CHAPTER 1

SEEPAGE THROUGH DAMS

Flow though dams

 For earth dams and dikes, flow is not prevented, rather it is permitted and directed so as
not to create a stability problem
 If the velocity of the water flowing through the structure is too great, erosion and
instability of the downstream side will result
 To counter this effect, a toe drain or an underdrain blanket that consists of course
materials is placed

o Underground springs- localized underground flow that occurs though seams or a

stratum of pervious soil presents a potential seepage problem for the structure

Solution: provide some type of drainage conduits for the flow to pass around or through the
structure is frequently technically more desirable and less expensive than attempting to cut or
stop the flow.

Precaution: flow conduit is designed so that seepage forces do not affect the structure and that
soil erosion does not occur.

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Internal erosion – a process whereby water is flowing toward a drain causes a seepage force that
is acting on soil particles. The migrations of soil result in the collapse of surrounding area.

Plotting of Phreatic Line for Seepage through Earth Dams

For construction of flow nets for seepage through earth dams, the phreatic line needs to be
established first. This is usually done by the method proposed by Casagrande (1937) and is
shown in
Figure1.1a. Note that aefb in Figure 1.1a is the actual phreatic line. The curve a’e f b’c’ is a
parabola with its focus at c; the phreatic line coincides with this parabola, but with some
deviations at the upstream and the downstream force. At a point a, the phreatic line starts at an
angle of 90° to the upstream face of the dam and aa’= 0.3Δ.

Figure 1.1 Determination of phreatic line for seepage through an earth dam

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 Figure 1.2 Plot of Δl/(1+Δl) against downstream slope angle. (After A. Casagrande,
Seepage through Dams. Contribution to Soil Mechanics, 1925-1940, Boston Society
of Civil Engineering, Boston, 1937.)

The parabola a’efb’c’ can be constructed as follows:

1. Let the distance cc’ be equal to p. Now referring to Figure 1.1b, AC = AD based on the
properties of a parabola), Ac = √𝑥 2 + 𝑧 2 , and AD = 2p + x, thus
√𝑥 2 + 𝑧 2 = 20 + x (1.1)
At x = d, z =H, substituting these conditions into equation (1.1) and rearranging, we
obtain
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p = 2 (√d2 + H 2 − d) (1.2)
Since d and H are known, the value of p can be calculated.

2. From equation (1.1),

x 2 + z 2 = 4p2 + x 2 + 4px
z2 −4p2
x= (1.3)
4p

With p known, the values of x for various values of z can be calculated from equation
(1.3) and the parabola can be constructed.

3. To complete the phreatic line, the portion ae has to be approximated and drawn by hand.
When β < 30°, the value of l can be calculated from equation (1.4) as

d d2 H2
l= − √cos2 β − sin2 β (1.4)
cosβ

Note that in Figure 1.1a. Once point has been located, the curve can be approximately
drawn by hand.
Note that l = bc in Figure 1.1a. Once point b has been located, the curve f b can be
approximately drawn by hand.

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Example 1: An earth dam section in shown in figure 1.3. Plot the phreatic line for seepage. For
the earth dam section, 𝑘𝑥 = 𝑘𝑧 .

Solution
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𝛽 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (1.5) = 33.69°

∆ = 70 cot 45 = 70ft

𝑎𝑎′ = 0.3∆ = 0.3(70) = 21ft

d = 80cot33.69 + 15 + 10cot45 + 21 = 120+15+10+21 =166ft

From equation 1.2

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p = 2 (√𝑑 2 + 𝐻 2 − 𝑑) = 2 (√1662 + 702 − 166) = 7.08ft

Using equation 1.3, we can now determine the coordinates of several points of the
parabola 𝑎′ 𝑒𝑓𝑏 ′ 𝑐 ′ :

z, ft x from equation, ft

70 166

65 142.1

60 120.04

55 99.73

50 81.2

45 64.42

Using the values of x and corresponding z calculated in the above table, the basic
parabola has been plotted in Figure 1.3.

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 Figure 1.3

We calculate l as follows. The equation of the line cb’ can be given by z = xtanβ and the
𝑧2 −4𝑝2
equation of the parabola equation (1.3) is 𝑥 = . The coordinates of point b’ can be
4𝑝
determined by solving the above two equations:
𝑧 2 −4𝑝2 (xtanβ)2 −4𝑝2
𝑥= =
4𝑝 4𝑝

or 𝑥 2 𝑡𝑎𝑛2 β − 4px − 4𝑝2 = 0

Hence

𝑥 2 𝑡𝑎𝑛2 33.69 − 4(7.08)x − 4(7.08)2 = 0

0.44𝑥 2 − 28.32x − 200.5 = 0

The solution of the above equation gives x = 70.22ft

𝑐𝑏 ′ = √70.222 + (70.22 tan 33.69)2 = 84.39 ft = l+Δl

From figure 1.2, for 𝛽 = 33.69°,

Δ𝑙
= 0.366
𝑙+Δ𝑙

Δ𝑙 = 0.366(84.39) = 30.9𝑓𝑡

𝑙 = ( 𝑙 + Δ𝑙 )– Δ𝑙

𝑐𝑏 = 𝑙 = 84.39– 30.9 = 53.49ft

The curve portions ae and fb can now be approximate drawn by hand which completes
the phreatic line aefb figure 1.3

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 Detecting Internal Erosion Prize Challenge.mp4 (Command Line)

Slide_Failure_at_Dam.mp4 (Command Line)

References:

http://nptel..ac.in//courses/1051041322/Module2/lecture10.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNFQ1EJX4h0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1j0_CyXoV8