1

Paper N0: III.02

Geotechnical Aspects of Small Retention Dam Vir in Croatia

Tomislav Ivšić, Eva Ocvirk
Željko Pavlin

Abstract: The small earth dam Vir is designed for the flood control of nearby
town Vrbovec in middle Croatia. It should also serve as the embankment for local
road connecting two villages. The foundation soil in the valley consists of several
loessy silty clay layers representing relatively soft deep profile.
The paper presents the choice of earth materials in zoned embankment in order
to satisfy the diverse design criteria such as stringent road construction
requirements, maintaining water retention function, and using local loessy clay
as much as possible. The paper also present the choice of design foundation
soil parameters relying on soil data in order to get more realistic estimate of
settlements. The method of Reference Correlation Level was used for
integration of all collected data in the unique site sedimentation sequence. The
resulting geotechnical model and the range of analyses results are also
discussed.
Keywords: earth dam, geotechnics, cohesive soil, parameters, RNK

1. Introduction

The retention Vir is designed for the flood protection of town Vrbovec in middle Croatia. It is
realised by a small dam in the valley of creek Zlenin between two villages. The retention
controls the catchment area of 2.64 square kilometres; it has the area of 68.000 m2 and the
total volume of 67.000 m2. It was designed to accept the water wave of 50 years return period
by water discharge through foundation outlet only (the capacity 3.0 m3), and to safely accept
the 100 years water wave by combined discharge through bottom outlet and spillway.
The evacuation structure is positioned at the lowest point of creek valley. Both, bottom
outlet and the spillway, are united in the unique concrete structure penetrating through the
dam body.
222 Ivšić, Ocvirk, Pavlin

The dam is positioned along the local unpaved road, and it is planned to replace the
existing valley road to the dam crest. This demand defined the width of dam crest as 7.5m.
The length of the dam is about 365m, and maximal height above the terrain surface is about
4m in the centre of the valley.
Figure 1 presents the basic features of the creek valley and the plan of the designed
dam.

Figure 1 The plan of the dam and the valley with the position of geotechnical explorations

2. Characteristic dam cross-section

The basic functions of dam are hydrotechnical (as a temporary retention for flood control) and
transportation (as a road embankment). The road is planned for local traffic of vehicles, trucks
and agricultural machinery. This function is fulfilled everyday, and water retention function
happens occasionally. From these functional aspects also the basic, fixed costs of construction
arise, as the costs of pavement structure and the water evacuation structure. The rest of costs
is in a small embankment which has to meet the specifications as a road base and to retain the
water during expected floods.
The geotechnical investigations for material borrows showed that in feasible shallower
depths the ground consists of useless wet fluvial debris in the creek valley and loessy clay in
nearby hills around the valley. The foundation soil of embankment to relevant depths consists
of silty clays of medium to high plasticity, which is relatively “soft” profile from aspects of
deformation, but sufficiently impermeable base for temporary water retention.
The technical conditions for the foundation base of asphalt pavement structure request
the zone of at least two meter thick well compacted layer to form a firm and durable base able
to resist traffic loads and vibrations without significant deformations of pavement surface.
Geotechnical Aspects of small Retention Dam Vir in Croatia 223

Since the majority of the embankment dam is of low height, it was estimated that the
compaction criteria for the pavement base could not be easily achieved with the silty clay
from valley abutments, and it was decided to construct this pavement base by better material
from mid-distant quarry.
The above reasoning from the functional and constructional geotechnical aspects
resulted in the zoned dam cross section shown in Figure 2. The characteristic zones form
relatively robust embankment to be easily constructed by unknown contractor.
The main parts of the section are: central core of gravel with fine particles (wide
granulometric composition) to obtain the firm base for pavement insensitive on wetting, the
supporting shell of silty clay from nearby borrows which is realising the water retaining
function and the wide chimney drain with downstream drain outlets. The soft debris in the
base of central part of dam will be replaced to depth of 2.5m with compacted clay to reduce
deformations and achieve water tightness of the creek bed.
The slopes of the embankment are 1V: 3H due to low cohesion of silty clay materials
and comply with average slopes of surrounding hills of similar materials. They will be
protected from erosion by grass. The ample drainage system should assure the collection and
evacuation of water coming from possible cracks or erosion in dam body, eventual seepages
through pavement structure or indicated ground water coming along the dam from valley
abutments. The selected granular materials in drains are separated by geotextile from
surrounding finer particle materials.
Due to large expected settlements it was recommended to monitor the crest
deformations and to construct the asphalt layers afterwards, when majority of settlements will
realise.

Figure 2 The characteristic dam - road embankment cross section

224 Ivšić, Ocvirk, Pavlin

3. Ground conditions

3.1 Site investigations

The ground conditions at the dam site and possible borrow areas were explored using several
investigation techniques: geoelectrical 2-D tomography to depths of 50m, investigation boring
to 25m depth with samples and in-situ tests and laboratory testing for classification, index,
hydraulic, mechanical and compaction properties of soils. Also the engineering geology
reconnaissance of wider area was made.
According to geological determination the ground in wider area and to greater depths
consists of quaternary sediments, basically fluvial debris and continental non-carbonate loess.
Fluvial debris is shallow sediment that was brought by the creek. It is sandy silt material with
a lot of clay particles, organic matter and plant roots. Continental loess is material known in
this part of country as loessy clay, macroscopically presented as “marble” clay of yellowish-
brown colour with irregular parties of grey silty clay. In mineral composition dominate
detritic quartz grains with some feldspar and clay minerals. The absence of calcium carbonate
is characteristic. In the base of these sediments sublayers or lenses of sandy clay can be found
occasionally. The approximate borders of fluvial debris and loessy clay are shown in Fig.1.
The geoelectric measurement distinguished the shallow zones of silty sand debris in the
vicinity of creek and on the eastern part of valley, possibly indicating former creek bed. The
second recognized characteristic media were clay sediments with lowest resistance. These
sediments are present in all investigated profiles and are more than 20m thick. The third
region is in greater depths, where great lenses of clayey silt and sand could be interpreted
from greater electric resistances. The positions of geoelectric profiles coincide with the
profiles through exploration boreholes (in Fig.1), so that the crosschecking of results can be
made.
The more detailed insight in ground properties was obtained from exploration borings
and testing of samples, although at relatively distant exploration points. The positions of
boreholes (RV) and shallow trench (JV) are shown in Fig 1 for the dam site. The other
investigations for material borrows are outside the presented plan.
Geotechnical characterization of fluvial debris samples presents it like silt or clay of
medium to high plasticity (the results are close to A-line, both for silts and clay, meaning that
it is generally the same material). The clay content varies from 6-13%, while the sand content
is usually less than 10%, except at particular locations where more sand was found at the layer
bottom. The debris extent is to depths of 2.5 - 3.0 m. The ground water level was found at
depths 1-1.5m (along the dam axis). Above the water level debris has stiff to very stiff
consistency, but under the water level this material was soft to semi stiff (the consistency
indices less than 0.5), even very soft at locations near the creek.
The material geologically determined as continental loess or loessy clay was classified
as clay of medium to high plasticity (CI or CH). The variations with depth indicate diverse
sedimentation conditions. The consistency of these materials is stiff to firm, as demonstrated
by consistency index of 0.8-1.0, relatively high values of uniaxial strengths and
Geotechnical Aspects of small Retention Dam Vir in Croatia 225

overconsolidation ratios from 2 to 5. The permeability coefficients ranged from 10-9 to 10-10
m/s, which means that the temporary retention has practically impermeable base with
thickness more than 20m. At the bottom of some boreholes the lenses of silty sand were
found, but it is out of practical engineering interest.

3.2 Geotechnical model

For further geotechnical analyses an idealised model of foundation soil was established,
which includes the geometry of the soil strata and the representative values of relevant
parameters. The detailed stratification of soil profile with depth was not clearly visible from
distant borehole profiles or geoelectric profiles. In order to associate properly the measured
parameter values and to reduce the scatter of results, the soil stratification was obtained by
Reference Correlation Level method (Ortolan and Mihalinec, 1998; Jurak et al, 2004).
The Reference Correlation Level (RNK - the acronym in Croatian language) is defined
as recognizable and visually identifiable bedding plane or any other reference plane within
structural feature, in relation to which the altitude of all studied profiles can be
unambiguously defined. Such a plane is a part of a single litostratigraphic sequence or
geotechnical correlation column. Usually the visually recognizable, distinguishable, layers in
soil column are used as RNK. In situation, like at the Vir site, where such layer is not found,
the RNK and the geotechnical correlation column are obtained by graphical procedure,
provided that there is a sufficient density of of laboratory classification results. Most common
is the use of plasticity index, which is correlated to clay content and clay mineralogy
composition. The depth distribution of plasticity index then reflects the sedimentation
sequence and is a sort of sedimentation “fingerprint” in soil profile. Fitting this index
distribution in a unique correlation column in relative altitudes enables the reasonable
allocation of any other test result or parameter value to each defined layer along the depth or
vertical sequence of formations covered by investigations.
In Figure 3. the distribution of plasticity index with depth in boreholes along the dam
axis is presented together with on site estimated soil layers and individual classification
results. The level with highest value of plasticity index (IP) was taken as the starting point
(RNK) for graphical procedure. In Fig 4. the unique column in relative altitude (or relative
depth) is presented where the best fit (the least scatter) of IP distribution from several
boreholes was obtained. The bottom layer with occasional silt and sand lenses has the largest
scatter. Also presented is the distribution of liquid limit (wL), which helped in selection of
typical clay layers along the depth (the criteria 35% and 50% were used). The results for
undrained strength (from unconfined compression and vane shear test) are associated in
relative depths and the selected characteristic values for typical layers are presented. The
values for angle of internal friction at constant volume (φ´cv) are obtained using correlation
with plasticity index (Manual, 1990).
226 Ivšić, Ocvirk, Pavlin

Figure 3 Distribution of plasticity index with depth

Figure 4 The geotechnical correlation column with typical clay layers

The distribution of overconsolidation pressures presented in Fig.5 shows in upper layers (2

and 3) the trend characteristic for desiccated crust, where “overconsolidation” was obtained
by capillary forces and chemical postsedimentational processes in atmospheric conditions and
conditions of partial saturation, in region of water table oscillations. In lower, older, layers (5-
7) the overconsolidation pressure difference seems to be constant indicating typical
overconsolidation by additional pressure (probably due to low underground water levels in
Geotechnical Aspects of small Retention Dam Vir in Croatia 227

past). Also specific is the visible break of mentioned trends in layer 4. For more detailed
interpretation more data would be needed. However, the presented data, especially from upper
part of profile, indicate that the past long-term underground water level in recent sediments
was significantly lower than actually measured values. Also shown in Fig 5 is the distribution
of initial void ratio (obtained from oedometer tests and from natural water content in case of
full saturation) and the distribution of compressibility coefficient (Cc), also obtained from
oedometer test and by correlation with liquid limit.

Figure 5 Oedometer test results in geotechnical correlation column

The geotechnical column from above figures in relative depths was reverted to absolute
altitudes for specific borehole and idealised geometrical model of layers in profile along the
dam axis. The inclination of interpreted layers is different from the terrain surface line in the
middle and eastern part of valley. This indicates probable former terrain surfaces during time
when sedimentation of loessy clay layers occurred, and is consistent with, geologically recent,
process of filling of valley bottom with fluvial debris.

3.3 The settlement analyses

The additional loading of embankment in highest portion is estimated to ∆σ ≈ 80 kPa at the
foundation level and is diminishing with depth. The distribution of overconsolidation
pressures in Fig.5 shows that practically through the whole depth of profile the sum of actual
effective vertical stress and additional stress is lower than the corresponding
228 Ivšić, Ocvirk, Pavlin

overconsolidation pressure. Therefore the settlement analysis was performed using the
recompression coefficient (Cr) for all layers.
The interpreted values of Cr from several oedometer test showed a large scatter of
results with average value of Cc / Cr = 8.7. According to the literature the expected ratios Cc /
Cr are 10-20 (Carter and Bentley, 1991) or Cc / Cr = 5 (the Cam clay model, Manual, 1990).
So, for the analyses the range of Cc / Cr = 5 - 10 was selected as the conservative
representative of maximal and minimal expected embankment settlements. The upper
replaced soil layer was modelled with linear modulus in range Mv = 12-17 MPa.
The range of maximal total long-term settlements using above parameters was from 8 to
14 cm in the middle portion of dam.
Also, the initial settlements were estimated using linear secant modules correlated to
undrained strength. The calculated maximal initial settlement values are less than 4 cm.

4. Summary

The design of small earth dam Vir, which serves as a water retention structure and road
embankment, included various geotechnical aspects in selection of earth material zones in
typical section. The final distribution of earth materials in cross section is the robust
compromise of functional, construction and economic aspects.
The Reference Correlation Level method was used for creation of geotechnical model of
dam foundation soil, which is formed of thick cohesive layers with varying properties. This
method in a rational manner modelled the sedimentation sequence enabling the appropriate
allocation of various data and test results from distant locations in a consistent way.

References
Ortolan, Z and Mihalinec, Z. (1998), Plasticity index-indicator of shear strength and a major axis of geotechnical
modeling, Proc. of the XIth Danube-European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical
Engineering, May 25-29, Poreč, Croatia, pp 743-750, Balkema, Rotterdam
Jurak, V., Ortolan, Z., Slovenec, D. and Mihalinec, Z. (2004), Verification of Engineering-Geological/Geotechnical
Correlation Column and Reference Level of Correlation (RNK) Method by Observations in the Slip-Plane
Zone, Geologica Croatica, No. 57/2, pp 191-203
Manual (1990), Manual on Estimating Soil Properties for Foundation Design, Report EPRI EL-6800, prepared by
Cornell University Geotechnical Engineering Group for Electric Power Research Institute, California, USA
M.Carter and S.P.Bentley (1991), Correlations of soil properties, Pentech Press Publishers, London, UK

Authors
Prof. Tomislav Ivšić: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Croatia, tom@grad.hr
Assist. Eva Ocvirk: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Croatia, ocvirk@grad.hr
Željko Pavlin: Elektroprojekt, Zagreb, Croatia, zeljko.pavlin@elektroprojekt.hr