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Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
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Investigation for the key technologies of ultra-high asphalt concrete

core rockfill dams
Jun Gao, Faning Dang ⇑, Zongyuan Ma
School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Xi’an University of Technology, No. 5 South Jinhua Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710048, PR China
State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region, Xi’an University of Technology, No. 5 South Jinhua Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710048,
PR China

Received 10 January 2019; received in revised form 25 May 2019; accepted 31 July 2019
Available online 11 October 2019

Abstract

The mechanical characteristics of ultra-high asphalt concrete core rockfill dams (UACCRDs) at different periods is investigated via
Rankine’s earth pressure theory, and a shear safety control standard for UACCRDs is proposed. The reasonable material parameters of
the asphalt concrete core (ACC) and transition material that independently and comprehensively satisfy the shear safety control standard
are back-calculated. The engineering measures that reduce the stress level (shear stress) of the ACC are given. Moreover, the engineering
measures (straight asphalt concrete core rockfill dams (SACCRDs) are designed as curved asphalt concrete core rockfill dams
(CACCRDs)) that reduce the tensile stress of the ACC are proposed. Based on the theory of the straight beam and curved beam on
Winkler elastic foundation, the simplified mechanical models of straight asphalt concrete core (SACC) and curved asphalt concrete core
(CACC) are established. The improvement effect of CACC that reduces tensile stress is also investigated. The results show that the fol-
lowing value ranges of the internal friction angle, cohesion of ACC and the internal friction angle of transition material for the suitable
construction of UACCRDs are recommended: ua
30.5°, Ca
0.25 MPa and ut  43.5° (h = 200 m), with the growth gradient adjusted
by 0.5%, 1.5% and 0.5%/25 m. The stress level of ACC can be obviously reduced by increasing the internal friction angle and cohesion
of ACC, and reducing the internal friction angle of transition material. The simplified mechanical models of SACC and CACC can esti-
mate the force and deformation characteristic of the ACC (SACC and CACC) well. The CACC can significantly reduce tensile stress to a
level approximately 42.8% lower than that of SACC.
Ó 2019 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.

Keywords: Asphalt concrete core rockfill dams; Rankine’s earth pressure theory; Stress level; Straight asphalt concrete core; Curved asphalt concrete core;
Beam on Winkler elastic foundation

1. Introduction However, ACCRDs are more adaptable to natural envi-

The two most common core rockfill dams, asphalt con-
crete core rockfill dams (ACCRDs) and soil core rockfill
dams (SCRDs) have a very wide range of applicability.
Peer review under responsibility of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.
⇑ Corresponding author at: School of Civil Engineering and Architec-
ture, Xi’an University of Technology, No. 5 South Jinhua Road, Xi’an,
Shaanxi 710048, PR China.
E-mail address: dangfn@mail.xaut.edu.cn (F. Dang).
ronments than SCRDs. The former has become a very
competitive type of dam (Wang and Höeg, 2009) owing
to its numerous advantages, including good seepage resis-
tance, earthquake resistance, low cost, durability, and abil-
ity to adapt to deformation. Since the world’s first
compacted asphalt concrete core rockfill dam was built in
Germany in 1962, there has been great interest in the con-
struction of such dams around the world. Among the more
than 200 ACCRDs which have been built since then
(Hydropower and Dams, 2015) are the Finstertal Dam in

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2019.07.013
0038-0806/Ó 2019 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.
 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
Austria, the Storlomvatn Dam in Norway, and the Maop-
ingxi and Yele Dams in China. Typically, the support
structures of ACCRDs are rockfill materials: the particle
breakage characteristics of rockfill materials have been
investigated by Ciantia et al., 2018; Xiao et al., 2019; Yu,
2017; Xiao and Liu, 2017; and Yu, 2017. The anti-
seepage structure of ACCRDs is an asphalt concrete core
(ACC), which has good water-tightness, crack resistance,
self-healing, viscoelastic-plastic property, and strong anti-
hydraulic fracturing ability (Feng et al., 1987; Lee and
Kim, 1998; Shields et al., 1998; Feizi-Khankandi et al.,
2008; Akhtarpour and Khodaii, 2013; Rahmani et al.,
2013; Zhang et al., 2013; Kongkitkul et al., 2014; Zhang
et al., 2015; Wang and Höeg, 2016; Seo et al., 2017). The
International Commission on Large Dams (1992), Höeg
(1993), and Wang (2008) summarized the knowledge of
ACCRDs in terms of design, construction and perfor-
mance. With the depth of research and the accumulation
of damming experience (Valstad et al., 1991; Saxegaard,
2002; Mahinroosta and Mahabadi, 2002; Zhu et ai.,
2004; Baziar et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2010; Wang and
Höeg, 2010; Feizi-Khankandi et al., 2011) for ACCRDs,
the capability that builds such dams whose dam heights
are more than 150 m has been reached, and an example
includes the Quxue dam (Wang et al., 2017) built in China
in 2017 (the dam height is 174.2 m and the core height is
132 m), which is the highest asphalt concrete core rockfill
dam in the world. China has made an important contribu-
tion to the development of ACCRDs. With the deepening
of China’s western development strategy and the promo-
tion of Belt and Road (B&R) strategy, an unprecedented
opportunity is coming for the construction of ultra-high
asphalt concrete core rockfill dams (UACCRDs). How-
ever, China’s current design codes are only applicable to
the ACCRDs with dam heights less than 150 m. There is
no practical experience for the construction of UACCRDs
at home or abroad. Furthermore, there is no suitable
design code for reference. Therefore, there are important
theoretical values and engineering application prospects
in the investigation of the key technologies of UACCRDs.
The shear stress and tensile stress of the ACC deter-
mined by the engineering and structure properties of
ACCRDs increase significantly with dam height. If the
shear stress of the ACC exceeds its shear strength, the
ACC will experience shear failure. If the tensile stress of
ACC exceeds its tensile strength, the ACC will experience
tensile failure. These situations are very dangerous for
ACCRDs. Therefore, the design and construction of
UACCRDs mainly face the following key technical prob-
lems: (I) how to reduce the high shear stress of the ACC;
(II) how to reduce the high tensile stress of the ACC. Thus,
the engineering measures that reduce the high stress level
(shear stress) and high tensile stress of ACC are investi-
gated for UACCRDs. The purpose of this paper is to pro-
vide a reference for the construction of UACCRDs in the
future.
1741
2. Mechanical characteristics of UACCRDs
2.1. Strength theory and safety control standard of ACC
2.1.1. Strength theory of ACC
Although the literature (Feng et al., 1987) indicates that
the strength of asphalt concrete materials has a nonlinear-
ity behavior, asphalt concrete materials are dispersive
materials with obvious particle-like characteristics compar-
ing with other homogeneous or hydrogel knot materials.
Its strength is mainly due to the cohesion generated by
asphalt and the internal friction produced by aggregates.
Therefore, Mohr-Coulomb strength theory can still be suc-
cessfully applied to asphalt concrete materials, and it is
considered that asphalt concrete materials obey the follow-
ing relationship:
s ¼ C þ r  tanu ð1Þ
where, C is the cohesion and u is the internal friction angle.
To determine the C and u values, it is necessary to com-
bine Mohr-Coulomb strength theory and test method. A
conventional triaxial test is adopted for cylindrical speci-
mens. The confining pressure is applied while the axial
pressure is gradually increased until the specimen is
destroyed. Then, the strength envelope of Mohr stress cir-
cle is drawn. The intercept between the strength envelope
and longitudinal axis is the cohesion C, and the dip angle
is the internal friction angle u, as shown in Fig. 1. The
Mohr-Coulomb strength theory takes C and u values as
material strength indices, and the expression is given by:
r1  r3 ¼ ðr1 þ r3 Þsinu þ 2Ccosu ð2Þ
where, r1 is the major principal stress and r3 is the minor
principal stress.
2.1.2. Safety control standard of ACC
The various forces of the ACC act on the inner unit. A
comparison of the thickness of upstream and downstream
rockfill materials indicates the thickness of the ACC is very
thin, which can been regarded as the thickness of unit. The
stress of ACC is equivalent to the surface of unit. More-
over, the stress state of the ACC can be obtained, as shown
in Fig. 2.
Fig. 1. Strength envelope of asphalt concrete triaxial test.
1742 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757

2.2.1. Stress level of ACC at completion period

At the completion period (or construction period) of
ACCRDs, the ACC and dam shell materials are syn-
chronously rolled. The dam shell materials are symmetri-
cally distributed along the axis of the ACC, as shown in
Fig. 3. The confining pressure on both sides of the ACC
loaded by upstream and downstream rockfill materials
approximately satisfies the concept of Rankine’s at-rest
earth pressure (the wall is the non-placement, the wall back
is vertical and smooth, and the filler surface is horizontal).
Therefore, the confining pressure on both sides of the ACC
is the Rankine’s at-rest earth pressure, as shown in Fig. 4.
The self-weight stress of the ACC is the major principal
stress r1:
Fig. 2. Mechanical diagram of ACC.
r1 ¼ c a h ð4Þ

The ACC is the only anti-seepage barrier of ACCRDs, where, ca is the bulk density of the ACC, kN/cm3. h is the
which directly determines the safety of ACCRDs. At pre- dam height. The at-rest earth pressure on both sides of the
sent, the most popular method that judges the safety of ACC loaded by upstream and downstream transition mate-
the ACC is the stress level S (the ratio of current shear rials is the minor principal stress r3:
stress to failure shear stress): r3 ¼ K 0 ct h ð5Þ
ðr1  r3 Þ
S¼ ð3Þ where, K0 = 1-sinu’t is the coefficient of at-rest earth pres-
ð r1  r 3 Þ f sure, u’t is the effective internal friction angle of transition
where, (r1  r3)f is the failure shear stress. material, and ct is the bulk density of transition material,
The reciprocal of stress level S is the safety factor (Chen,
2010). Although it is different from the safety factors calcu-
lated by other methods, they are very close. If the stress
level of ACC is less than 1.0, the ACC is considered to
be safe. If the stress level of the ACC is more than 1.0,
the core is considered to be damaged. The stress level S
is taken as the criterion that judges the safety of the
ACC. The strength characteristics of the ACC can be fully
utilized.
Fig. 3. Topical profile of ACC.
2.2. Mechanical characteristics of UACCRDs

The periods of ACCRDs are divided into completion

(construction) period and operation period. The stress state
of the ACC at different periods is analyzed, and the stress
level of the ACC with different dam heights is analyzed
to judge the mechanical characteristics of UACCRDs.
The reference parameters of dam shell materials are from
the Maopingxi asphalt concrete core rockfill dam, as
shown in Table 1. Fig. 4. Mechanical diagram of ACC (completion period).

Table 1
Parameters of dam body materials[20].
Materials K n Rf G F D u/° C/KPa q(g/cm3) E/MPa
Rockfill material 1545 0.37 0.90 0.36 0.20 0.11 43 85 2.05 50
Asphalt concrete core 342 0.25 0.56 0.39 0.03 29.09 30 225 2.40 35
Transition material 1395 0.57 0.86 0.35 0.24 0.14 44.5 22 2.23 –
 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
kN/cm3. The assumption that r1f is equal to r1 is given.
According to Mohr-Coulomb ultimate equilibrium condi-
tion, r3f is obtained:

 u
 u
r3f ¼ r1f tan2 45  a  2C a tan 45  a ð6Þ
2 2
where, Ca is the cohesion of the ACC and ua is the internal
friction angle of ACC. Substituting Eqs. (4)–(6) and
r1f = r1 into Eq. (3), the stress level on both sides of the
ACC can be obtained as follows:
ca h  K 0 ct h
S¼       
ca h  ca htan 45  u2a  2C a tan 45  u2a
2
Eq. (7) shows that the shear stress of the ACC is far
smaller than the failure shear stress, when h < 100 m. Num-
bers of facts have proved that such projects are safe. There-
fore, based on the Rankine’s at-rest earth pressure theory,
the stress levels on both sides of the ACC with h
100 m
are investigated at the completion period.
Fig. 5 shows that the stress level on both sides of the
ACC gradually increases with dam height. When
h = 100 m, the stress level on both sides of the ACC is
0.93 (the safety factor is 1.08). The safety of the ACC has
been verified by the successful operation of Maopingxi
asphalt concrete core rockfill dam. When h = 250 m, the
stress level on both sides of ACC is 1.02 (the safety factor
is 0.98), which exceeds the ultimate stress level 1.0 of the
ACC. The upstream and downstream surfaces of the
ACC experience shear failure. Considering the force safety
of the ACC at completion, the construction of UACCRSs
needs to adjust the material parameters of the ACC and the
transition material.
2.2.2. Stress level of ACC at operation period
(1) Stress level on the upstream surface of ACC.
At the operation period of ACCRDs, the ACC gener-
ates an active displacement (deflection deformation) and
deviates from the upstream transition material. The earth
Fig. 5. Relationship between the stress level on both sides of ACC and
dam height (completion period).
1743
pressure on the upstream surface of the ACC loaded by
the upstream transition material approximately agrees with
the definition of Rankine’s active earth pressure (the wall
back is vertical and smooth; the filler surface is horizontal;
and the wall has an active displacement). The confining
pressures on the upstream surface of the ACC are active
earth pressure and hydrostatic pressure, as shown in
Fig. 6. In this process, the stress state on the upstream sur-
face of the ACC is that r1f is equal to r1 and r3f is same
with that of the completion period. The sum of active earth
pressure and hydrostatic pressure is smaller than the self-
ð7Þ weight stress. Thus, the minor principal stress r3 is replaced
with active earth pressure and hydrostatic pressure.
r3 ¼ K a ½ct ho þ c0 t ðh  h0 Þ þ cw ðh  h0 Þ ð8Þ
where, Ka = tan2(45°-ut/2) is the coefficient of active earth
pressure. c0 t is the buoyant bulk density of transition mate-
rial. cw is the bulk density of water and h0 is the height from
reservoir water level to dam crest. Substituting Eqs. (4), (6),
(8) and r1f = r1 into Eq. (3), the stress level on the
upstream surface of the ACC can be obtained:
c a h  K a ½ c t h0 þ c 0 t ð h  h0 Þ   c w ð h  h0 Þ
S¼        ð9Þ
ca h  ca htan2 45  u2a  2C a tan 45  u2a
Similarly, based on the Rankine’s active earth pressure
theory, the stress levels on the upstream surface of the
ACC with h
100 m are investigated at the operation
period.
Fig. 7 shows that the stress level on the upstream surface
of the ACC gradually increases with dam height. When
h = 100 m, the stress level on the upstream surface of the
ACC is 0.65 (the safety factor is 1.54). When h = 250 m,
the stress level on the upstream surface of the ACC is
0.70 (the safety factor is 1.43). Compared with
h = 100 m, the stress level on the upstream surface of the
ACC increases by 7.7%, but the stress level maximum on
the upstream surface of ACC is still very small (the safety
factor is very large). Thus, the upstream surface of the
ACC is safe at the operation period for UACCRDs.
The stress level on the upstream surface of the ACC at
the operation period is smaller than that of the completion
period. The main reason is that the hydrostatic pressure on
the upstream surface of the ACC increases, while the minor
principal stress increases under the condition that the large
major principal stress remains unchanged.
Fig. 6. Mechanical diagram of ACC (operation period).
1744 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
Fig. 7. Relationship between the stress level on the upstream surface of
ACC and dam height (operation period).
(2) Stress level on the downstream surface of the ACC.
At the operation period of ACCRDs, the ACC gener-
ates a passive displacement (deflection deformation) and
squeezes the downstream transition material. The earth
pressure on the downstream surface of the ACC loaded
by the downstream transition material approximately
agrees with the definition of Rankine’s passive earth pres-
sure (the wall back is vertical and smooth, the filler surface
is horizontal, and the wall has a passive displacement). The
confining pressure on the downstream surface of the ACC
is passive earth pressure, as shown in Fig. 6. In this process,
the stress state on the downstream surface of the ACC can
be divided into three stages. In the first stage (initial oper-
ation period), the reservoir water level is relatively low (the
deflection deformation of the ACC is relatively small), and
the passive earth pressure (loaded by downstream transi-
tion material) on the downstream surface of the ACC is less
than the self-weight stress, i.e., the self-weight stress is the
major principal stress r1 and the passive earth pressure is
the minor principal stress r3. In the second stage, when
the reservoir water level gradually rises to a critical value
(the deflection deformation of the ACC gradually rises to
a critical value), the passive earth pressure increases to
the self-weight stress, i.e., the major principal stress r1
and minor principal stress r3 are equal. In the third stage,
when the reservoir water level is higher than the critical
value (the deflection deformation of the ACC is larger than
the critical value), the passive earth pressure is larger than
the self-weight stress, i.e., the passive earth pressure is the
major principal stress r1 and the self-weight stress is the
minor principal stress r3 (the axis of major and minor prin-
cipal stress rotates, and the transformation process is
shown in Fig. 8). The transformation conditions of earth
pressure in the first, second, and third stage are as follows:
According to elastic theory, we get:
 
rx l ry þ rz
ex ¼  ð10Þ
E E
Fig. 8. Transformation process of the major and minor principal stress on
the downstream surface of ACC (operation period).
when the ACC has an active displacement or passive dis-
placement (ex – 0, rx = r y), the earth pressure that acts
on the ACC is as follows:
ex E þ lrz
rx ¼ ð11Þ
1l
where, lrz/(1  l) is the at-rest earth pressure. When
ex < 0, exE/(1  l) is the active earth press caused by the
decrease of active displacement (deflection deformation).
When ex > 0, exE/(1  l) is the passive earth press caused
by the increase of passive displacement (deflection
deformation).
When the passive displacement on the downstream sur-
face of the ACC increases, the earth pressure behind ACC
(passive earth pressure) increases. When the passive dis-
placement reaches a threshold, the passive earth pressure
behind ACC increases to be equal to the self-weight stress.
At this time, the rx, ry, and rz are equal. Substituting them
into Eq. (11), the critical state that the earth pressure
behind the ACC is transformed from less than the self-
weight stress to greater than the self-weight stress is
obtained. The critical strain is as follows:
ð1  2lÞrz ð1  2lÞct h
excr ¼ ¼ ð12Þ
E E
That is, the soil (transition material) behind the ACC is
in the active earth pressure state when ex < 0. The soil
behind ACC is in the at-rest earth pressure state when
ex = 0. The soil behind the ACC is in the passive earth pres-
sure state when 0 < ex < excr, and the passive earth pressure
is less than the self-weight stress. The soil behind the ACC
is in the passive earth pressure state when ex = excr, and the
passive earth pressure is equal to the self-weight stress, i.e.,
it is the hydrostatic pressure state or the critical state that
the earth pressure is transformed from less than the self-
weight stress to greater than the self-weight stress. The soil
behind the ACC is in the passive earth pressure state when
ex > excr, and the passive earth pressure is greater than the
self-weight stress, i.e., the axis of major and minor principal
stress rotates. This manuscript only gives the stress state of
the ACC at the last state, i.e., the self-weight stress of the
ACC becomes the minor principal stress r3:
r3 ¼ ca h ð13Þ
 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
Assuming r3f = r3, then according to Mohr-Coulomb
ultimate equilibrium condition, r1f is obtained:

 u
 u
r1f ¼ r3f tan2 45 þ a þ 2C a tan 45 þ a ð14Þ
2 2
Given that the porosity of the ACC is less than 3% and
its permeability coefficient is less than 108cm/s, it can be
considered that the ACC is impervious. The downstream
transition material is in a natural state, and the passive
earth pressure on the downstream surface of the ACC
loaded by the downstream transition material is the major
principal stress r1:
r1 ¼ K p ct h ð15Þ
where, Kp = tan2(45° + ut/2) is the coefficient of passive
earth pressure. Substituting Eqs. (13)–(15) into Eq. (3),
the stress level on the downstream surface of the ACC
can be obtained:
K p ct h  ca h
S¼      ð16Þ
ca htan 45 þ
2
þ 2C a tan 45 þ u2a  ca h
ua
2 the ACC with h = 150 m. The self-weight stress of the
Based on the Rankine’s passive earth pressure theory,
the stress levels on the downstream surface of the ACC
with h
100 m are investigated at the operation period.
Fig. 9 is the relationship Ⅰ between the stress level on the
downstream surface of the ACC and dam height before
improvement (operation period), which is obtained by the
Rankine’s passive earth pressure theory. It is known that
the stress level on the downstream surface of the ACC
increases with dam height (the safety factor decreases with
dam height). When h = 100 m, the stress level on the down-
stream surface of ACC is 1.84 (the safety factor is 0.54).
The ACC experiences shear failure, which obviously does
not agree with the actual situation (the work of Maopingxi
asphalt concrete core rockfill dam with h = 104 m is accept-
able). The reason is that the actual earth pressure on the
downstream surface of the ACC loaded by the downstream
transition material is far less than the passive earth pres-
Fig. 9. Relationship Ⅰ between the stress level on the downstream surface
of ACC and dam height before improvement (operation period).
1745
sure, which should be more than the at-rest earth pressure
and be less than the passive earth pressure. That is, the cal-
culation method that calculates the stress level on the
downstream surface of the ACC is unreasonable. Thus,
an improved method is required.
(3) Improved method for stress level on the downstream
surface of the ACC.
The highest asphalt concrete core rockfill dam is the
Quxue asphalt concrete core rockfill dam in China (the
dam height is 174.2 m and the core height is 132 m) and
the current design codes of ACCRDs are only applicable
to the ACCRDs with h  150 m. Thus, it is assumed that
an ACC with h = 150 m is safe, i.e., the stress level on
the downstream surface of ACC is less than or equal to
1.0 (there is no exemplification that the stress level of the
ACC is equal to 1.0). Therefore, the relatively reasonable
coefficient of passive earth pressure is deduced from the
ultimate stress level S = 1.0 on the downstream surface of
ACC is still the minor principal stress r3 = cah. It is
assumed that r3f = r3 and r1f = r3ftan2 (45° ＋ ua/2)＋
2Catan(45° ＋ ua/2), but the major principal stress r1 on
the downstream surface of the ACC loaded by the down-
stream transition material becomes:
r1 ¼ K r ct h ð17Þ
where, Kr = aKp is the corrected coefficient of passive earth
pressure and a is the corrected coefficient. The stress level
on the downstream surface of the ACC becomes:
K r ct h  ca h
S¼       ð18Þ
ca htan2 45 þ u2a þ 2C a tan 45 þ u2a  ca h
Substituting Eq. (18) into S = 1.0, the corrected coeffi-
cient of passive earth pressure Kr = 3.46 is obtained and
a is 0.61 (it is assumed that a is a constant). The corrected
coefficient of passive earth pressure Kr = aKp is a function
of dam height, i.e., the corrected coefficient a is a function
of dam height. The loads on the upstream surface of the
ACC, the deflection deformation of the ACC, and the pas-
sive earth pressure on the downstream surface of the ACC
loaded by the downstream transition material increase with
dam height. The downstream transition material is closer
to its ultimate equilibrium state, i.e., the actual coefficient
of passive earth pressure is closer to the coefficient of pas-
sive earth pressure Kp (the larger the corrected coefficient
a). However, the function is difficult to obtain. Therefore,
the corrected coefficient a is treated as a constant in order
to simplify the solution process of this manuscript.
Although there are some errors with the actual values at
different dam heights, the corrected coefficient of passive
earth pressure Kr = aKp is more reasonable than the coeffi-
cient of passive earth pressure Kp. Based on the corrected
coefficient of passive earth pressure Kr, the stress levels
on the downstream surface of the ACC for the ACCRDs
with h
100 m are investigated at operation period.
1746 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
Fig. 10 is the relationship Ⅱ between the stress level on
the downstream surface of the ACC and dam height after
improvement (operation period), which is obtained by the
improved Rankine’s passive earth pressure theory. It is
known that the stress level on the downstream surface of
the ACC increases with dam height. However, they are
obviously smaller than the values calculated by the Rank-
ine’s passive earth pressure theory, which can more accu-
rately represent the stress level on the downstream
surface of ACC at the operation period. When h > 150 m,
the stress level on the downstream surface of the ACC is
greater than 1.0 (the safety factor is smaller than 1.0).
The core experiences shear failure. Therefore, the material
parameters of the ACC and transition material must be
adjusted to ensure the safety of the ACC for the construc-
tion of UACCRDs.
2.3. Reasonable value ranges of dam material parameters
With the rapid development of ACCRDs, the dam
height must continue to increase. However, there is no
engineering experience for the construction of UACCRDs.
The ‘‘Design code of asphalt concrete facings and cores for
embankment dams” DL/T5411-2009 is only applicable to
the ACCRDs with h  150 m. Therefore, based on the cur-
2
rent design codes for ACCRDs, the possibility of building
UACCRDs is investigated via the adjustment of dam mate-
rial parameters.
2.3.1. Determining the shear safety control standard of
UACCRDs
The stress level on both sides of ACC at the completion
period (based on the Rankine’s at-rest earth pressure the-
ory) and the stress level on the upstream surface of the
ACC at the operation period (based on the Rankine’s
active earth pressure theory) are both smaller than the
stress level on the downstream surface of the ACC at the
operation period (based on the improved Rankine’s passive
earth pressure theory). Therefore, the ultimate stress level
Fig. 10. Relationship Ⅱ between the stress level on the downstream face of
ACC and dam height after improvement (operation period).
Sh = 150m = 1.0 on the downstream surface of the ACC at
the operation period is taken as the shear safety control
standard of UACCRDs. Based on this, the reasonable
ranges of dam material parameters that satisfies the shear
safety control standard are back-calculated for
UACCRDs.
2.3.2. Reasonable value ranges of ACC material parameters
The value ranges of the internal friction angle and cohe-
sion of ACC that satisfy the shear safety control standard
are determined for UACCRDs.
(1) Reasonable value range of the internal friction angle
of the ACC.
Firstly, it is assumed that other material parameters are
unchanged and only the internal friction angle of the ACC
is changed. The stress level of the ACC satisfies:
S h 6 S h¼150m ðh > 150mÞ ð19Þ
Substituting Eq. (18) into Eq. (19) and simplifying, the
value range of the internal friction angle of the ACC based
on the improved Rankine’s passive earth pressure theory
can be obtained:
2sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 3
C K c h  c h C
ua P 2arctan4 5  90
a r a
þ t a
þ1
ca h ca hS h¼150m ca h
ð20Þ
Substituting the reference parameters of dam shell mate-
rials into Eq. (20), the value range of the internal friction
angle of the ACC that satisfies the shear safety control
standard (Sh=150m = 1.0) is determined.
The area above the curve shown in Fig. 11 represents the
safe value range of the internal friction angle of the ACC,
when other material parameters are unchanged. The inter-
nal friction angle of the ACC that satisfies the shear safety
control standard is back-calculated via the improved
Rankine’s passive earth pressure theory and increases with
Fig. 11. Relationship between the internal friction angle of ACC and dam
height.
 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
dam height. The internal friction angle minimum of the
ACC that satisfies the shear safety control standard is
30.0°  ua  30.68°, when 150 m  h  250 m. The value
range of the internal friction angle of the ACC that satisfies
the shear safety control standard is ua
30.68°, when
h = 250 m.
(2) Reasonable value range of the cohesion of the ACC.
Similarly, only the cohesion of the ACC changes and
other material parameters are unchanged. Substituting
Eq. (18) into Eq. (19) and simplifying, the value range of
the cohesion of the ACC based on the improved Rankine’s
passive earth pressure theory can be obtained:
   friction angle of transition material is given in the following
K r ct hca h
þ ca h  ca htan2 45 þ u2a
Ca P
S h¼150m
   ð21Þ
2tan 45 þ u2a
Substituting the reference parameters of dam shell mate-
rials into Eq. (21), the value range of the cohesion of the
ACC that satisfies the shear safety control standard
(Sh=150m = 1.0) is determined.
The area above the curve shown in Fig. 12 represents the
safe value range of the cohesion of the ACC, when other
material parameters are unchanged. The cohesion of the
ACC that satisfies the shear safety control standard is
back-calculated via the improved Rankine’s passive earth
pressure theory and increases with dam height. The
cohesion minimum of core that satisfies the shear safety
control standard is 0.23 MPa  Ca  0.38 MPa, when
150 m  h  250 m. The value range of the cohesion of
ACC that satisfies the shear safety control standard is
Ca
0.38 MPa, when h = 250 m.
The increase of the internal friction angle and cohesion
of the ACC can both reduce its stress level, i.e., the increase
of the internal friction angle or cohesion of the ACC can
reduce the cohesion or internal friction angle maximum
of the ACC that satisfies the shear safety control standard.
Therefore, the contribution of the internal friction angle
Fig. 12. Relationship between the cohesion of ACC and dam height.
1747
and cohesion of ACC that reduces its stress level should
be fully utilized.
2.3.3. Reasonable value ranges of transition material
parameters
In ACCRDs, the ACC is thinner than dam shell materi-
als (transition material and rockfill material). The deflec-
tion deformation and stress of the ACC are controlled by
dam shell materials. In Eq. (18), the physical and mechan-
ical parameters of transition material that affects the stress
level of the ACC include the bulk density and internal fric-
tion angle of transition material. The bulk density of tran-
sition material is controlled by the density of transition
material after rolling. The selection method for the internal
section. It is assumed that other material parameters are
unchanged and only the internal friction angle of transition
material is changed. Substituting Eq. (18) into Eq. (19) and
simplifying, the value range of the internal friction angle of
transition material based on the improved Rankine’s pas-
sive earth pressure theory can be obtained:
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
h
 u
ca
ut 6 2arctan þ S h¼150m ca htan2 45 þ a
act 2

 u i o 
þ2C a tan 45 þ a  ca h =act h  90 ð22Þ
2
Substituting the reference parameters of dam shell mate-
rials into Eq. (22), the value range of the internal friction
angle of transition material that satisfies the shear safety
control standard (Sh=150m = 1.0) is determined.
The area below the curve shown in Fig. 13 represents the
safe value range of the internal friction angle of transition
material, when other material parameters are unchanged.
The internal friction angle of transition material that satis-
fies the shear safety control standard is back-calculated via
the improved Rankine’s passive earth pressure theory and
decreases with dam height. The internal fiction angle max-
imum of transition material that satisfies the shear safety
control standard is 44.50°
ut
43.95°, when
150 m  h  250 m. The value range of the internal friction
angle of transition material that satisfies the shear safety
control standard is ut  43.95°, when h = 250 m.
2.3.4. Comprehensive analysis of dam material parameters
The value ranges of the internal friction angle and cohe-
sion of the ACC and the internal friction angle of transi-
tion material that independently satisfies the shear safety
control standard are given in the above section. However,
they are not conveniently applied to actual engineering.
The contribution of the internal friction angle and cohesion
of the ACC and the internal friction angle of transition
material that reduces the stress level of the ACC is compre-
hensively considered. The value ranges of the internal fric-
tion angle and cohesion of the ACC and the internal
friction angle of transition material that comprehensively
satisfy the shear safety control standard are given.
1748 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757

)
t (m
gh
hei
m
Da

Fig. 13. Relationship between the internal friction angle of transition

material and dam height.

Fig. 14a represents the three-dimensional curved surface

diagram of the internal friction angle, cohesion of the
ACC, and the internal friction angle of transition material
and dam height. The area above the curved face shown in
Fig. 14a represents the safe value range of the internal fric-
tion angle and cohesion of the ACC, when the internal fric-
tion angle of transition material is unchanged. Fig. 14b and
Fig. 14c are two special cases of Fig. 14a.
The area above the curve shown in Fig. 14b represents
the safe value range of the internal friction angle and cohe-
sion of ACC at different dam heights, when ut = 44.5°. The
internal friction angle and cohesion of the ACC that satisfy
the shear safety control standard increase with dam height.
The internal friction angle of the ACC that satisfies the
shear safety control standard decreases with the cohesion
of the ACC, when the dam height is unchanged.
The area above the curve shown in Fig. 14c represents
the safe value range of the internal friction angle and cohe-
sion of ACC at different internal friction angles of transi-
tion material, when h = 200 m. The internal friction angle
and cohesion of the ACC that satisfy the shear safety con-
trol standard increase with the internal friction angle of
transition material.
The data of Maopingxi asphalt concrete core rockfill
dam is referred. The internal friction angle of the ACC
ua is [28.4°, 36.2°] and the cohesion of the ACC Ca is
[0.16 MPa, 0.39 MPa] with the triaxial test under different
mix formulas of the ACC. The internal friction angle of
transition material ut is [39°, 44.5°]. Therefore, the material
parameters of ACC and transition material that satisfy the Fig. 14. Reasonable value ranges of dam material parameters that satisfy
the shear safety control standard.
shear safety control standard can be realized in actual
engineering. The reasonable value ranges of the material
parameters of the ACC and transition material for the ACC is 0.67 at the operation period, and the stress level on
suitable construction of UACCRDs: ua
30.5°, the downstream surface of the ACC is 0.94 at the operation
Ca
0.25 MPa and ut  43.5° (h = 200 m) are recom- period under the most disadvantageous material parame-
mended. Furthermore, those growth gradients need to be ters of the ACC and transition material, when h = 150 m.
adjusted by 0.5%, 1.5% and 0.5%/25 m, respectively. The stress level on both sides of ACC is 0.97 at the comple-
The stress level on both sides of ACC is 0.95 at the comple- tion period, the stress level on the upstream surface of the
tion period, the stress level on the upstream surface of the ACC is 0.68 at the operation period, and the stress level on
 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
the downstream surface of the ACC is 0.89 at the operation
period under the most disadvantageous material parame-
ters of ACC and transition material, when h = 250 m.
The values are smaller than the ultimate stress level
S = 1.0 of ACC.
In summary, if only the force safety of the ACC is con-
sidered, the recommended value ranges of dam material
parameters are completely feasible for the construction of
UACCRDs.
2.4. Engineering measures that reduce the stress level of the
ACC
According to the above section, it is known that the
increase of the internal friction angle and cohesion of the
ACC and the decrease of the internal friction angle of tran-
sition material can effectively reduce the stress level of the
ACC. Therefore, the engineering measures that increase
the internal friction angle and the cohesion of the ACC
and decrease the internal friction angle of transition mate-
rial are proposed.
2.4.1. Engineering measures that increase the internal
friction angle and cohesion of the ACC
The factors that affect the internal friction angle and
cohesion of the ACC mainly include asphalt content, min-
eral aggregate, mineral powder content, construction envi-
ronment, construction technology and so on. If the asphalt
content is too high or the mineral powder content is too
low, the redundant asphalt will generate a lubrication effect
and reduce the internal friction angle of the ACC. At the
same time, the excessive asphalt content will cause aggre-
gates to become isolated from each other, thus weakening
the cohesion of the ACC. The low content of asphalt or
high content of mineral powder can increase the internal
friction angle of ACC. However, the cohesion of the
ACC may be very low, because the surface of aggregates
cannot form cement pellicle. Therefore, it is necessary to
strictly control the asphalt content (near the optimal con-
tent), so that the ACC not only has a sufficiently large
internal friction angle, but also has a sufficiently large
cohesion.
In addition to asphalt content, the mineral aggregates
have a great influence on the internal friction angle and
cohesion of the ACC. The aggregates with good gradation,
small breakage value, obvious angularity and irregularity
can form a good interlocking effect among particles after
rolling. In addition, the bond between asphalt and aggre-
gate originates from the chemical adsorption between
them. In addition, the alkaline aggregates and active ingre-
dients in asphalt can generate good chemical adsorption
reactions. Therefore, the artificial alkaline aggregates with
good particle gradation, small breakage value, obvious
angularity and irregularity, can effectively increase the
internal friction angle and cohesion of the ACC.
Moreover, the construction environment temperature
and construction technology (rolling parameters) also have
1749
a great impact on the internal friction angle and cohesion
of ACC. If the environment temperature is too high, the
ACC will become soft, and its internal friction angle and
cohesion will become smaller, making compaction difficult.
If the environment temperature is too low, the ACC will
become crisp, and its strength will be reduced, and rolling
cracks will therefore form easily. Therefore, the ACC
should only be constructed under a suitable construction
environment temperature. In addition, the longer the roll-
ing time and the bigger the rolling weight, the denser the
asphalt and aggregate, the better the occlusion among
aggregates and the larger the internal friction angle and
cohesion of the ACC. Therefore, the rolling time should
be extended and the rolling weight should be increased at
the construction period.
2.4.2. Engineering measures that decrease the internal
friction angle of transition material
In addition to the increase of the bulk density of transi-
tion material, the factors that affect the internal friction
angle of transition material mainly include their particle
gradation, particle size and smooth level of the particles’
surface. The natural transition material with good particle
gradation, small particle size, round and smooth surface of
particle reduces the internal friction angle of transition
material.
3. Simplified mechanical analysis method for the tensile
characteristics of UACCRDs
3.1. Mechanism of straight asphalt concrete core that
generates tensile stress and presentation of curved asphalt
concrete core that reduces tensile stress
3.1.1. Mechanism of straight asphalt concrete core that
generates tensile stress
ACCRDs are different from concrete face rockfill dams
(Li and Yang, 2012) and clay core rockfill dams (Li et al.,
2004). The ACC is an anti-seepage barrier and cannot be
divided into deformation joints. The modulus of the
ACC is large and its thickness is small. Moreover, the
width of river valley is a fixed value. Therefore, the ACC
inevitably generates deflection deformation under horizon-
tal loads (active earth pressure and hydrostaic pressure) at
the operation period. The result of the deflection deforma-
tion of the ACC is that its axis is stretched, i.e., the ACC
generates tensile stress. The greater the deflection deforma-
tion of the ACC, the larger the tensile stress of the ACC,
and the greater the probability of the ACC that experiences
tensile failure. This danger this poses in the case of
ACCRDs cannot be overstated. Therefore, it is extremely
important to propose the much-needed engineering mea-
sures that reduce the high tensile stress of the ACC for
UACCRDs. Traditional ACCRDs fall into the category
of straight asphalt concrete core rockfill dams (SACCRDs)
in the following section. The mechanical diagram of
straight asphalt concrete core (SACC) is shown in Fig. 15.
1750 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
Fig. 15. Mechanical diagram of SACC (before and after operation
period).
3.1.2. Presentation of curved asphalt concrete core that
reduces tensile stress
Considering the probability that the SACC may experi-
ence tensile failure, engineering measures (SACCRDs are
designed as curved asphalt concrete core rockfill dams
(CACCRDs)) that reduce the tensile stress of SACC are
proposed by the special transmission mechanism of arch
structures. CACCRDs can be divided into two types:
straight dams with a curved asphalt concrete core (the
ACC is arched towards upstream, and the surface of rock-
fill material is still a plane) and curved dams with a curved
asphalt concrete core (the ACC and rockfill material are
both arched towards upstream, and the surfaces of the
ACC and rockfill material are curved faces with same cur-
vature). The design intention of the cured asphalt concrete
core (CACC) is to reduce tensile stress at the operation
period.
A mechanical diagram of a CACC is shown in Fig. 16.
The CACC also generates deflection deformation at the
operation period. The result of the deflection deformation
of theCACC is that its axis is compressed, i.e., the CACC
generates compressive deformation along its axis, which
Fig. 16. Mechanical diagram of CACC (before and after operation
period).
can partially counteract tensile stress. Moreover, the
CACC reduces the effect of axial tension loads via partially
transforming horizontal loads (active earth pressure and
water pressure) into axial compressive loads. This is the
original intention that designs SACC into CACC.
3.2. Simplified mechanical models of SACC and CACC
The ACC is thinner than dam shell materials (transition
material and rockfill material). The deflection deformation
of the ACC is controlled by the downstream rockfill mate-
rial. In addition, the reaction force of the ACC loaded by
the downstream rockfill material is proportional to the
deflection deformation of the ACC. Taking the micro-
element height of ACCRDs along the vertical direction,
it is assumed that the thickness of dam shell materials on
the downstream surface of the ACC is unchanged. It is
considered that the ACC satisfies the basic assumption of
the beam on Winkler elastic foundation. Therefore, the
ACC can be simplified as the beam on Winkler elastic
foundation.
3.2.1. Simplified mechanical model of the SACC
Considering the large width of river valley in hydraulic
engineering (according to the theory of the beam on Win-
kler elastic foundation, if kl
p, the beam belongs to the
long beam on Winkler elastic foundation, where k=
(Kb/4EI)1/4 is the flexibility eigenvalue of beam, and l is
the length of beam. Otherwise, it belongs to the short beam
on Winkler elastic foundation), the ACC for the middle
and upper region of U-shaped or V-shaped river valley
can be simplified as the long straight beam with clamped-
end on Winkler elastic foundation. The model of the
straight beam with clamped-end on Winkler elastic founda-
tion is shown in Fig. 17.
The pure bending deflection differential equation of
straight beam is:
d 2 wðxÞ
EI ¼ M ðxÞ ð23Þ
dx2
where, w(x) is the deflection deformation of straight beam.
E is the elastic modulus of straight beam. I is the section
inertia moment of straight beam and M(x) is the bending
moment of straight beam. According to the condition of
static equilibrium and deformation compatibility, the
deflection differential equation (Hetenyi, 1946) of straight
beam is obtained as follows:
Fig. 17. Model of straight beam on Winkler elastic foundation.
 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757 1751

d 4 wðxÞ foundation is shown in Fig. 18. The positive and negative

EI þ KbwðxÞ ¼ bqðxÞ ð24Þ internal forces are defined as: the bending moment M that
dx4
causes the concave surface of curved beam subject to ten-
where, K is the coefficient of subgrade reaction (the modu-
sile force is positive, the axial force N that causes the
lus of foundation). b is the width of straight beam. Kw(x) is
curved beam to be subject to tensile force is positive, and
the reaction force of foundation and q(x) are horizontal
the shear force Q that causes the micro-segment of curved
loads. Let k4 = Kb/4EI, where k is the flexibility character-
beam to rotate clockwise is positive.
istic value of beam. Its reciprocal 1/k is the characteristic
Considering the influence of bending moment M(u) and
length of the beam. Substituting the flexibility characteris-
axial force N(u) on radial displacement w(u), the relation-
tic value k of beam into Eq. (24), this equation can be
ship between radial displacement w(u) and bending
rewritten as:
moment M(u) and axial force N(u) can be obtained (Cai
d 4 wðxÞ bqðxÞ and Cai, 2004):
þ 4k4 wðxÞ ¼ ð25Þ
dx4 EI

d 2 xðuÞ M ðuÞr2 N ðuÞr

Let q(x) = 0. The general solution of fourth-order þ xðuÞ ¼  þ ð31Þ
du2 EI EA
homogeneous differential equation is then given as:
w0 ðxÞ ¼ ekx ðF 1 coskx þ F 2 sinkxÞ þ ekx ðF 3 coskx þ F 4 sinkxÞ Any micro-segment of curved beam is taken. According
to the condition of static equilibrium and omitting its high-
ð26Þ
order trace, we obtain:
where, F1 ~ F4 are the integration constants. The general
solution of deflection differential equation is equal to the M ðuÞ  N ðuÞr ¼ C 0 ð32Þ
sum of the general solution of homogeneous differential
equation w0(x) and the special solution of non- where, C0 is a constant, which means that M(u)  N(u)r is
homogeneous differential equation w*(x): same at any section of curved beam.
The basic differential equation of curved beam is:
wðxÞ ¼ ekx ðF 1 coskx þ F 2 sinkxÞ
d 4 wðuÞ d 2 wðuÞ
þ ekx ðF 3 coskx þ F 4 sinkxÞ þ w ðxÞ ð27Þ þ 2 þ m2 wðuÞ
du4 du2
The relationship between rotation angle h(x), bending 2

r2 r r4
moment M(x), shear force Q(x) and deflection deformation ¼  C0 þ þ qð u Þ ð33Þ
EI EA EI
w(x): h(x) = w0 (x), M(x) = -EIw‘‘(x) and Q(x) = -EIw0 ”(x).
We get:
hðxÞ ¼ kekx ½F 1 ðcoskx  sinkxÞ þ F 2 ðcoskxþsinkxÞ q(φ)
0
 kekx ½ðF 3 ðcoskx þ sinkxÞF 4 ðcoskx  sinkxÞ þ w ðxÞ
ð28Þ

ed
mp

M ðxÞ ¼ EI 2k2 ekx ðF 1 sinkx  F 2 coskxÞ Cla
00  Kw(φ)
 2k2 ekx ðF 3 sinkx  F 4 coskxÞ  w ðxÞ ð29Þ

QðxÞ ¼ EI 2k3 ekx ½F 1 ðcoskx þ sinkxÞ  F 2 ðcoskxsinkxÞ
000
 2k3 ekx ½F 3 ðcoskx  sinkxÞþF 4 ðcoskx þ sinkxÞ  w ðxÞ φ φ
ð30Þ
2φ
Substituting w0(x) into the boundary condition (w
(x = 0) = 0, h(x = 0) = 0, w(x = l) = 0 and h(x = l) = 0)
of straight beam, the integration constants F1 ~ F4 are o
obtained. Then substituting them into Eq. (27), the deflec-
tion deformation w(x) of straight beam with clamped-end (a) Geometric shape
on Winkler elastic foundation is solved. Then, the rotation
angle h(x), bending moment M(x) and shear force Q(x) of M M+dM
straight beam with clamped-end on Winkler elastic founda- N N+dN
tion can be obtained. Q Q+dQ

3.2.2. Simplified mechanical model of CACC

Similarly, the CACC is simplified as the curved beam (b) Force of micro-segment
with clamped-end on Winkler elastic foundation. The Fig. 18. Calculation diagram of curved beam on Winkler elastic
model of curved beam with clamped-end on Winkler elastic foundation.
1752 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757

where, m2 = 1 + Kr2/EA + Kr4/EI and K is the coefficient Kr3

hðuÞ ¼ ½ðaw2 þ bw3 ÞC 1 þ ðaw1 þ bw4 aÞC 2
of subgrade reaction, E is the elastic modulus of curved 2abmEI
beam, A is the sectional area of curved beam, I is the sec-
þ ðaw4 þ bw1  bÞC 3 þ ðaw3 þbw2 ÞC 4 
tion inertia moment of curved beam, and r is the curvature

radius of curved beam. r Kr2

 2 1þ C0u
Taking q(u) as a constant q0, the special solution of m EI EA
the basic differential equation of the curved beam is as 2

EAr r r4
follows: þ 2 þ qu
m ðEI þ EAr2 Þ EA EI 0
2

r2 q r r4 ð41Þ
w  ðuÞ ¼  2 ðM 0  N 0 rÞ þ 02 þ ð34Þ
m EI m EA EI
According to the relationship (u(u) = dw(u)/du-rh(u))
M(u)  N(u)r = C0 at any section of curved beam is a between radial displacement w(u), rotation angle h(x)
constant, the general solution of the basic differential equa- and tangential displacement u(u), the tangential displace-
tion of the curved beam is obtained by introducing hyper- ment u(u) is given by:
bolic functions: uðuÞ ¼ ðb1 w2 þ a1 w3 ÞC 1
2
r
wðuÞ ¼ w1 C 1 þ w2 C 2 þ w3 C 3 þ w4 C 4  2 C 0 þ ðb1 w1 þ a1 w4 þ b  b1 ÞC 2
m EI
2
þ ða1 w1  b1 w4 þ a  a1 ÞC 3
q r r4

þ 02 þ ð35Þ r2 Kr2
m EA EI þ ða1 w2 þ b1 w3 ÞC 4 þ 2 1þ C0u
m EI EI
2

where, w1 = chaucosbu, w2 = chausinbu, w3 = EAr2 r r4

shaucosbu, w4 = shausinbu, a = [(m  1)/2]1/2, b =  2 þ qu ð42Þ
m ðEI þ EAr2 Þ EA EI 0
[(m + 1)/2]1/2, and C1–C4 are the integration constants.
According to Eqs. (31) and (32), we obtain: where, a1 = a-Kr4/2amEI and b1 = b-Kr4/2bmEI.
  According to the symmetry of the curved beam on Win-
1 d 2 wðuÞ C0 kler elastic foundation (Yang, 1964) (i.e., w(u) = w(-u) and
M ðuÞ ¼ 1 þ wðuÞ  ð36Þ
EA
þ EI
r2 du2 EA N(u) = N(-u)), the integral constants C2 = C3 = 0 are
  obtained. Therefore, there are still three unknown integra-
1 d 2 wðuÞ r2 C 0 tion constants C0, C1 and C4, which can be determined by
N ðu Þ ¼ r þ wðuÞ þ ð37Þ
EA
þ EI
r3 du2 EI the boundary conditions (w(u0) = 0, h(u0) = 0) and
assumed boundary condition (Q(u0) = [Iq(u0)u0m2Kr3/2-
Substituting the second derivative of radial displacement abmEI]/A[Kr3/2abmEI  b(1 + Kr2/EA)u0/r]r) of curved
w(u) into Eqs. (36) and (37), the bending moment M(u) beam. Then, the radial displacement w(u), tangential dis-
and axial force N(u) can be obtained as follows: placement u(u), rotation angle h(x), bending moment M
(u), axial force N(u) and shear force Q(u) of the curved
Kr2 beam with a clamped-end on the Winkler elastic founda-
M ðuÞ ¼  ðw4 C 1 þ w3 C 2  w2 C 3 þw1 C 4 Þ
2ab tion are obtained.

1 Kr2 q r2 It is necessary to determine the coefficient of subgrade

þ 2 1þ C0  0 2 ð38Þ reaction K and horizontal loads q(x) or q(u) when the force
m EA m
and deformation of ACC are solved by the simplified
Kr
N ðu Þ ¼  ðw4 C 1 þ w3 C 2  w2 C 3 þ w1 C 4 Þ mechanical models of the SACC and CACC established
2ab in the above section. The coefficient of subgrade reaction
Kr3 qr K can be determined by many methods. The classical
 C 0  02 ð39Þ
2
m EI m Terzaghi method (Terzaghi, 1955) is recommended. In this
approach, the coefficient of subgrade reaction K for rockfill
According to Q(u) = dM(u)/rdu, the shear force Q(u) material is as follows:
is:  2
B þ 0:305
Kr K ¼ K 30  ð43Þ
QðuÞ ¼  ½ðaw2  bw3 ÞC 1 þ ðaw1  bw4 ÞC 2 2B
2ab
þ ðaw4  bw1 ÞC 3 þ ðaw3  bw2 ÞC 4  ð40Þ where, K30 is the standard coefficient of subgrade reaction
for a square load plate with a width of 0.305 m. Its value is
According to the relationship (h(u) = dw(u)/rdu) approximately equal to the elastic modulus Er of down-
between radial displacement w(u) and rotation angle h stream rockfill material. B is the width of load plate. It is
(x), the rotation angle h(x) is obtained as follows: not difficult to discover that the coefficient of subgrade
 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757 1753

reaction K is not less than 0.25 times the elastic modulus Er

of downstream rockfill material, which is taken as approx-
imately 0.25 times the elastic modulus Er of the down-
stream rockfill material. The trapezoidal shape of
downstream rockfill material suggests that the distribution
of the coefficient of subgrade reaction K is trapezoidal from
dam base to dam crest:

2
B þ 0:305
K ¼ aK 30  ð44Þ
2B
where a = dh/D is the distribution coefficient. dh is the thick-
ness of downstream rockfill material at h and D is the thick-
Fig. 19. Schematic diagram of SACC.
ness of downstream rockfill material at the dam base. The
thickness of downstream rockfill material for SACCRDs
and curved dams with a curved asphalt concrete core is
the same: they are both slightly smaller than that of straight
dams with a curved asphalt concrete core. Thus, it is reason-
able to assume that that the coefficient of the subgrade reac-
tion for SACCRDs and curved dams with a curved asphalt
concrete core is also the same. In addition, the coefficient of
subgrade reaction for straight dams with a curved asphalt
concrete core is appropriately enlarged.
The horizontal loads q(x) or q(u) are made up of the
active earth pressure of upstream transition material and
hydrostatic pressure.
 
qðxÞ ¼ K a cr h0 þ c0r ðh  h0 Þ þ cw ðh  h0 Þ ð45Þ
where, Ka = tan2(45°  ur/2) is the coefficient of active
earth pressure. ut is the internal friction angle of transition
material. c0 t is the buoyant bulk density of transition mate- Fig. 20. Distribution of the deflection deformation of SACC along dam
rial and cw is the bulk density of water. axis coordinate.

Fig. 20 represents the distribution of the deflection

3.3. Tensile characteristics of the SACC and improvement
effect of the CACC
Based on the simplified mechanical models of the SACC
and CACC established in the above section, the influence
of dam height on the deflection deformation and tensile
stress of the SACC is analyzed. In addition, the effect of
the CACC, which reduces tensile stress, is investigated.
3.3.1. Tensile characteristics of the SACC
It is assumed that the upstream and downstream slope
ratios of SACCRDs are 1:2.2 and 1:2 respectively. The left
and right bank slope ratios of river valley are 1:1 and 2:1.
The width of dam crest is 10 m, and the thickness of the
SACC is 1.5 m. The influence of dam height (the values
of dam height are 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225 and 250 m
and the corresponding lengths of dam axis are 250, 287.5,
325, 362.5, 400, 437.5 and 475 m, as shown in Fig. 19) on
the deflection deformation and bending moment that cause
the tensile stress of the SACC is investigated. A 3 m high
SACC at 0.1 times dam height from dam crest is taken
as the object of research. The reference material parameters
of the SACC and other dam materials are shown in
Table 1.
deformation of the SACC along the dam axis coordinate
at the operation period, which shows that the SACC gener-
ates deflection deformation under the action of horizontal
loads. The result of the deflection deformation of the
SACC is that its axis is stretched. Due to the restriction
on both sides of river valley and the smaller modulus of
the SACC, the change rate of deflection deformation at
the end of the SACC is large and the change rate of deflec-
tion deformation at the middle of the SACC is very small.
That is, the deflection deformation of the SACC along the
dam axis coordinate increases initially, then remains basi-
cally unchanged, and finally decreases. When the dam
heights are 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225 and 250 m, the
deflection deformation extrema of SACC are 6.47, 8.60,
10.72, 12.85, 15.01, 17.11 and 19.23 cm, respectively. The
deflection deformation of the SACC increases linearly with
dam height (horizontal loads).
Fig. 21 represents the distribution of the bending
moment of the SACC along the dam axis coordinate at
the operation period, which shows that the bending
moment of SACC increases linearly with dam height.
When the dam heights are 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225
and 250 m, the bending moment extrema of SACC are
0.65, 0.87, 1.01, 1.30, 1.51, 1.73 and 1.94
1754 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
Fig. 21. Distribution of the bending moment of SACC along dam axis
coordinate.
MNm/m, respectively. According to the relationship
(rt = Mmax/W, where W = bd2/6 is the bending section
coefficient of the SACC) between tensile stress and bending
moment, the tensile stress extrema of SACC are 0.58, 0.77,
0.90, 1.16, 1.34, 1.54 and 1.72 MPa, respectively. These val-
ues are extremely large, especially for UACCRDs. Thus,
the problem of the high tensile stress of SACC must be
addressed for UACCRDs.
Fig. 22 represents the distribution of the bending
moment of the SACC along the dam height when
h = 200 m and Er = 50 MPa. It is shown that the bending
moment extrema of the SACC are 5.08, 4.47, 3.73,
2.82 and-1.51 MN m/m at 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 times
the dam height (the tensile stress extrema of the SACC are
4.52, 3.97, 3.32, 2.51 and 1.34 MPa, respectively), which
means that the bending moment (tensile stress) of the
SACC gradually decreases from dam base to dam crest.
In conclusion, the simplified mechanical model of SACC
can represent the force and deformation characteristics of
the SACC well. The tensile stress of the SACC increases
gradually with dam height, i.e., the possibility of the SACC
that experiences tensile failure increases gradually with
Fig. 22. Distribution of the bending moment of SACC along dam height.
dam height, resulting in significant danger for SACCRDs.
Thus, it is very necessary to reduce the tensile stress of the
SACC for UACCRDs (ultra-high SACCRDs).
3.3.2. Improvement effect of theCACC
With the aim of reducing the high tensile stress of the
SACC for UACCRDs (ultra-high SACCRDs), the
improvement effect for curved dams with a curved asphalt
concrete core (h = 200 m) is investigated with different
CACC curvatures via the simplified mechanical model of
the CACC. Straight dams with a curved asphalt concrete
core are similar to curved dams with a curved asphalt con-
crete core. Only the coefficient of subgrade reaction K is
appropriately enlarged. The river valley characteristics
and dam slope are consistent with those for SACCRDs.
The material parameters of the CACC and dam shell mate-
rials are shown in Table 1. The deflection deformation,
bending moment (tensile stress) and axial force of the
CACC are mainly analyzed in the following section. Simi-
larly, a 3 m high CACC at 0.1 times dam height h from
dam crest is taken as the object of research.
Fig. 23 represents the distribution of the deflection
deformation of the CACC with different CACC curvatures
along the dam axis coordinate at the operation period. The
deflection deformation of the CACC decreases with CACC
curvature. When the CACC curvatures are 1.15 103
and 4.52 103, the deflection deformation extrema of
the CACC are 15.0 and 14.98 cm, which are 1% less than
those of SACC. The reason is that the horizontal loads
(active earth pressure and hydrostatic pressure) on the
upstream face of the CACC or SACC and the modulus
of downstream rockfill material (the coefficient of subgrade
reaction) are unchangeable. Different from the SACC, the
design of the CACC is arched towards upstream. Thus,
the result of the deflection deformation of the CACC is
that its axis is compressed. The deflection deformation of
the CACC is smaller and smoother than that of the SACC,
so the force of the CACC will be more reasonable.
Fig. 23. Distribution of the deflection of CACC along dam axis
coordinate.
 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757 1755

Fig. 24 represents the distribution of the bending

moment of the CACC with different CACC curvatures
along the dam axis coordinate at the operation period.
The bending moment (tensile stress) decreases with CACC
curvature. When the CACC curvatures are 1.15 103
and 4.52 103, the bending moment extrema of the
CACC are 0.88 and 0.87 MN m/m. The tensile stress
extrema of the CACC are 0.78 and 0.77 MPa, which are
about 42.4% lower than those of SACC. The risk of CACC
that experiences tensile failure is effectively reduced. Fur-
thermore, the rationality of the SACC as a CACC design
is verified. The CACC can significantly reduce tensile
stress, which can be largely attributed to the special trans-
mission mechanism of the arch structures, i.e., the partial
or all horizontal loads (active earth pressure and hydro-
static pressure) can be transformed into axial compressive Fig. 25. Distribution of the bending moment of CACC along dam height
loads. This is the fundamental reason for the lowert bend- (k = 3.63 103).
ing moment (tensile stress) of the CACC than that of the
SACC. This is the first advantage of the CACC.
Fig. 25 represents the distribution of the bending
moment of the CACC along the dam height when
k = 3.63 103. It is shown that the bending moment
extrema of the CACC are 2.94,-2.58, 2.15, 1.63 and
0.875 MNm/m at 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 times dam
height (the tensile stress extrema of CACC are 2.61, 2.29,
1.91, 1.45 and 0.775 MPa, respectively), which are obvious
smaller than those for the SACC.
Fig. 26 represents the distribution of the axial force of
the CACC with different CACC curvatures along the
dam axis coordinate at the operation period. The axial
force of the CACC increases with CACC curvature. When
the CACC curvatures are 1.15 103 and 4.52 103, the
axial force extrema of the CACC are 26.73 and 104.66
kN/m. The CACC plays an active role in the arch effect by Fig. 26. Distribution of the axial force of CACC along dam axis
partially transforming horizontal loads (active earth pres- coordinate.
sure and hydrostatic pressure) into axial compressive loads.
It can also reduce tensile stress. This is the second advan- of the CACC well. The CACC reduces tensile stress via the
tage of the CACC. compression of the axis, the decrease in the bending
In conclusion, the simplified mechanical model of the moment, and the increase in the axial compressive force.
CACC represents the force and deformation characteristics This fully reflects the great advantages of the CACC.
Therefore, it is suggested that CACCRDs should be
adopted for ultra-high SACCRDs, especially for the condi-
tion that the tensile stress of the ACC approaches or
exceeds its tensile strength.

4. Conclusions

(1) The stress level of the ACC is calculated via Rank-

ine’s earth pressure theory, which increases with
dam height. In addition to the stress level on the
upstream surface of the ACC at the operation period,
the stress levels on both sides of the ACC at the com-
pletion period and the stress level on the downstream
face of the ACC at the operation period are both
greater than the ultimate stress level. Thus, it is essen-
Fig. 24. Distribution of the bending moment of CACC along dam axis tial that engineering measures are adopted to reduce
coordinate. the high stress level of the ACC for UACCRDs.
1756 J. Gao et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 1740–1757
(2) The internal friction angle and cohesion of the ACC
that satisfy the shear safety control standard increase
with dam height. The internal friction angle of transi-
tion material deceases with dam height. The follow-
ing value ranges of the internal friction angle,
cohesion of the ACC and the internal friction angle
of transition material for the suitable construction
of UACCRDs are recommended: ua
30.5°,
Ca
0.25 MPa and ut  43.5° (h = 200 m), with the
growth gradient adjusted by 0.5%, 1.5% and 0.5%
/ 25 m, respectively. The engineering measures that
increase the internal friction and cohesion of the
ACC and decrease the internal friction angle of tran-
sition material are proposed to reduce the stress level
of the ACC.
(3) The mechanism that the ACC generates tensile stress
is analyzed for traditional ACCRDs (SACCRDs) at
the operation period. The engineering measures that
designs SACCRDs as CACCRDs is proposed by
the special transmission mechanism of arch struc-
tures. Based on the theory of the straight beam and
curved beam on Winkler elastic foundation, the sim-
plified mechanical models of the SACC and CACC
are established, and these adequately represent the
force and deformation characteristics of both the
SACC and the CACC.
(4) The tensile stress of the SACC and the probability of
the SACC that experiences tensile failure increase sig-
nificantly with dam height. The CACC reduces tensile
stress via the compression of axis, the decrease in the
bending moment, and an increase in the axial com-
pressive force. This shows the great advantages of
the CACC. The tensile stress of the CACC is signifi-
cantly reduced to about 42.8% lower than that of the
SACC. Therefore, CACCRDs are recommended for
the condition that the tensile stress of the ACC
approaches or exceeds its tensile strength.
Acknowledgements
The research was supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51979225,
51679199), the Special Funds for Public Industry Research
Projects of the Ministry of Water Resources (Grant No.
201501034-04), the Key Laboratory for Science and Tech-
nology Co-ordination & Innovation Projects of Shaanxi
Province (Grant No. 2014SZS15-Z01), the Natural Science
Projects of the Education Department of Shaanxi Pro-
vince, China (Grant No. 17JK0573).
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