As for the rockfill 3A, where the best quality will be placed toward the boundary with zone 2B and in the crest zone, the best quality 3B material will be placed toward the downstream slope of the dam.
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1.6.8
Main Dam Embankment Zone 3C
Zone 3C or random rockfill zone is located at the downstream part of the dam, between zones 3A and 3B. It consists either of rockfill 3A or 3B, depending on the actual quarry operation and results. In case that the quarry would produce larger amount of fines than allowed in zones 3A and 3B, the permitted amount of grain size 20 mm will be increased to 40%. The procedure for building the embankment in zone 3C is the same as for 3A and 3B described above. The layer thickness may vary between 1.0 and 1.5 meters.
1.6.9
Main Dam Embankment Zone 2AA
The fine transition zone 2AA will be placed just downstream of the plinth and perimeter joint to provide continuous support for the lower part of the concrete face and to reduce seepage through the dam when leakage develops due to defects in the joint waterstops or slabs. This transition zone has a horizontal width of 1.0 m at the top, located 1.5 m over the base of the plinth and u/s and downstream slopes of 1:1.6 (v:h). The fine transition material will consist of processed, crushed rock with a maximum size of 40 mm, between 70 and 90% passing a 20 mm sieve, between 35 and 60% passing a 5 mm sieve and between 5 and 10% passing a 0.1 mm sieve. The grading of this fine transition material will be carefully controlled at regular intervals throughout the construction in accordance with BS 1377 or ASTM 422 (grain size distribution) and as required in the technical specifications. The fine transition material will be selected from moderately weathered to fresh rock for processing. The suitability of the material will be tested in accordance with the relevant standards. The selected, processed and tested material with a total required quantity of some 1850 m3 will be stockpiled and later brought to the embankment area when needed. It will be placed in layers of 0.2m and compacted with mechanic rammers or vibrating plate compactors. Particular attention and care will be taken to prevent damage of the waterstops embedded in the concrete. The upstream slope of zone 2AA will be compacted and protected as for zone 2A.
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1.6.10 Main Dam Embankment Zone 2A

The semi pervious transition zone 2A will be placed beneath the upstream concrete face to provide a continuous support for the concrete face slabs and to reduce the seepage through the dam when leakage develops due to defects in the joint waterstops or slabs. The constant horizontal width of this zone is 4.0 meters according to the technical specifications, but will be reduced to 3.0 meters due to the use of an extruded lean concrete berm below the face slab (see below). The semi pervious transition material 2A consists of processed, crushed rock with a maximum size of 80 mm, between 55 and 75% passing a 20 mm sieve, between 30 and 45% passing a 5 mm sieve and between 3 and 7% passing a 0.1 mm sieve. The grading of this semi pervious transition material will be carefully controlled at regular intervals throughout the construction in accordance with BS 1377 or ASTM 422 (grain size distribution) and as required in the technical specifications. The semi pervious transition material will be selected from moderately weathered to fresh rock for processing. The suitability of the material will be tested in accordance with the relevant standards. The total quantity of 2A material for the upper dam is some 65,000 m3. It will be placed in layers of 0.4 m at the correct moisture content and compacted by at least 4 passes of a 10 ton vibrating roller, together with the 2B material and in accordance with the results of the trial embankment tests. The surface of each layer will be wetted during compaction by spraying with water. The main procedure for regulation and protection of surface of embankment is construction of an extruded lean concrete berm along the upstream edge of the embankment before placing the transition material. The 0.40 m high curb section has the external face inclined at the dam face upstream slope of 1:1.6 (v:h) and a semi vertical internal face to act as a lateral support for the 2AA and 2A materials to be compacted. A 10 to 12 cm wide crest allows for a minimum overlapping of the curb at successive layers. Typically, a mix of 75 kg/m3 cement content, 1.9 mm maximum size aggregate, 50% of sand and 125 l/m3 of water can be extruded at a rate of some 40 to 60 m/hour. Some hours after the curb has been laid out; the transition material can be placed and compacted with the vibratory roller. Contained laterally, the material will need compaction only horizontally to the required specifications by the vibratory roller.
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Compared with the traditional methods of surface protection by shotcrete or similar materials, this so-called Ita method has the following main advantages: Safer execution and easier access for workers, Less vulnerability to erosion due to heavy rain and consequent repair works, Constructions of the fine transition zone and of the slab are facilitated and the width of the semi pervious transition zone 2A can be reduced to 3.0 meters, Provision of a planar upstream surface with possible consequent saving in the facing concrete, Elimination of any interference between the plinth grouting works and simultaneous embankment works above, Adequate protection against excessive infiltration through the rockfill embankment in case of eventual unforeseen floods during the construction period.
1.6.11 Main Dam Embankment Zone 2B

The coarse transition zone 2B with a constant horizontal width of 4.0 meters is located beneath the semi pervious transition zone 2A and will act as a filter layer and prevent movement of the fine transition material into the main rockfill. The coarse transition material will be well graded with a maximum size of 300 mm, between 65 and 80% passing a 100 mm sieve, between 35 and 45% passing a 20 mm sieve, between 17 and 27 % passing a 5 mm sieve and less than 4% passing a 0.1 mm sieve. The grading tests in accordance with BS 1377 or ASTM 422 will be performed at site and the test frequency will be as required in the technical specifications. The coarse transition material will be selected from moderately weathered to fresh sound rock. If suitable material with the desired gradation is not available in sufficient quantity (total approximately 85,000 m3) from quarry No.1, some processing may be necessary. As for zone 2A, the 2B type material will be placed in 0.40 m thick layers to an approximately horizontal surface in such a way as to prevent segregation of the particles and will be subsequently compacted with at least 4 passes of a 10 ton vibratory roller, and in accordance with the results of the trial embankment tests.
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The two upstream transition zones 2A and 2B, both placed together in 0.40 m lifts, must follow the progress of the rockfill material rising (zone 3A) and the extruded lean concrete berm rising on the upstream edge.
1.6.12 Main Dam Embankment Zones 1A and 1B

After finishing the concrete face slab and the grouting works from the plinth, the upstream impervious earth fill zone 1A will be placed against the lower part of the concrete face, below elevation 2377 m asl or somewhat lower, as agreed. The purpose of this zone is to provide additional protection against leakage. When leakage develops trough faulty waterstops in the face joints or cracks in the concrete face, silty particles from the 1A material are washed into the opening but would be retained by the semi pervious transition material 2A. The earth fill for zone 1A consists of a selected impervious mixture of soil. The soil will be well graded and at least 50% will pass through a 4.75 mm sieve. The plasticity index will not be less than 10%. Rock fragments or lumps of clay having a maximum size greater than 25 mm are not permitted and will be removed or broken down. After appropriate tests, the material will be obtained from selected overburden excavations. For zone 1B, random earth fill will be applied. The upstream slope for zone 1A is 1:1.6 (v:h) which means parallel to the concrete face slab. The constant horizontal width is 2.0 m. At the toe of the slab, the zone 1A will cover the plinth at a height of 2.0 m as shown on the drawings. The foundation conditions for zone 1A are the same as for the plinth. The random earth fill zone 1B will have a width at its top (el. 2377 m asl) of 2.0 m and an upstream slope of 1:2.5 (v:h). The earth fill for zone 1A and 1B will be placed together in continuous, approximately horizontal layers of maximum 0.3 m height and compacted to over 95% of the maximum dry density. Routing control tests will be performed periodically in accordance with BS 1377 or ASTM 422. The earth fill will be preferably compacted to a uniform density, free from laminations, lenses or other discontinuities. If the surface of zones 1A and 1B is left exposed for any length of time, drying of the underlying soil will be prevented by periodic watering or covering.
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1.6.13 Equipment for Rockfill Materials Placement

The 3A material will be delivered from quarry No.1 with 35-ton dump trucks, spread by bulldozer to reach lift thickness of 100 centimetres and compacted with a 15-ton vibratory roller. As for layer 3A in the stabilizing fill area, the 3A main dam embankment material will be dumped over the previous layer and bulldozer will be used to push and spread this material (See Fig. 10). The daily performance of each bulldozer is assumed 1800 m3 per day. The machinery for spreading of 5000 m3 rock fill material per day, and the duration of transportation of this material from quarry No.1 is calculated in the attached sheets and are considered in the PRIMAVERA time schedule.
1.7 PLINTH CONSTRUCTION

After excavation and foundation treatment works (see appendix 4), the plinth construction will start in the lowest part at the bottom of the valley. The objective of the plinth is to provide a positive cutoff between the concrete face and the foundation and to give a support for the concrete slab. In addition, the plinth acts as a grout cap for the grout curtain.
1.7.1
Plinth Concrete Works
The width of the plinth will be some 4.5 m and the height 0.6 m in general. To provide a resistance against uplift during grouting operations, anchor bars will be installed in the foundation rock and tied to the concrete reinforcement prior to the concrete placement. For this purpose, 4 rows of fully grouted steel anchor bars (3 in external slab and 1 in internal slab) with a diameter of 28 mm and 5 m length inside the rock will be inserted at a spacing of 1.5 m. For the purpose of the grout curtain, 3 rows of plastic pipes will be provided in the plinth. Additional plastic pipes will be provided for contact grouting if necessary, depending on the specific geological conditions actually encountered. The foundation area for the plinth will be excavated down to slightly weathered to sound bedrock where possible. Generally, the excavated surface of plinth area should be just on the elevations shown on construction drawings. Since the plinth is excavated inside the rock,
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controlled blasting and hand operating in the last layers of excavation is necessary and since the final surface should be very exact with a tolerance of 10 centimetres maximum, and since the surface should be clean, a layer of levelling concrete is foreseen beneath the plinth to achieve the required accuracy. The levelling concrete is of class C20/38 which differs from the plinth concrete which is of class C25/38. Based on design criteria and construction drawings, embankment layers 1A and 1B will cover the plinth and concrete slab up to minimum water level. However, from this elevation on, the u/s side of excavation for plinth is subjected to fluctuation and weathering. This the same problem for stripped rock of two banks and reservoir, so regarding to type of rock, it might be necessary to protect the u/s excavated wall with the same protection detail of stripping zone. When a fault crosses the plinth the condition is slightly different. Open joints in otherwise sound rock will be hand grouted with cement or mortar slurry. In case fill concrete will be used in depressions under the plinth, a reinforcement layer will be provided to prevent surface cracking. Immediately before placing concrete in the plinth, a final clean up of the rock surface against which the concrete is to be placed will be made by barring, wedging and picking to remove all loose, shattered, disintegrated and objectionable materials. All water will be removed from depressions. The reinforcement bars will be placed according to the detail design drawings. As a general rule, a single layer of FE 415/500 steel reinforcement with 0.3% of the plinth section (excluding over break) will be placed some 100 to 150 mm from the surface. An additional layer of reinforcement will be placed across abrupt steps in the foundation to avoid cracking of the plinth. Thicker plinth using grouted anchor bars for stability reason will generally require two layers of reinforcement. The final foundation surface will be cleaned by jet air. Conventional concrete in permanent contact with water will be placed, according to the technical specifications (concrete C25/38 type 2 or type 2-F). The construction joints between the plinth blocks will be provided with a waterstop. However, at the detailed planning stage it may also be decided to carry the reinforcement through all elements of the plinth and, in this case, eliminate the waterstops. In this case the classic preparatory works for the surface of the old concrete will be completed.
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1.7.2

Access roads to the plinth area
Access roads will be needed for transportation of: Excavation machinery Drill rigs for pre-splitting (if needed) or rockbolting Rebar Formwork Concrete Grouting machinery
All these roads should be constructed on a rocky stripped surface during the excavation and stripping phase of the abutments, otherwise it will be very difficult to construct new roads on the steep stripped areas because of the problem of manoeuvring machinery. Access roads should be designed before completion of stripping. For more detailed information about concreting of plinth see appendix 4.
1.7.3
Perimeter Joint
The greatest joint movements are expected along the perimeter joint, between concrete plinth and concrete face slab, thus requiring a thoroughly designed and executed watertight system. The following will be installed for the perimeter joint at different times during construction: a) Before concreting the plinth: A W-shaped copper waterstop of 1.5 mm thickness will be cast into the plinth on the downstream face at the underside of the face slabs. In areas more than 60 m below the dam crest, where the concrete face slab is thicker, an additional PVC waterstop will be cast in the plinth in the centre of the face slab. b) After concreting the plinth: A 6 mm bituminous felt strip or PVC band will be attached to the copper waterstop where it will be in future contact with the mortar pad. Before placing the 2AA material, the waterstops in the plinth will be protected against damages during the embankment and curtain grouting works by means of a temporary timber guard. c) Before concreting the face slab: The temporary timber guard will be removed and a mortar pad will be placed at the base of the slab to give a secure support to the copper waterstop. This pad will be made
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either of a sand asphalt mixture or a crushed aggregate asphalt mixture, carefully placed and compacted. In the V-shaped upper part of the copper waterstop a 12 mm Neoprene rod will be glued and the rest of the V filled with Neoprene foam filler. After this, and in order to guarantee the minimum space between the concrete plinth and the concrete face slab of 1.5 cm or as indicated on the drawings, temporary filler material such as bituminous fibre sheet or plywood compressive filler will be applied as formwork for the slab. Prior to concreting the face slab the engineer will be required to inspect and approve the arrangement. d) After concreting the face slab: The temporary filler will be removed mechanically or by air jet and the concrete cleaned and dried. At this stage the engineer will be required to check the condition of the concrete surfaces. The surface sealing system will then be installed which consists of a sealing material in the joint protected by a rubber membrane. The sealing material will be a bituminous fibre preformed joint filler, according to ASTM D1751. On top of the joint a Neoprene rod will be placed, covered by the mastic of bitumen graded sand mixture. Tests for other projects showed better properties under high hydraulic gradients for this material than IGAS type mastic. The upper rubber band (e.g. 3 mm Hypalon membrane) will be tensioned whilst fixing is taking place, and pressure will be applied until the mastic appears around the edge of the rubber band. Fixation to the concrete will be done with bolted steel strips and epoxy resin will be applied before tensioning the bolts in order to guarantee a tight connection. At this point the engineer will be required to inspect and approve the joint. At the deeper central part of the valley, below elevation 2377 m asl, a cover of fly ash will be placed on the joint and then covered by the 1A impervious earthfill material. Initially, the earthfill will placed to a height of 1 meter to protect the joint from any damage. The remainder of the backfilling with 1A and 1B material will be carried out according to the construction schedule.
1.8 CONCRETE FACING

According to the technical specifications the thickness of the face slab shall be T = 0.3 + 0.002 H for H < 100 m and T = 0.005 H for H > 100 m. This means that the thickness varies between some 45 cm at the plinth in the central part of the valley and decreases to 30 cm at the
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crest. The concrete slabs will be placed in 12 m width with waterstops at the vertical joints. Conventional concrete in permanent contact with water (concrete C25/38) has been specified for the concrete facing slabs. However, it should be noted that for the concrete slab, impermeability and durability are most important whereas high strength is not required, as more cement means more heat of hydration and more shrinkage. Target strength for the concrete of between 20 and 25 MPa at 28 days is normal for this type of construction. Tests will be performed prior to start concreting works, but an initial concrete mix may use low heat alkali Portland cement with some 15% puzzolan as cement replacement. The w:c ratio shall be kept below 0.5, and workability will be achieved by using plasticizers in order to result a working slump of 6 to 9 cm. The S400 steel reinforcement will be applied to 0.4% of the design concrete cross section for vertical bars and 0.3% for horizontal bars, except within 20 m of the perimeter and near the change of the plinth slope, where 0.4% reinforcement in both directions is specified. The reinforcement will be placed with a cover of 100 to 150 mm. For areas near the perimeter joint in the starter slabs, two layers of reinforcement with the same steel ratio will be used to improve the bending and torsional strength of the slabs.
1.8.1
Starter Slabs
After finishing the concrete works of the plinth and the embankment of the dam reaching a level of about 2361 m asl and plinth is complete in abutments, the works for preparing the perimeter joints and construction of the starter slabs will begin. The reinforcement of the triangular or trapezoidal starter slabs will be placed in situ and the slabs concreted in an odd even sequence with the preventions mentioned previously for the perimeter joint. The concrete in the order of 60 to 100 m3 for each starter slab element of 12 m width at its top will be conveyed to the form trough half drum chutes from the dam embankment at elevation 2365 m asl or pumped from the plinth area, depending on the location of the starter slab element.
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1.8.2
Concrete Face Slab
Once the starter slabs have been finished and the dam embankment has reached elevation 2409.50 m asl which corresponds to the level of the parapet wall foundation at the crest, the installations for the execution of the concrete face slab will start. The width of the embankment at the mentioned elevation will be 16 m. The installations for the face slab at this platform include among others the following: Transfer trolleys for slipform and reinforcement installation with crest anchors (dead-man) and corresponding winches, Hopper and half drum chutes for concrete conveyance, Crane for handling of reinforcement panels and other material, Reflectors for the night shift illumination.
The face slab concrete will be placed by slipforming (as an alternative, a road paving machine could also be considered). Prior to setting any slipform rails, the entire upstream face will be surveyed to determine the variation in the face profile from design lines and levels. Slipform rails and side forms will be fixed to the embankment face in such a manner that they can be accurately aligned and do not become dislodged or misaligned during the construction of the face slabs. The fixation of the slipform rails will take into consideration the variable thickness of the concrete face. As for the starter slabs, a bond prevention agent will be painted over the curb elements before placement of the face slab to prevent adhesion between the two concretes. Reinforcement will be held in place using stools, which will be installed as the slipform progresses. Once the slipform has completed a section, it will be jacked up and lowered down the rails and moved to its next location from the toe of the dam. The slipform will be of standard design for concrete faced rockfill dams, heavy enough to withstand the uplift force of the wet concrete with vibrators in use. Two winches will be utilized for moving the slipform, with each having the capacity to lift the structure on its own. The platform will be slung such that in the event of a failure of either winch the structure will still be in service. Two separate cables, each capable of carrying the structure will be used, and each will be rated much higher than the load. Concrete will be piped down from the crest of the dam to a hopper. From the hopper flexible hose into the form will place the concrete.
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Two hoppers will be used, allowing a continual flow of concrete to the form. It is anticipated that the slipform will move at an average speed of some 3 m per hour, i.e. typically 10 to 15 m3/hour. The sliding of one slab will precede without interruption to its conclusion in day and night shift, thus avoiding any horizontal joints. For concreting the longest slab of some 140 m, some 40 hours will be required to finish the slab. The concrete will be vibrated to ensure that the form is full and that no honeycombing occurs. A finishing platform will be part of the slipform, and curing will be carried out from the downstream part of this platform. Water will be supplied to the platform by pumping for the lower reaches and from the crest for higher levels. Only trained operators will be allowed on the slipform platform and each person will be provided with safety equipment. Communication will be provided to/from the slipform by walky-talkies from the dam crest. Operation of the winches will be carried out from the slipform platform. During the concreting of one slab, reinforcement placing works will be done simultaneously for adjacent slabs. The reinforcements will be preerected in large panels, which are trolleyed to their final location on the slope. Prior to starting the works on the face slab, a detailed method statement including safety measures for all the involved operations will be delivered to the engineer.
1.8.3
Joints
Perimeter joints: This type of joint between plinth and concrete facing slab is described in detail in appendix 4. Vertical Joints: The horizontal face slab reinforcement will be interrupted at all vertical contraction joints. The joints will be sealed with a bottom copper waterstop that is supported by a 6 mm thick bituminous felt strip or PVC band and asphaltic mortar pad. It should be mentioned that during detail design an alternative with continuous reinforcement may be considered. Vertical Joints below minimum waterlevel: For joints near the abutments and for the central joints below the minimum operation level a similar joint system as for the perimeter joint will be applied. Horizontal construction joints: No horizontal construction joints are foreseen in the face slab since the concreting will be done for each
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panel continuously up to the crest. At the construction joint between the starter slabs and the face slab the reinforcement will go through and the old concrete will be thoroughly treated before placing new concrete on top.
1.9 DAM CREST

As mentioned above, the dam embankment will continue until reaching elevation 2409.50 m asl where the 16 m wide platform will be used for the concreting of the face slab. Once the face slab is finished part-bypart the parapet wall will be continuously constructed. At the end the last 2 m of the embankment until the final crest elevation of 2411.50 m asl will be placed and compacted. It is envisaged that the embankment dam will settle due to the first impounding and reservoir operation in a long-term period as well as due to earthquake shaking. For these reasons the crest shall be given a sufficient camber to allow the post construction settlement of the embankment without reduction of the fixed freeboard.
1.9.1
Parapet Wall
A 3m height parapet wall will be constructed on the upstream edge of the embankment at elevation 2409.50 m asl. Although the construction drawings indicate that this parapet wall will be constructed by an insitu concrete method, it is possible to use a pre-cast concrete method too. The pre-cast method has been selected as the most feasible choice of construction method of parapet wall but for the moment the drawings are based on in-situ concrete and if the further studies lead to pre-cast method then suitable details will be submitted. The elevation of the dam crest will be 1.0 m below the top of the parapet wall. The transverse vertical joints of the parapet wall must be soft to allow for settlements and temperature variations. The horizontal contraction joint at the junction of the top of the face slab and the base of the parapet wall has a vertical face. Waterproofing at the top is by IGAS joint sealant and with IGAS primer or equivalent. The joint is filled with pre-moulded filler. The base is supported by a mortar pad.
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1.9.2
Finishing Works
The final crest at elevation 2410.15 m asl will be 12 m wide. It will be provided with a pavement constructed in accordance with highway practise. The crest will be drained with a gentle slope
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Upper Dam

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Method Statement Contract A

Upper Dam and Appurtenant Structures

1 UPPER DAM SITE 1.1 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Volume IV Volume V Volume VIII

1.2 DESIGN ASPECTS 1.2.1 Main Dam

1.3 SCHEDULE AND SEQUENCES OF WORKS: GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Lower part, consisting of the channel leading to the river

Excavation of the upstream part of the Main Dam

Excavation of the downstream part of the Main Dam

Fig.2: Sliding in the right abutment of upper dam while excavating.

Excavation of the Right Abutment

Fig. 3- General view of right bank of upper dam

100,000 m3 100,000 m3 20,000 80,000 m3 m3 150,000 m3 80,000 m3

Upper part of spillway Middle part and lower part of spillway

Fig. 8 : Access Roads on the left abutment

Fig. 9: Access Roads on the right abutment

volume (m) 100,000 m3

100,000 20,000 150,000 120,000 20,000 80,000 60,000 125,000

1.5 TRIAL EMBANKMENT TESTS

Layer thickness 80 cm 80 cm 100 cm 100 cm

Stabilizing Fill Embankment Zone 3A

Fig. 10: Orientation of machinery in rockfill operation

Stabilizing Fill Embankment Zone 3D

1.6.4 Stabilizing Fill Embankment Zone 3A beneath spillway channel-middle part

Stabilizing Fill Embankment Random-fill Zone

Main Dam Embankment Zone 3A

Main Dam Embankment Zone 3B

Main Dam Embankment Zone 3C

Main Dam Embankment Zone 2AA

1.6.10 Main Dam Embankment Zone 2A

1.6.11 Main Dam Embankment Zone 2B

1.6.12 Main Dam Embankment Zones 1A and 1B

1.6.13 Equipment for Rockfill Materials Placement

1.7 PLINTH CONSTRUCTION

Plinth Concrete Works

Access roads to the plinth area

1.8 CONCRETE FACING

Concrete Face Slab

1.9 DAM CREST

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