Conmnssio INTERNATIONALE Des GRANDS BARRAGES ide Seizitme Congres er Grands Harrases ‘Sen Francisco, 1885 WET CORE CONSTRUCTION (WCC) TECHNOLOGY FOR EMBANKMENT DAMS (*) David J. KERKES Consulting Georectocal Engineer urora, Colorade Glenn §. TARBOX Senior Viee President and Chief Enginser ECI (ATC — Engineering Coneulante incorporated), Englewood, Colorado uss PROJECT DESCRIPTION Wadaslintang Dam was constructed for the Government of Indonesia's Ministry of Public Works, Directorate of Irrigation as part of the plan to develop the water resources of the South Kedu segion of Central Java. The geographical location of the project is shown in Fig. 1. Project construction began in the latter part of 1982 and the dam was completed by mid 1987, The dam, designed as 2 zoned earth and rockfill structure with internal transition, filter and drainage zones, stands 121 m high at the maximum section with a eres length of approximately 700 m at elevation 191 m above ‘mean sea level SITE GEOLOGY Bedrock at the site consists of two different geologic units. One unit is characterized by cloyey, silt sediments deposited in a marine environment Marlstone, of variable density and hardness, constitutes the dominant (1) La technique de consirution avec royau étanche en tere a forte teneur en eau pour boarsages en rembiah 1237Fig. Lecstion Map Pla de situation (2) Equator (1) Egeaiesr (2) Singapore 12) Sinzapeur G) Jaa 13) Jove (3) Sumatia (4) Sursatra G) Kalimantan (5) Kalimantan (4) Irian Jaya (6) Irion Jove (1) Wedaslintang (2) Wadaslivang (8) South Chira Sea (a) Mer de Chine da Sud (8) Pacific Oeeas 10) Qesan Pace member of this unit. The unit was subjected to significant submarine distur- bbances during the formation process and, consequently, is highly contorted. Contained within the unit are pockets of 2 weaker, slickensided claystone ‘The other geologic unit at the site is characterized by well comented rocks of voleanic origin. The dominant member of this unit is andesitic breccia al- though significant portions of the unit are tuff, The breccia unit is more resistant than the marl unit and forms the tops of the ridges and the topographics highs at the site. A massive down dropped fault block of breccia fornis the right abutment, river valley and majority of the left abutment at the dam site. CLIMATE. ‘The dam site is approximately 7 degrees below the equator. The rainy season generally lusis from October to April and the site receives ap- proximately 3 000 mm of rainfsl! annually. The warm and humid climate coupled with the presence of volcanic rocks constitute the idcal environment for the formation of the allophane and halloysite clay minerals, Because the engineering properties of these soils can experience irreversible changes upon drying, tesis were performed to identify if these minerals were present in the residual soils at the side and appropriate steps were taken to ensure that index property and strength tests were representative of the material as it would exist in the dam. 1238EMBANKMENT SECTION The value of the land on Java made it highly desirable to confine the Proposed borrow areas to within the limits of the proposed reservoir and the dominant soil type within the area is a product of the marl unit. Alluvium in the area iy also of limited extent. For this reason it was economically more feasible 10 develop quarries and construct a rockfill dam out of the andesitic breccia, rather than an earthfill dam. Concern over the integrity of the marl Unit which underlies the upstream shell was the main reason for selecting a conventional earth core for the dam rather than & concrete face. The external slopes that were determined appropriate for the site, on the basis of both the static and dynamic loading conditions, were 2H:1V far the downstream slope and 2.SH:1V for the upstream slope. The internal embankment zoning that was developed consists of a moderately upstream sloping core with a 3.m wide filter along the downstream side of the core, a 3 m wide drain adjacent to the fier and 4 2m wide iransition zone placed along the upstream side of the sore, The embankment is founded in its entirety upon rock, which required extensive excavation in some areas to remove soil overburden and slump material. The majority of the core and downstream shell are founded on breccia; however the entire upstream shell and a section of the embankment con the upper left abutment are founded on members of the marl unit Concern ditring design over the competency of the marl unit resulted in the inclusion of a 30 m high berm at the upstream heal of the dam which was also designed to function as the main cofferdam during final river diversion. The embankment geometry is illustrated in Fig. 2. The valley profile is illustrated in Fig. 3 and a pian view of the dam is given in Fig. 4. Additional design features include-a three line grout curtain in the breccia unit and a five line grout curtain in the marl unit beneath the core, protective concrete applied to the marl unit beneath the core zone to prevent slaking and ensure good bonding at the core contact, extensive foundation shaping and the Tikeral application of dental conerete beneath the core zone t0 minimize the possibility of differential settlement “The construction of the dam required 1.2 10° m? of foundation excava- tion, 6.2 10% m? of rockfill, 0.9 10° m? of core material, 0.2 10° m! of processed filter and drain material, and 0.1 10° m? of river run transition materiel, The majority of random fill obtained from abutment stripping operations was used in 2 weight berm upstream of the left abutment adjacent tothe main cofferdam, 1239soopns 9p aay Be i mererieio y sous noopneg np sonny (6) uray 2104 (3) aad (0) 1 ap a 01 ap stones onpanieg np 213412 3p 910) mp np 2p 2 op ouariony 290g my 209 (0) oot 13 (a) 1240ew op pen (6) HR HOH AMEDD Jo 5024. (6) mo wee mei nuowue anyon,» sopous9paiout (9) uteasuoe puE HEN To SEL (8) dood us oqoas np soe (2) peu trading 7640) or 9p anotons 2usauoip aun 2p O'F ap sous 20.0f 39 21275 (4) (ou imiguary (6) uoap ai md (2) ayn ove mild (i) frou) apannye (3) 2youso4 amos 3p 22) (e) wonaatg s9ejing ieyguaas np stax 0 sp 2) (H) u 2gyo8 e) op s108000 8 oad EEE Lei inp 9p au3—05 (sj CAansxnmyp anew 6x) oat. aersiota (=) 22y04 UPN (B) nay) AMMEN [Y) oaR+o 8 Barto 90840 GostO_| OorHD ToOEtO onto o's 13 (@) one! Ta (vy ] 00140 00040 1241Fes General Plan ue en plan générale (2) Dam Embankment (2) Upstream Cofferdam (G) Guet ard Power Intake Tower () Pover Tunnel (30 meter diameter) (5) Diversion Tunnel (4.8 meter diameter) (6) Spillway_ (0) Powerhouse (8) Access Road ‘Telescoping Inclinometer Surface Monument 11) Rembla’ du barrage 12) Ratordeon emant (3) Ouarege damence et tour deprive sas (4) Galere de force muotrce ae 319 m de diametre (5) Galerie de dévivation de 45 m de diameere (6) Bvacuaiear de crue (7) Comerale asdrosslectriqne (8) Route dace Inclinamstnerélércopique Roper de surface CORE MATERIAL Despite the fact that the scil overburden in the immediate vicinity of the dam was relatively deep, soil cover in the reservoir area is generally shallow 1242ee and consists primarily of residual soils formed by the weathering of the parent rock in the area. The weathered breccia vicinity of the dam site is ‘ypically a silty clay of medium to high plasticity, while the weathered marl is typically 2 clay of high to very high plasticity. The abundant rainfall, com= bined with terrace Farming, maintains both soils at moisture contents well above optimum, Weathered breccia was selected as the material for the core zone. X-ray diffraction analyses on selected samples revealed that essentially 100 percent of the clay fraction consisted of the clay mineral halloysite with ap- proximately 80 percent in its hydrated form znd the remaining 20 percent in the deitydrated form (metahalloysite). The engineering properties of the halloysite mineral have typically been found to be less sensitive to drying than the allophane mineral and the index property tests performed on the soils at the Wadaslintang site were consistent with these findings. The resulis: of index property tests, performed according to ASTM standards, are presented in Tables | and 2. Index property tests were also performed by carefully air drying the soils ta reduce the natural moisture content for the test, as opposed to drying the soil beyond the Atterberg Limits or optimum moisture content and subsequently rewetting the soil to bring the moisture back to the values used in the tests. This procedure is herein referred to as the “Dry Back” method to distinguish the results thus obtained from those obtained using standard ASTM procedures. Compaction tests using the Dry Back method adhered to ASTM D-698 standards for hammer weight, height of drop, number of lifts, ete, The results of index property tests performed using the Dry Back method are also given in Tables | and 2. The data summarized in the tables were obtained from the results of 300 tests performed on samples taken from the fill and the results obtained using the two methods differed consistently; therefore, it is believed that the differences are attributable 10 the presence of the clay mineral halloysite and are not the result of normal statistical variations asseciated with the tests themselves. Table | Index Properties Max. | Min. L ae. ASTN Std Liga Lint) ssa a2 | MTs SI isa Diy Bick Med [ued time gt Plasticity tadex (%) 1243,ROCKFILL The maximum boulder size was initially set at about 1.25 m and the quarries in general yielded a reasonably well graded product with less than about 5 percent by weight in the sand sizes. A test fill was constructed using the quarried rockfill to establish initial guidelines for production fill place- ment. The results of large scale density tests indicated that the mean totel dry density of the rockfill would be approximately 2.10 tons/m* and the void ratio of the minus 8 em fraction would be about 0.36, For placement purposes the shells were divided into three broad zones. Approximately half the upstream shell, immediately adjacent to the core zone, and a narrow band immediately downstream of the filter and drain zones were placed in lifts of 60 cm. The remainder of the upstream shell and approximately half of the interior downstream shell were placed in lifts of 100 cm. The remaining outermost half of the downstream shell was placed in lifts of 130 cm. The shells were compacted using six passes of 2 10 ton towed vibratory roller. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS On en average, the natural moisture content of the weathered breccia was about 55 percent while the average ASTM Standard Proctor optimum moisture content was about 43 percent, Initially, the intention was to con- struct the core zone in accordance with conventionally accepted standards, with an inplace density of at least 98 percent of the ASTM Standard Proctor maximum dry density: however, the high natural moisture content of the proposed core material coupled with high humidity and seasonal rainfall rendered it impractical to achieve such standards. Thersfore, consideration was given to constructing the core with material at the natural moisture content. The construction of core zones with material placed at moisture contents significantly wet of optimum is not unprecedented. Due to the climate in the Scandinavian countries, the Swedish State Power Board has successfully used a wet compaction method since 1951 and the method was subsequently adopted by Norway. Perhaps the most recent example of core zone construction using material substantially wet of optimum is the con: struction of the dam at Monasavu Falls in Fiji 4] The development of excess pore pressures during consolidation of the impervious zones of earth dams and the implications on the slope stability of the structure is a phenomenon that has long been recognized by the profes- sion. In view of the high moisture content and relatively low density that would characterize the core zone, this aspect wes a primary concern in the design, Unrestricted consolidation theory, which addresses the nonlinear be- havior of the soil, was used to estimate the pore pressures that could develop during construction, The construction schedule was used to estimate the rate 1244at which the embankment would be constructed and this data was incor porated into the consolidation analysis. Pore pressure estimates were developed for the embankment when completed to one quarter, one hall, three quarters and its full height. The results of the analyses, which were ‘considered conservative at the time, indicated that the maximum pore pres- sures would be associated with the embankment at its full height immediately after construction. The estimated pore pressure ratios in the core varied from about 0.6 along the downstream slope to @ maximum of about 0.95 closer to the upstream slope with the maximum values in the central third of the core, in terms of both height and thickness of the zone. To facilitate consolidation, it was considered advantageous 10 keep the core zone relatively narrow. A narrower core would permit more rapid dis- sipation of pore pressures, thereby maximizing the amount of consolidation that would occur during construction. This is desirable both from the standpoint of slope stability and in terms of minimizing post construction settlements since large settlements were anticipated. This proved to be ad- vantageaus not only from a design standpoint, but also from a construction standpoint since the core zone geometry not only minimized the quantity of core material required, which was a consideration at the Wadaslintang site, but it also minimized the distances that the low ground pressure bulldozer would have to travel in order to spread the core material. The minimum ratio of core thickness to normal reservoir head was on the order of about 0.46 in the lower portions of the core zone. The inclined core geometry which was adopted limited the height of compressible material below the crest and thereby lessened the post construction settlement thet the crest would experience and reduced the camber requirement for the embank- ment ‘The presence of significant quantities of marl in the alluvium at the site rendered it unacceptable as a source of filter material and made it rnecessary to obtain the majority of the material from @ source about 38 kilometers from the site. The filter was designed according to the criteria conventionally accepted by the profession, as presented by Cedergren [2] and Sheraré [5]. The particle size distribution was relatively uniform, to minimize the potential for segrenation during placement, The maximum particle size was limited to 9.5 mm and the maximum percent finer than the No. 200 sieve (0.074 mm) was limited to 5 percent. These limitations were imposed to ensure that the material would not be able to support any cracks in the zone as a result of stresses that the zone was likely to undergo. Filter tests were performed in the laboratory using core material prepared in the form of 2 slurry and no material migration was found to occur 1245CORE PLACEMENT SPECIFICATIONS A major consideration in the design was the need to create as homogeneous a fill as possible, in terms of moisture and density, to ensure uniform compressibility characteristics throughout the core and thereby minimize any redistribution of stresses and associated arching. For this pur- ose a lift thickness of approximately 10 centimeters was specified. The natural moisture content of the core material in the borrow area was generally about 10 percent above the Dry Back optimum and water was added to the fill as necessary, particularly during the dry months, 19 ensure uniformity in the moisture content of the core material in an effort to maintain this difference at about 10 percent. CONSTRUCTION While the decision to construct the core with material at its natural moisture content solved one problem: namely, the need to reduce the mois- ture content of the material to facilitate compaction, it posed other problems, not the least of which was that of material placement since the fill was to6 soft to support most heavy equipment. Material placement was accomplished by dumping the soil at the edge of the core zone and spread- ing it over the fill using the equivalent of Caterpillar D-6 bulldozers equipped with low ground pressure tracks. The equipment traffic provided the only mechanical compaction which the core material received. Fig. 3 shows the operation being performed at Wadaslintang Dam Fig. 5 Core placement st Wadaslintang Das Mise en place du novay etanche ax barrage de Wadasiinane 1246cw Field control was visual, consisting essentially of observing the be- havior of the bulidozer’s low ground pressure tracks, and the color of the material, which provided an indication as to whether the fill was too dry or too wet. In place field density tests were performed ia the core zone and samples were taken for index property testing. Table 2 summarizes the results of 300 field density and index property tests Table 2 Core Material Test Results Mein Sd De Toa Dens im) 16s 08 Field erature Cones 32 33 Dry Demis bs aida Nai Kari 130 os Dagiec of Sateraton (1) (%) 102s as Pesce Pasig No, 290 Sieve saa a Diy Back Index Proper Sui, Proctor Mass Dry Bensy (tm) Los 03 Optinaiy Mosstore Camnt (2) “ae 3 Degie of Compan (8) 357 a Dierece bween Fels & Optimum () vox x ASTM Index Properties sud, Procny Man, De Bem (0/0) ut oo: Optimum Mosturs Const (e) | aa | Deges of Compaction (8) ie a0 Diferece bocca Feld & Optimus (%) 188 | (1) The authors recognize that the degree of satafation can not exceed 100 percent. The actual esleulated value. presented herein, reflects the errors inherent in determining. the fvavity, in place density apd moisture concert of the material The results of these tests confirmed that visuzl field conirol was suffi- cient to ensure that the moisture content of the core was generally main- tained at about 10 percent above the Dry Back optimum throughout con- struction, INSTRUMENTATION The instrumentation plan for Wadaslinteng Dam, as shown in Fig. 2 and 4, called for the installation of 38 pneumatic piezometers, 24 total pressure cells, 13 telescoping inclinometers with annular plate magnets to imonitor settlements, 6 hydraulic settlement cells, 4 double fluid settlement installations, 16 surface monuments, 2 strong motion accelerometers and 4 seepage measuring weirs 1247Only those instruments that pertain directly to the kehavior of the core zone will be discussed herein. A total of 18 pneumatic piezometers were installed in the core of the dam to monitor pore pressures. A total of 24 total pressure cells were also installed in the core zone, in groups of three cells at each of 8 locations, to measure total stresses, The cells were installed in orthogonal planes with one in the horizontal plane. one oriented normal 10 the dam axis in the vertical plane and the other parallel to the dam axis, also in the vertical plane. The literature abounds with descrip- tions of the design and principles of operation for these instrument types and, therefore, will not be discussed here. Settlement data were obtsined by means of a double fluid settlement device [6]. This unique device consists of 4 continuous length of small diameter nylon tubing which crosses normal to the downstream rockfill, drain and filter zones before being placed in the core zone parallel to the dam axis. The tubing forms a continuous horizon- tal loop with the readout device and the tubing is maintained full of water. Measurements are made by introducing mercury into the loop at a con- srolled rate of advance and monitoring the hydraulic head difference produced ot the mercury/water interface, thus permitting a continuous record of the interface elevation to be obtained. OBSERVATIONS. Several unsuccessful atiempis were made to obtain information on the horizontal deformations in the core using inclinometers, however, the defor- mations which the core experienced during consolidation distorted the in- clinometer casings to where the mezsurement torpedo could not be lowered down the installation. Considering the matter in retrospect, the maximum, diameter of inclinometer casing should have been used to pravide more clearance for the torpedo, but the errors that would inevitably be intro duced into the data due to casing twist would probably only permit the data to be assessed in a qualitative manner, In about the first $ to 10 m of fill placed over the total pressure cells, strestes approximately equal to the vertical weight of fill over the installa~ tion were recorded on each of the three orthogonal instruments, at some of the locations, indicating that the fill was acting in the manner of 2 dense fluid, This is consistent with behavior observed by Penman and Charles (1972) at two dams constructed with wet cores in the United Kingdom, Under this condition the core material can be assumed to possess essentially no shear strength and exert isotropic stresses at all points in the zone and at its boundaries. With time, as the core material consolidates under its own weight and that of the shells, an anisotropic stress state will develop in which the ratio of the horizontal to vertical effective stresses will approach the Isteral stress ratio at rest, or Ke condition. This behavior was very 1248ca clearly observed in the total pressure cells at Wadasliniang. Implicit in this change is the fact that the core material develops shear strength and the ability to undergo load transfer and 2 redistribution of stresses in the core zone. This 100 is implied in the total pressure cell data. The stresses on the horizontally oriented total pressure cells at depth were not equal to the stress exerted by a vertical column of scil over the instruments, thus sug~ gesting that a redistribution of stresses was taking place in the core zone. It is recognized, though the offect can not be quantified, that the deforma- tions experienced by the core must certainly have displaced the total pres- sure ells from their original positions which complicated the interpretation of the data obtained from the cells, ‘The majority of the core zone was for all practical purposes saturated; however. the minimum computed degree of saturation was about 87 percent which is relevant to the interpretation of the data. For a completely saturated impervious material one would expect that initially the inevease in tolal stress, which the core experienced during construction, would be carried by the pore water pressure, thus the pore pressure measurements would initially be about equal to the computed total vertical stress. This behavior was observed in some of the piezometers, but not in all, and is illustrated in Fig. 6 for piezometer numbers 7 and 10. The locations of these piczometers are shown in Fig. 2. The pore pressure measurements were observed to roughly parallel the line defining the fill elevation as a function of time. In partially saturated zones of the core, the increase in the pore water pressure would not be equal to the increase in total vertical stress until the air in the voids was forced into solution in the pore water, thus the pore pressire measurements would initially be less than the com= puted toxal vertical siress, but would approach these values with time. This behavior was also observed in some of the piczometers. What was interest- ing to note in the datz was that the maximum pore pressure ratios developed earlier than anticipated: that is, the pore pressure ratios were generally less a5 the embankment approached its maximum height, which was advantageous from a slope stability standpoint. This suggests that either consolidation eccurred more rapidly than anticipated and/or a redistribution of stresses in the core zone resulted in vertical stresses of lesser magnitude than anticipated. ‘The elevations at which the double fluid settlement devices were in- stalled are given in Fig. 2. Several loops were installed at each elevation While considerable data could be obtained from these devices. no data were obizined regarding the consolidation thet occurred during construction until fone of the loops could be installed. Similarly, no deta could be obtained regarding the consolidation that cccurred during construction of the portion of the fill above a loop until the next loop could be installed, etc, Therefore, gaps exist in the field data for certain periods of the core zone construction and the total amount of consolidation that the core zone experienced must 12492 c is > 1 E A F os ° 22-FebBS — [0-SepBB —29-Mar-BS—IE-Cet-B6 03-May-07 8 Fig.6 Piezometer Data fer Station 04465 eles plecomeiriques @ to sation 0-803 (A) Pressure /Total Siress (10+ Pa) (A) Pression/Contraine toate (10° Pa) (B) Time (B) Temps (C) Calculated Totsl Vertical Stress (Ch Contrainte vericatetetole ealeulée eu Prezomater No, 7 prone 7 (D) Cakulated Total Venival Stres (0) Conratatevericate torte caleulée au Piezometer No, 10 pibzomitre 110 (E) Mensured Pore Pressure at Piezometer—(£) Pression interaiille mesurte au No.7 (F) Measured Pore Pressure at Piezometee No. 10 be calculated from observation of the actual field consolidation behavior of the core, which was not accomplished prior to the submittal deadline for this paper. The maximum settlement actually measured in the core zone, however, was in excess of 3.7 m at the maximum section as of January 1987, The lowermost loop, located at about the center of the core, monitored over 1.5 m of settlement in the bottom 35 m of the maximum ‘embankment section in response to the placement of approximately 51 m of fill over the loop from August 1985 to September 1986. The device failed at some point between the September and October 1986 readings, probably because the tubing was stretched to its breaking poini. The dala from this loop, at the maximum embankment section, is presented in Fig. 7. 0170 é biso ih L tH A BG nie D -s0 as r tis 70 wares Seeped eaten We 0u8s 8 setteen baa or Staton 0408 feta sen etn 04483 yaar (a) Tong fGen oe ay Mile ae Ce carob rast (5) ate pre dpe See ear es i ee Si ca (ey Enc Bere Tie (5) Coa al tne tenes CONCLUSIONS, In the parts of the world that experience high annuel rainfall, where natural moisture contents of core zone construction materials arc sig nificantly above eptimum, impervious fill placement using conventionally accepted standards is frequently infeasible. The wet core construction method provided an acceptable solution to this problem, providing ad- vantages not only in terms of construction schedule and costs, but in the construction of a flexible core zone Pore pressure were generally less than anticipated as the embankment approached its maximum height, which suggests that either consolidation occurred more rapidly than anticipated and/or a redistribution of stresses in the core zone resulted in vertical stresses of lesser magnitude than an- ticipated, Data obtained from both the total pressure cells and piezometers indicate that the total stresses in the core were less than anticipated, 1251Instrumentation data indicate that the core material initially behaved similar to a heavy fluid, which is consistent with behavior observed by others at dams constructed with wet cores [I] Under this condition the core Material can be assumed to possess essentially no shear strength and exert near isctropie stresses at all points in the zone and at its boundaries. With time, as the core material consolidates under its own weight and that of the shells, an anisotropic stress state develops wherein the ratio of the horizon- tal to vertical effective stresses approaches the lateral stress ratio at cest, oF Ky condition. Thus. the core material develops shear strength and the ability to undergo load transfer and a redistribution of stresses in the core zone, Arching can occur, however, only if the shear strength of the core is not exceeded; therefore, consolidation will continue until the core material has developed sufficient shear strength to permit arching, This point is em- Dhasized here because, while 2 wet core will very definitely be relatively flexible, this method of construction does not preclude the possibility of hydraulic fracturing though it certainly does not increase the risk. The best defense against the adverse consequences of hydraulic fracturing is still a conservative filter design to protect the core, as advocated by Sherard. Work is presently underway by one of the authors on 2 model for predicting pore pressures and consolidation, that will address the redistribu- tion of stresses in the core, for application to the design of future wet core dams. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ‘The authors thank the Directorate of Irrigation of the Government of Indonesia's Ministry of Public Works for the use of the data presented herein and their kind permission to publish this paper. REFERENCES [i] A. D. M. PeNMan and J. A. Cuartes, “Effect of the position of the core an the behaviour of two rockfill dams”, Building Research Sto- tion, Current Paper 18/72, Garston, Watford, England, November 1972. [2] CeperGren, H.R. Seepage, Drainage and Flow Nets, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1967, [3] Frosr, J. R. “Importance of Correct Pretesting Preparation of Some Tropical Soils”, Proceedings of the First Southeast Asian Con- ference on Scil Engineering, Bangkok, 1967. [4] Kwiont, D. J, N. M. Worner and J.E, McCLuno, *Materials And Construction Methods For A Very Wet Clay Core Rockfill Dam At 1252