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Pore pressure development in the core of earth dams during simultaneous

construction and impounding

Article  in  Electronic Journal of Geotechnical Engineering · January 2003

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 Pore Pressure Development in the Core
of Earth Dams During Simultaneous
Construction and Impounding

S.M. Mir Mohammad Hosseini

Assoc. Professor, Amirkabir Univ. of Technology

R. Ahmadi Fard
M.Sc. in Soil Mech. & Found. Eng., Amirkabir Univ. of Technology

ABSTRACT
In some large and particular water supply projects, the optimum utilization of the resources and
materials often causes the project in some parts goes under service before construction is completed.
This is usually very common in large dams, to start impounding while the construction of the dam is
in progress. Although this will increase the benefit ratio of the project, and make the faster utilization
of the project possible, which is of great importance, however, the adverse effect of such action on
the safety of the project in some cases should not be neglected.
In large earth dams the pore pressure within the clay core will appear in some stages of filling. After
that stage, it starts developing due to increasing the height of the dam. Usually large pore pressure
will develop within the core, when more than half of the dam height is constructed. Due to
consolidation process, it normally takes a long time the developed pore pressure dissipates. If
impounding the dam parallel to the construction process at this stage is done, the excess build up of
the pore pressure within the core may occur due to the head of the water in the reservoir and seeping
the water in the dam. This in some condition may lead to excess pore pressure in the core, resulting
in hydraulic fracturing of the dam.
In this paper, the influence of the impounding of the earth dams on the pore pressure development
within the core, while the construction is under progress, is presented. A special and home developed
computer software (CA2), has been used to model and analyze the earth dam to determine the pore
pressure developing due to both impounding and constructing the dam at the same time. In order to
calibrate the numerical model, the same geometric and geotechnical characteristics of the Karkheh
large embankment dam, recently constructed in Iran, have been taken into account. Since this dam
was subjected to the same condition (simultaneous construction and impounding), the analytical
results, of the present study have been compared with instrumentation data of the dam, and some
important conclusions have been made accordingly.
Keywords: Impounding, Instrumentation, Pore pressure, Construction, Embankment dam, Clay
core, Seepage, Consolidation.

INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, water supply is one of the most important problems in many societies. The limitation of water resources
in the world has caused to implement different methods to get maximum efficiency from the existing and new
water supply projects. Large dams are usually designed and build to control the surface water for different
purposes, mainly water supply. However, it takes a long time to construct and complete all parts of such dams.
The time may be doubled if some financial and construction problems happen during constructing the project.
If utilization of such project in a short period is applicable, it may be of great help. What has to be taken into
account in this extent are:
 The possibility of utility from part or parts of the project.
 The likely undesirable loading conditions to the project.
The first item can be easily evaluated based on the present level of filling, the induced reservoir volume, the
hydrological system of the upstream region, and the rate of construction operation of the dam. considering these
factors, the impounding can be controlled in a way that always a safe distance between the level of the filling and
reservoir remains. But, the second item needs a special study to be done to investigate the influence of impounding
on the dam behavior while the overburden is continuously increasing due to continuation of the filling of the dam.
In embankment dams the progress of filling, after some stages, will cause induction and development of
considerable pore pressure within the core of the dam. If prior to completing the construction and relative
dissipation of the pore pressure, the impounding starts, the increasing of water level in the reservoir may double
the pore pressure in the core, due to seeping the water within the dam. As a results, it may lead to excess pore
pressure in the core ending to hydraulic fracturing of the dam. In this respect a special study has been carried out
to investigate the effect of simultaneous impounding and construction of an embankment dam, the detail of which
is given in the following sections. Since the same process was applied to Karkheh Embankment Dam, the largest
storage dam recently constructed in the south-western part of Iran, the specification of this dam has been used in
this study. Also the instrumentation records of the Karkheh Dam have been used to verify the results of this study.
In the next section the specifications of the selected embankment dam (Karkheh) are described.

THE GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS OF THE KARKHEH

LARGE EMBANKMENT DAM
The Karkheh is a large multi purposes embankment dam (32 million cubic meters fill) of 3030 m. length and 127
m. height, which has been designed to store some 7800 million cubic meters of water at its maximum capacity.
At the designing stage the upper portion of the core was going to be made of plastic clay, whereas, the lower
portion consists of clay in mixture with sand and gravel (mixed clay). Later, it was decided to construct the
whole core (two portions), from the mixed clay. The clay originates from mudstone layers in the borrow areas.

The shells of the dam consist of sand and gravel taken from alluvial deposits and from necessary excavations of
conglomerates. The outer slopes of the dam are made of 1V:2.25H and 1V:2.5H upstream and downstream shells
respectively. The filters act to protect the core from erosion to drain seepage water and to make a transition
between the core and the shell. The core slopes 1V:0.25H both sides with the exception of the left abutment
where it slopes 1V:0.3H between St. 1+025 and 1+145.
Figure 1. A Typical cross-section of the Karkheh Earth Dam with the ground profile and position of
the installed instruments

A plinth of lean concrete is designed to be placed between the core and foundation. The thickness is varying
between 0.3 and 0.5 m. along the dam length. The function of the plinth is to exclude any erosion of fines from
the core into the voids and joints of the foundation. A cut-off wall plastic concrete has been designed to control
seepage in the foundation. The wall intersects the upper layers of conglomerate and penetrates into the one of the
near horizontal mudstone layers. Exception may be at sections where the bottom of the cut-off wall is stepped to
reach the next lower mudstone.

An inspection gallery is incorporated in the design between St.0+950 and 2+160 (the valley section of the dam).
It is located some 7.5 m. downstream of the cut-off wall and has three accesses, at its ends and St.1+425. The
gallery is dewatered by two pumping stations and via the middle access. It covers the diversion culvert below
this structure. The inner clearance of the gallery is 3 m. in height and 2.2 m. in width. Such dimensions are
sufficient to work inside with drill rigs in case of necessity. A typical cross-section of the Karkheh dam with the
positions of installed instruments and mudstone layers in the dam foundation is shown in figure(1).

THE INSTRUMENTATION OF THE KARKHEH DAM

There are 23 instrumented sections in the Karkheh dam, 14 of which were anticipated at the designing stage. In
an overall review of the instrumentation arrangements of the dam, after first trial impounding, another 9 sections
were added to fill between the gaps and cover the dam important sections. Thus the total instrumented sections
were increased to 23 starting from St 0+300, and ending to St. 2+850. The position of the instrumented sections
along the dam axis is shown in fig No.(2).
Figure 2. The position of the instrumented sections along the dam axis .

The types of different instruments used in the Karkheh dam are as follows:

 Rock Piezometers (RP): for electrical monitoring of the pore pressures in the dam foundation.
 Electrical Piezometers (EP): for electrical monitoring of the pore pressures in the dam body.
 Stand Pipe Piezometers (SP): for manual monitoring of the pore pressures in the dam foundation and
body (often as the double check devices).
 Pressure Cells (PC): for electrical monitoring of the total earth pressures in the dam body.
 Inclinometers (I): for electrical monitoring of the lateral displacements in tow horizontal directions.
 Settlement Recorder Plates: for measuring the vertical displacement of the dam body at different levels.

There are totally some 929 different instruments used in the Karkheh dam, the distributions of which are as
follows:

 Rock Piezometers (RP): 68

 Electrical Piezometers (EP): 191
 Stand Pipe Piezometers (SP): 134
 Pressure Cells (PC): 510
 Inclinometers (I): 26

The distribution of the above instruments in dam different cross-sections are given in Table 1.

Table 1. The Distribution of the Different Instruments Used in Karkheh Dam

Inclinometer Earth pressure Stand-pipe Rock piezo- Electrical

Section
(I) cell (PC) piezometer (SP) meter (RP) piezometer (EP)

Total no. Total no. Total no. Total no. Total no.

1-1 1 20 8 2 6

2-2 1 20 10 7 8

3-3 1 30 11 6 10

4-4 3 75 10 4 21
5-5 4 75 10 5 27

6-6 4 40 11 5 27

7-7 4 65 8 2 25

8-8 3 30 10 4 19

9-9 3 65 11 5 19

10-10 2 30 11 4 15

11-11 0 20 6 0 4

12-12 0 10 4 0 2

13-13 0 20 8 2 6

14-14 0 10 6 2 2

15-15 0 0 2 2 0

16-16 0 0 2 4 0

17-17 0 0 0 4 0

18-18 0 0 0 2 0

19-19 0 0 0 2 0

20-20 0 0 0 2 0

21-21 0 0 0 2 0

22-22 0 0 2 2 0

23-23 0 0 2 0 0

TOTAL 26 510 134 68 191

THE CRITICAL SECTION SELECTED FOR STUDIES

As mentioned before, there are 23 different instrumented sections along the longitudinal axes of the
Karkheh Dam. Considering the height of filling, depth of the river,and number of installed instruments,
the most critical cross section of the dam is sec. 5-5 (st.1+230), at which the settlements and pore
pressure development is maximum comparing with other sections. The section 5-5 with its instruments
and the ground layers in the position of its foundation is shown in figure No.(1).
As can be seen the rock piezometers (RP) for monitoring the behavior of cut-off wall are installed on
both sides of the wall between mudstone layers(-1) and (-2) and also above mudstone (-1). To measure
the pore pressure within the core 10, 6, 4, 5, and 2 vibrating wire piezometers are mounted at levels 107,
135, 165, 185, and 205 (masl) respectively. The total earth pressure at this section are measured in five
directions by means of 8 and 7 cluster load cells, installed at levels 107 and 185(masl) respectively. Four
inclinometers (2 in downstream shell, 1 in the core and 1 in the upstream shell) are mounted for
monitoring the vertical and horizontal displacements of the dam. Finally 5 stand pipe piezometers for
doing double check of the pore pressures have been installed at different positions of the section.

EVALUATION OF MEASURED PORE PRESSURES

IN THE SELECTED SECTION
The pore pressures developed within the core in section 5-5 at the lowest level (107), at different filling
stage are plotted in figures 3 to 5 according to the records of the piezometers installed in the downstream
, central, and upstream zones of the core respectively.
As can be seen from the figures, pore pressures in all three zones of the core increase as the height of
the core increases. This increment in the central zone of the core is quite large and considerable
comparing with that in the other two sides of the clay core. The other point has to be mentioned here is
the evident changes in piezometric level of the upstream piezometers proportional with the reservoir
changes after starting the impounding (ie; the filling level of 202). Whereas the pore pressure in the
central zone of the core and to some extent in the downstream zone of the core, do not show this kind
of changes and keep increasing with the same rate before impounding as the level of filling increases.
This means that the impounding has not yet affected the half down of the core and the pore pressure
changes in this part, specially center of the core, is only due to increasing the height of the core as the
construction of the dam is in progress. This fact is more evident in figure
6, in which the changes of the pore pressure within the selected section have been plotted at three
different stages of construction. In this figure the variation of the pore pressure at the core lowest level
(107 masl) are plotted once before impounding (filling level of 187) and twice after impounding (filling
levels of 207 and 217). As can be seen, the upstream side of the core has been affected by the impounding
while the downstream side has not been affected remarkably.

Figure 3. Pore pressure variations in section 5-5 at Elev.107

for different filling levels in the downstream.
Figure 4. Pore pressure variations in section 5-5 at Elev.107
for different filling levels in the central zone.

Figure 5. Pore pressure variations in section 5-5 at Elev.107

for different filling levels in the upstream.
Figure 6. Pore pressure variations in section 5-5 at Elev.107
for different filling levels within the core.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SELECTED SECTION

To investigate the pore pressure changes within the core of the selected section due to parallel
construction and impounding, the computer package of CA2 (Continuum Analysis 2Dimensional) has
been used for numerical analysis. The CA2 is a home developed finite difference package capable of
modeling the elasto-plastic behavior of the geotechnical structures. It can also be used to do the effective
stress analysis and model the unsteady state seepage within the porous media.
A grid of 101x55 has been used as the finite element mesh for the selected section. The number of
selected layers was 13 from the foundation level. The thickness of each layer was 10 meters, which has
been divided into 4 series of mesh in 2.5 meters thickness. Since the aim of the current study is to model
the impounding of an embankment dam while it is under construction, the analysis has to be done in a
way that a new and certain level of water in the reservoir has to be taken into account for each filling
level. According to the figure no. (7), which shows the construction stages of the Karkheh Dam, it has
taken about 100 days to build a layer of 10meters thickness. Therefore, the average field rate of filling
can be considered equal to 10 centimeters per each day. In order to apply the consolidation process in
the numerical analyses, instead of giving 10 days time for 10 meters layer to be built gradually, it has
been postulated that this layer has been built at once under the full overburden in 50 days. Hence in the
layer analyses, after constructing each layer, it has been mechanically analyzed to get the pore pressures
due to overburden of filling, and then for a period of 50 days, it has been analyzed for both consolidation
and mechanical effects simultaneously.
The results of the numerical analyses have been plotted in figures 8 to 11. The development of the pore
pressure within the cross-section of the dam (5-5) at the lowest level (107), have been calculated and
shown in these figures in different conditions. While in figure 8 and 9 the development of pore pressures
merely due to construction are illustrated, in figure 10 and 11, the pore pressure developments due to
both construction and impoundment have been plotted and compared separately. It is quite evident that
impounding the dam while it is under construction will cause the symmetrical variation of the pore
pressures within the core due to overburden pressure of the fillings changes to unsymmetrical shape. It
can be seen that the simultaneous impoundment of the dam will cause the pore pressure increases in the
upstream zone of the core, while in the central and downstream zones the pore pressures remains
unchanged. The more the height of filling increases, the more increase in the pore pressure happens in
upstream zone of the core in this condition.
Figure 7. The Dam filling progress with time (1375 until 1380).
Note. The date format is dd/mm/yy and in Iranian calendar 1375 is Roman 1996 and 1380 is
Roman 2000
Also note how the century digits (in this case 1300) are also omitted.

COMPARISON BETWEEN ANALYTICAL RESULTS

AND FIELD DATA
The results of the measured pore pressures within the core in the selected section at two different
construction stages together with the analytical results are plotted in figures 12 and 13. In figure 12 the
pore pressure variation are presented when the filling elevation of the dam is about 187 (masl). At this
stage the dam has not been impounded, and the plotted field and analytical data are those developed
only due to overburden of the filling. Whereas, in figure 13 the data belong to the stage at which the
filling elevation has reached to 217(masl) and the dam has been impounded. For this reason the
analytical data are calculated and plotted in this figure for both with and without impounding in this
condition.
As can be seen from the figures, the overall trend of the field data and analytical results are the same,
although some differences between the exact values are evident. This may be attributed to the limitations
of the used package in changing the elasticity modulus and the coefficient of permeability of the soil
layers due to increasing the height of dam filling. The other point has to be mentioned is the greater
analytical pore pressure developed in upstream side of the core (including the impounding of the dam),
compared with those measured by the Piezometers. This may be due to filter effect in connection with
unsteady state of the seepage in the first impounding, which takes a long time to be changed to steady
state seepage, and it will affect the pore pressure in this zone remarkably.
Figure 8. Pore pressure variations in sec.5-5 at Elev.107
when filling reached to Elev.157.

Figure 9. Pore pressure variations in sec.5-5 at Elev.107

when filling reached to Elev.187.
Figure 10. Pore pressure variations in sec.5-5 at Elev.107
when filling reached to Elev.207.

Figure 11. Pore pressure variations in sec.5-5 at Elev.107

when filling reached to Elev.227.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The construction stages of large embankment dams usually takes a long time to be completed.
However, impounding the dam while the construction is in progress may be an effective way
to shorten this period towards getting some advantages of the project before ending the dam
construction. The effect of impounding on pore pressure build up in the core besides the
considerable amount of the pore pressure usually develop during construction due to
overburden of the filling may be of great concern for this decision making. In this paper the
pore pressure development in the most critical cross-section of an embankment dam due to
simultaneous impounding and construction of the dam has been studied and investigated.

A home-developed computer package (CA2) has been used to analyze the dam, as well as the
field data collected from the largest embankment dam (Karkheh) recently built in
southwestern region of Iran. According to the obtained results, the simultaneous impounding
and construction does not have any effect on the pore pressure developed at the central zone
of the core due to overburden, and it will only increase the pore pressure in the upstream side
of the core, where the pore pressure is always small due to influence of the transition filter
zone. The amount of increment is not such a value to cause any problem for the core and is
always less than the piezometric level in the dam reservoir.

Figure 12. Pore pressure variations in sec.5-5 at Elev.107

when filling reached to Elev.187.

Figure 13. Pore pressure variations in sec.5-5 at Elev.107

when filling reached to Elev.217.

REFERENCES
1. Mirghasemi, A.A., Tarkeshdooz, N., & Dadgostania, S. “Pore pressure monitoring within foundation and
impervious zone of Karkheh Dam during construction”, Proc. of 20th Int. Conf. on Large Dams, ICOLD,
Volume 3, PP.259-274, Sept.2000, Beijing-China
 2. Institute of water conservancy & hydraulic power research., “Static and dynamic property of sandy gravel
and mudstone material for Karkheh project”, Technical report, Earthquake Dept.,. August 1994, Beijing-
China.
3. IIEES of Iran ,“Results of cyclic triaxial and resonant column tests on core material and mudstone of
Karkheh Dam”, Technical report, Oct.1995, Tehran-Iran.
4. The Housing & Building research center of Iran (HBRC) ,“Performing Dynamic tests on the soil materials
of Karkheh Dam”, Final report, Oct. 1996, Tehran-Iran.
5. Mahab Ghods Consulting Eng ,“Evaluation of instrumentation records of the dam body and foundation
of Karkheh (after impounding), June 2000, Tehran-Iran.
6. Mahab Ghods Consulting Eng. ,“The report of instrumentation performance of Karkheh Dam during
years of 1998 to 2001, Technical report, Oct.2001, Tehran-Iran.
7. Mir Mohammad Hosseini, S.M., & Tarkeshdooz, N.,”A Comparison between predicted and instrumented
deformations of Karkheh Embankment Dam”, Proc. of 20th Int. Conf. on Large Dams, ICOLD, Volume
3, PP.275-288, Sept.2000, China-China.
8. Niroomand, H.,” The evaluation of Karkheh behavior during construction according to instrumentation
records”, MSc. thesis submitted in the Technical Faculty of Tehran University, Jan.2000.
9. Ahmadifard, R.,” Pore pressure evaluation during simultaneous construction and impounding of earth
dam and estimation of critical impounding rate”, MSc. thesis submitted in the Department of Civil
Engineering , Amirkabir University of Technology , Jan.2002.

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