CONSTRUCTION OF VERTICAL AND INCLINED SAND DRAINS IN

EMBANKMENT DAMS

By David P. Hammer, P.E.1

Introduction

The peak of dam construction that occurred in the 1960s', 1970s' and 1980s' has long
since passed. Unfortunately, so has much of the knowledge gained during that period relating
to good embankment design and construction practices. This is particularly true of
construction practices, which, as a rule, have not been well documented and are in danger of
being lost for future applications.
Vertical and inclined sand drains (the term sand drain includes filters) are arguably the
most important defensive design features of the embankment. Embankment cross-sections
illustrating a vertical drain and an inclined drain are shown in Figures I and 2, respectively.
Design techniques for sand drains that ensure permeability, protect against piping of
impervious core materials and protect against cracking have been well documented
(Cedergren, 1989, USACE, 1986), However, very little has been documented concerning
methods and details of sand drain construction. This paper presents construction methods
and procedures developed during the intensive dam building decades that are effective in
ensuring design intent is realized in the constructed product.

Purpose of Vertical and Inclined Sand Drains

The purpose of vertical and inclined sand drains in embankment dams is trifold. The
first is to dissipate seepage pressures downstream of the core. In order to meet this purpose,
the drain must have adequate permeability. The second purpose is to prevent core materials
from being piped into the drain. These purposes require that the drain possess a gradation
that is designed to retain the finer particles, yet maintain the ability to readily pass water. The
third purpose is to provide a defense against cracking, which requires that the drain material
be self healing, i.e., unable to sustain an open crack.

Items of Concern During Construction

Items of concern during construction of vertical and inclined sand drains/filters in

embankment dams are as follows:
• Obtaining the required gradation
• Avoiding contamination by other materials, particularly those in adjacent zones
• Avoiding segregation of the drain materials
• Obtaining the required loose lift thickness

~Consulting Geotechnical Engineer, XCorps, LLC, 72 Sentry Dr., Wilder, KY, 41076. Formerly
Chief, Engineering Division, Ohio River Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box
1159, Cincinnati, OH.
 SELECT PERVIOUS FiLL TRANSITION FILL
.............................. -j[- ................ "~
RAINAGE FILL
~RAWDOWN ..~ (FILTER)
7ONE
V __
RANDOM FILL

:~Roc~ '---IMPERVIOUS CORE BEDROCK

RANDOM FILL TRANSITION FILL

EMBANKMENTS ZONED
TO C O N T R O L S E E P A G E AND
P R E V E N T PIPING ""

Figure 1. Zoned Embankment with Vertical Sand Drain

UPSTREAM ~ DOWNSTREAM

Figure 2. Embankment with Inclined Sand Drain

 • Maintaining overall vertical continuity of the drain
• Maintaining design width
• Obtaining the desired or required percent compaction or relative density (desired
in the case of a method specification and required in the case of an end-result
specification)
• Ensuring contacts with adjacent material are adequately compacted
• Avoiding the use of excess quantities caused by spreading of the material during
compaction
In order to ensure that the drain is constructed in accordance with the design and will function
as intended, all of the above items should be maintained during construction.

Basic Methods of Construction

There are three basic methods of constructing vertical and inclined sand drains in
embankment dams:
1. Maintaining the adjacent impervious core one lift ahead of the sand drain
2. Maintaining the sand drain one lift ahead of the impervious core
3. Trenching

Maintaining the Adjacent Impervious Core One Lift Ahead of the Sand Drain

The steps utilized in this method of construction are shown in Figure 3. This technique
has the advantage of preventing spreading of the drain material during compaction and could
facilitate in obtaining the desired or specified percent compaction or relative density. However,
a disadvantage is that this method is more conducive to contamination of the drain by adjacent
materials falling into the drain section and from material being washed in during rains or when
flooded by the spray from a passing water truck. This could make ensuring continuity and
maintaining full width of the drain more difficult.

Maintaining the Sand Drain One Lift Ahead of the Impervious Core

The sequence of construction for this method is shown in Figure 4. This method has
the advantage of helping to prevent contamination and aiding in maintaining vertical continuity
and full width of the drain, especially if the embankment is constructed so that the drain is the
high point of the cross section, which will result in runoff and contaminants flowing away from
the drain. A disadvantage is that compaction may be more difficult because the sand has a
tendency to spread at its outer edges during compaction. The spreading may result in a
greater quantity of drain material being used in order to construct the drain to its required
width. This is a disadvantage because quite often drain and filter materials are the most
expensive in the embankment. However, past experience has shown that these
disadvantages may be overcome by blading up a windrow of loose material at the borders of
the sand drain as shown in Figures 4 and 5. This windrow should be of sufficient width to
effectively contain the drain material thereby preventing any significant spreading during
compaction. Although this method may result in using a little more drain material due to the
"christmas tree" effect, the extra cost is a small price to pay for ensuring that the drain width
and material gradation are as designed, resulting in the drain having the capacity to function as
required. This method is especially applicable to drains having a relatively narrow width.
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Figure 3. Steps for Maintaining Adjacent Zones One Lift Ahead

Of Sand Drain

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Figure 4. Steps for Maintaining Sand Drain One Lift Ahead of

Adjacent Zones
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Figure 5. Blading Up a Windrow of Loose

Impervious Matedal

IMPERVIOUS

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IMPERVIOUS '~"
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Figure 6. Steps for Trenching Method

Trenching

The trenching method (shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8) facilitates obtaining the

required/desired percent compaction or relative density, allows for very close control of
quantities and is conducive to excellent contacts between the drain and adjoining materials.
Disadvantages include the fact that trenching is time consuming and expensive as well as
inspection intensive. In addition this method can only be used for narrow drains in dams
composed of downstream homogeneous materials that will stand vertically, without caving,
when trenched.

Compaction of Contacts with Adjacent Materials

When utilizing methods one and two for construction, the contacts between the
materials located upstream and downstream of the drain must be adequately compacted. This
is particularly important in the case of an inclined drain where the geometry of the drain may
be conducive to a wedge type failure. If left uncompacted, an area of low shear strength could
develop along the contact. Compaction of the contact may be inadvertently overlooked since
the drain is compacted by a smooth-drum vibratory roller while the adjacent impervious core
material is usually compacted by a tamping type roller. Equipment operators are often
instructed to avoid getting on adjacent zones which could result in the zonal contacts not
receiving the required compactive effort. Proper compaction of contacts is accomplished by
overlapping the roller onto the adjacent material. This is usually best accomplished by
overlapping the vibratory roller onto the adjacent material rather than overlapping with a
tamping type roller. A minimum overlap of one foot should be specified. To facilitate
compaction of contacts, grade stakes used to mark zonal contacts prior to compaction should
be removed so that roller operators do not drive around the stakes. Roller operators and
inspectors should be educated to the fact that a minor amount of mixing of the two adjacent
materials is less of a detriment than leaving the contact uncompacted. Density tests should be
conducted at or near zonal contacts to verify that adequate compaction is being achieved in
these critical areas. An example of rolling a sand drain contact is shown in Figure 9.

Other Construction Considerations

Use of a Spreader Box

A spreader box is a device that is constructed to deposit drain material in a uniform

thickness and width as it is pulled or pushed along the drain alignment (see Figure 10). This
results in very little blading, if any, required after placement. Spreader boxes have been
effectively utilized to spread drain materials on several projects and provide several
advantages. They mitigate contamination and segregation, provide proper loose lift thickness
and maintain drain continuity and design width. Use of a spreader box also aids in maintaining
the design gradation because little blading is required after placement. This helps to minimize
particle breakage. Spreader boxes have been used successfully to place two materials of
differing gradation (as is sometimes required by filter criteria in order to transition from an
impervious core to a downstream shell). A double spreader box is shown in Figures 11 and
12. Spreader boxes are usually limited to a maximum width of about 8 to 10 feet. The
 Figure 7. Trenching Method- Excavating Trench

\
L .
L

,{

Figure 8. Trenching Method- Backfilling Trench

Figure 9. Compacting Drain- Impervious Core
Contact with Vibratory Roller

Figure 10. Towed Spreader Box

 . .

Figure 11. Double Bin Spreader Box

(Attached to Dozer Blade)

~j

Figure 12. Close-up of Double Bin Spreader Box

 spreader box shown in Figure 10 meted out each material in a 4 foot zone at the proper loose
lift thickness of 12 inches.

Haul Road Crossings

In order to construct a zoned embankment dam, hauling equipment for other zones
must inevitably cross the drain (See Figure 13). These crossings must be controlled; i.e., they
must be kept to the absolute minimum necessary and must be in definite and confined
locations. Obviously these crossings are fraught with the potential for contamination of the
drain, for reduction in drain width, and for the drain to be partially or completely cut off
vertically. Therefore, special measures must be taken to ensure the crossings do not
adversely affect the design cross-section or the desired properties of the drain. Assuming
crossings are kept to a minimum and are at specific and confined well marked locations, the
first measure is to place a "sacrificial pad" of drain material at the crossing. This pad should
have a minimum thickness of about a foot. When the crossing location is no longer needed,
the pad and drain material below the crossing and well beyond its length and width is
excavated and the drain brought back to desired grade with clean, well compacted drain
material. Placing of drain material in such an excavation is shown in Figure 14.
Another measure requires the placing of a heavy geomembrane over the drain at the
crossing to help protect the drain material from the hauling equipmenttraffic. The placing of a
geomembrane is shown in Figure 15. Even with the use of a geomembrane, some
undercutting of the drain material may be required, but usually not to the extent required
without the geomembrane.
Regardless of the method used, it would be cheap insurance and at the same time
would provide a record of acceptable drain clean-up practice, to require a passing gradation
test of drain material left in place after the clean-up before additional drain material is allowed
to be placed. Results from such a test could be available very quickly to avoid significant delay
in further placement by microwaving a sample of the material to be left in place and performing
a gradation test.
Inspectors must also be alert to the fact that construction personnel will, at times, drive
across the drain at unauthorized locations in order to take short cuts. Such crossings must
also be cleaned up before placing additional drain material.

Wetting Requirements

When the drain or filter material is sand or contains significant portions of sand sizes,
the material should be maintained in a condition as saturated as possible during compaction in
order to obtain maximum densification. However, because of the free-draining characteristics
of such materials, saturation is often difficult to maintain. One way to help accomplish
saturation is to attach a spray bar to the miler as shown in Figure 16 so that the water is
applied just ahead of the passage of the roller. A second option is to have a water truck move
along with the roller so that water may be applied manually just ahead of the roller. Both of
these methods are time consuming and awkward. Merely sprinkling the material prior to
rolling has questionable results and could even be detrimental since capillary forces may be
set up (i.e.," bulking" of the sand particles) that must be overcome before any additional
density is obtained. Unless analyses indicate that a high strength in the drain material is
necessary for stability of the embankment, it may be more important to maintain adequate
drainage capacity by placing the drain material in a dry state and accepting somewhat lower
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Figure 13. Haul Road Crossing Drain/Transition Zones

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Figure 14. Excavating Contaminated Drain Material

Beneath Haul Road Crossing
 r

Figure 15, Placing Geomembrane at Haul Road Crossing

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Figure 16. Spray Bar Attached to Roller Frame

shear strengths. Regardless of the method used, extensive testing to determine the in-place
percent compaction or relative density should be accomplished early in construction to
ascertain if the required or desired dry density is being obtained and if wetting procedures are
proper.

Compaction
Compaction of clean granular materials is best suited to smooth drum vibratory rollers.
Such rollers normally vary from static weights of 7.5 tons to 20 tons. Special care must be
taken to ensure that compaction does not degrade the drain material (by grain breakage and/
or segregation) and reduce its permeability (USACE, 1986). Experience has shown that
vibratory rollers in the 7.5 to 10 ton range will efficiently obtain adequate densities unless a
very dense drain material is required. Since it is often as important, if not more important, to
obtain a high degree of permeability rather than a high density, and since compaction
increases the potential for fines to be manufactured, the number of roller passes should be
kept at the minimum required to achieve the required or desired percent compaction or relative
density.
The effectiveness of a smooth drum vibratory roller is also dependent upon the method
of operation. The total applied compactive force delivered by a vibratory roller is a function of
static weight, frequency of vibration, amplitude of vibration and speed of the roller. For
maximum productivity, vibratory rollers are usually operated at the higher frequency and
amplitude settings. Inspectors should be familiar with the specification submittals of the rollers
being used and periodically verify that each roller is being operated in the frequency and
amplitude range that will produce the specified total applied force. Past experience has shown
that on occasion roller operators will turn the frequency and amplitude control to the lower
settings in order to achieve a smoother ride. Poor maintenance has also been a cause of
rollers operating at less than optimum performance.

Quafity Control
Quality control for' construction of sand drains normally consists of visual inspection and
both field and laboratory testing. Laboratory testing consists of testing to determine grain-size
properties of in-place materials and testing to determine a minimum and maximum dry density.
Field testing consists of testing for in-place dry density. Gradation testing for acceptance
should always be performed on in-place compacted samples rather than source samples.
Stockpiles of drain materials should be inspected for signs of segregation that will later show
up and be difficult to correct after the material is placed in the dam.
Normally, relative density is used to control the dry density of the drain/filter material.
This is because the maximum density of clean granular materials (i.e., less than 5% passing
the # 200 sieve size) will be obtained by the vibratory table method of testing (ASTM D 4253).
If relative density is used to control compaction, a minimum density test must also be
performed (ASTM D 4254). The value of in-place dry density is then compared to the results of
the m a x - min laboratory density tests from which the relative density of the in-place sample is
computed and compared to the desired/required value. Because the minimum density test is
time consuming and difficult to perform properly, particularly in a construction environment,
percent compaction, rather than relative density, is sometimes used to measure the
effectiveness of the compaction procedures. Using this procedure, the maximum density is
determined by the vibratory table method (ASTM D 4253). The in-place density is then
compared to the value of maximum density and percent compaction computed for comparison
with the required/desired value.
Not all field testing should be random. Any materials that appear to be questionable for
any reason should be tested to insure compliance with specification requirements, especially
at the beginning of construction when inspectors are not yet intimately familiarwith the
appearance of properly graded, placed and compacted drain materials. Thorough inspection
by qualified personnel is the most valuable component of quality control. Test data provide
more detailed and quantitative information than visual observations and are necessary for as-
built documentation. However, because only a tiny bit of material can be tested, thorough
inspection by qualified personnel should still serve as the primary means of control.
As is the case with all aspects of construction, inspectors should get to know the people
who do the work and explain to them why things like removing contaminated material or
maintaining specified minimum drain width are important. When properly motivated by
knowing the reasons for and importance of the work they are performing, laborers and
equipment operators will usually take more pride in their work resulting in an additional, though
informal, quality control force.

Acknowledgement
The writer wishes to thank the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for readily sharing their
technical expertise and information; Mr. Byron Rathbun, P.E. for his invaluable assistance
based on design and construction of Seven Oaks Dam; and Mr. Chris Groves, P.E for his
review and constructive comments.

References
1. Cedergren, H. R., Seepage, Drainage, and Flow Nets, Third Edition, John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., New York, New York, 1989.

2. Engineer Manual No. 1110-2-1901, Seep aQe Analysis and Contro.I for Dams, Engineering
and Design, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers,
Washington, D. C.

3. American Society for Testing and Materials, A.nnual Book of ASTM Standards, Section
F0ur~. Cons.truction, Volume 04.08, West Conshohocken, PA, 2001