EMBANKMENT DAMS

Embankment Dams: Introduction

• Made mainly from natural materials.
• The common types are:
1. Earthen dams
2. Rockfill dams
3. Combined earthen and rockfill dams
• Earthen dams are made up mainly from dumped
and compacted earth.
• The materials are usually excavated or quarried
from nearby sites, preferably within the
reservoir basin.
 Earthen dams
• Constructed from locally available earthwork in
trapezoidal section.
• Most common types of dam due to following reasons
 Use of local soil makes the dam economical
 Recent development of science of soil mechanics
has increased the reliability of the designs.
 No specific type of foundation required; can be
build on foundation of mediocre quality.
 High standard skill is not required.
 Classification of earthen dams

1. Based on the method of construction

• Rolled earth dams
• Hydraulic fill dam
2. Based on the section of dam
• Homogeneous earth dam
• Zoned earth dams
• Diaphragm type earth dams
 Rolled fill earth dams
• The materials(sand, clay, gravel) is transported from
borrow pits to the dam site by trucks or scrapers and
spread within dam sections by bulldozers.
• Sheep foot roller is mostly used for compaction.
Others used are pneumatic rollers, plain rollers and
vibrators.
• Successive layers(15-45cm) of moistened earth are
laid one after the other.
• Each layer is added only after the layer of earth
previously laid is mechanically compacted at optimum
moisture content to adequate strength.
• Previous layer is cleaned for any foreign materials and
surface is made rough for the proper bonding of the
laid layers.
 Hydraulic Fill Dams
• Materials are deposited in place by a flowing stream of
water, with the deposition being selective.
• Slurry is prepared at the bottom pit{1(soil):7(water) to
1:10} and are transported to the sited through pipes and
flumes.
• Outer edges of the embankments are maintained slightly
higher than the middle part of the dam.
• The slurry is spread in layers through the perforated pipes
located at the outside edge of the dam.
• The coarse material of the mixture will settle at the edges
while finer material settles at the center.
• No compaction is required in this method.
• The process is continued till the dam of required
height is constructed.
• The finer material is deposited in the central part
of dam which consists mostly of clay and thus
provides imperviousness to the dam
 Homogenous Earth Dam
• Made from single uniform and homogeneous material.
• Suitable for low height dams(<10m).
• Usually constructed with soil and grit mixed in proper
ratios.
• The seepage action of such dams are not favorable,
therefore, for safety in case of rapid drawdown, the
upstream slope is kept relatively flat(3:1).
• Homogeneous section is modified by constructing rock
toe at the downstream lower end or by providing
horizontal filter drain. This helps to control seepage and
thus allows to build relatively steep slopes.
 Zoned earth dams
• Made by using more than one material.
• Central part of the dam, known as core (or
hearting) is made from impervious material.
• Upstream and downstream casing (or outlet shell)
covering the core.
• The dam may consist of a rock toe, a system of
horizontal drains and inclined filters to carry out
proper drainage of the seeping water from the
drain.
• If variety of soil is available at construction site,
the dam should always be zoned type.
Diaphragm type earth dams
• It has a thin impervious core surrounded by earth
or rockfill.
• The impervious diaphragm may be made of
impervious clayey soil, cement concrete, masonry
or of any other impervious material.
• Diaphragm can be located at the center of dam or
on the upstream face of the dam.
• The difference in the zoned and diaphragm type
dam is the thickness of core only.
• If the thickness of core is less than 10m or less
than the height of dam above that level, the dam is
known as diaphragm dam.
 Failure of Earthen Dam
• Previous investigation reports on failure of
earthen dams states the following three main
categories:
1. Hydraulic failure(40%)
2. Seepage failure(30%)
3. Structural failure(30%)
Failures in embankment dam
 Hydraulic failure
• By overtopping
A dam may be overtopped due to:
1. Underestimation of design flood
2. Insufficient spillway capacity
3. Settlements of embankments
4. Faulty operation of spillway gates
5. Insufficient freeboards

Safety provisions: Sufficient freeboard and proper

design flood considerations.
• Wave erosion on u/s face
1. The wave action due to winds and tides will cause
the erosion of the dam material at the upstream
face, if the material cant sustain wave velocity.
2. It will lead to washing out of the dam material or
slip the upstream face.

Safety provisions:
1. Upstream stone pitching
2. Provision of riprap
3. Proper design
• Toe erosion
The toe of the dam at the downstream side may be
eroded due to
1. Heavy cross-current from spillway buckets, or.
2. Tail water.

Safety provisions
Can be prevented by providing a downstream slope
pitching or a riprap up to a height above the tailwater
depth. Also, the side wall of the spillway should have
sufficient height and length to prevent possibility of
cross flow towards the earth embankment.
• Gullying
During heavy rains, the flowing rain water over the
downstream face can erode the surface, creating
gullies, which could lead to failure.

Safety Provision:
To prevent such failures, dams surface should be
properly maintained; all cuts filled on time and
surface well grassed. Good drainage and berms may
help in providing safety against this failure.
• Frost Action
1. If the earth dam is located at a place where the
temperature falls below freezing point, frost may
form in the pores of the soil in the earth dam.
2. When there is heaving, the cracks may form in the
soil. This may lead to dangerous seepage and
consequent failures.

Safety provisions: An additional freeboard allowance

should be provided for dams in area of low
temperature.
 Seepage failure
Seepage always occurs in the dams. If the magnitude
is within design limits, it may not harm the stability
of the dam.
However, if seepage is concentrated or uncontrolled
beyond limits, it will lead to failure of the dam.

Following are some of the various types of seepage

failure.
1. Piping through dam body
2. Piping through the foundation
3. Sloughing of the downstream side of dam
• Piping through dam body
1. When seepage starts through poor soils in the
body of the dam, small channels are formed which
transport material downstream. As more materials
are transported downstream, the channels grow
bigger which could lead to wash out of dam.
2. It begins at a point where the water seeping
through the dam emerges on downstream side of
the dam.
• Piping through foundation
When highly permeable cavities or fissures or strata
of gravel or coarse sand are present in the dam
foundation, it may lead to heavy seepage.
The concentrated seepage at high rate will erode soil
which will cause increase flow of water and soil. As a
result, the dam will settle or sink leading to failure.
• Sloughing
1. If the seepage line exists at the downstream face of the dam,
the portion of the toe of the dam below the exit point will
always remain in the wet condition.
2. This will cause the reduction of stability of the slope and
small sizes sliding may occur.
3. This slides make d/s face more steep and which again
become saturated by seepage and slides again and causes
still more steepness of the d/s face.
4. This process of seepage and sliding continues till the dam
section is rendered too thin to withstand any water pressure
and thus cause failure of the dam.
5. This process of repeated saturation of toe and then its sliding
is known as sloughing or ravelling
 Structural failures
Generally structural failures are caused by shear
failures leading to sliding
• U/s and d/s slope failures due to construction
pore pressures
1. When an earth dam is constructed of relatively
impervious soil the drainage is extremely low,
causing high pore water pressure.
2. The pore water pressure up to 100% of the
vertical stress due to weight of soil at that point
has been observed.
3. The soil may fail during construction if it is not
designed for a high water pressure.
• Sudden drawdown on upstream face
1. When reservoir is emptied suddenly, the pressure
due to water suddenly vanishes from the water
face. But this action being sudden, the saturated
soil up to which water was filled before emptying
does not get time to release water so as to
maintain equilibrium. This phenomenon is called
sudden drawdown.
2. Due to drawdown, the hydrostatic pressure due to
reservoir water is removed, without leaving any
counteraction against the pressure due to water
held in the soil. This unbalanced outward pressure
causes upstream face to slide.
• Foundation slide due to spontaneous liquefaction
1. If the foundation consists of fine sand, silt in loose
condition, liquefaction may occur when the dam is
subjected to vibrations(earthquake).
2. In liquefaction, a large part of the weight of the
overlying soil mass is momentarily carried by the
pore water pressure.
3. The effective stress of soil is reduced to essentially
zero, which corresponds to a complete loss of shear
strength.
4. The soil, thus flow like liquid.
• Slope protection failures
Due to repeated striking of water waves to the
riprap at level of the reservoir, the riprap may be
dislocated. This exposes the embankment to wave
erosion. The failure of the riprap may ultimately
lead to failure of the dam.
• Failure due to earthquakes
1. The core may develop cracks and may lead to leakage and
ultimate failure.
2. Waves may set up due to shaking of reservoir bottom, and
dam may fail due to overtopping.
3. Sliding of natural hills causing damage to dam and its
appurtenant structures.
4. The sand below foundation may liquefy.
5. Settlement of dam which may reduce freeboard causing
failure by overtopping.
• Failures due to damage caused by burrowing animals
1. Burrowing animals like muskrats burrow into embankment
either to make home or to go from one pond to other. If
many muskrats are involved, their holes may dangerously
honeycomb a small earth dam, making it extremely weak.
2. Sometimes, squirrels also dig holes in the embankment.
Due to these holes, piping failure of dam may occur.
• Failures due leaching
1. Leaching of water soluble salts such as gypsum, iron
oxide, etc from embankment and foundation soils may
cause cavities, which may lead to the excess settlement of
the dam.
2. Moreover, these salts may get deposited in the toe filter
and may choke it, thus causing drainage problems.

• Faulty construction and poor maintenance

1. When during construction, the compaction of the
embankment is not properly done, it may lead to failure.
2. Wrong placement of materials in different zones.
3. Untimely repairs of drains, rain cuts etc.
 Design criteria for earthen dam
• To prevent hydraulic failures
1. Never allow overtopping. Spillway of sufficient capacity
to pass the peak flow.
2. The original height structure is sufficient to maintain the
minimum safe freeboard after settlement has occurred.
3. Erosion of the embankment due to wave action and
surface runoff does not occur.
4. The crest should be wide enough to withstand wave action
and earthquake shock.
• To prevent failure due to seepage
1. Quantity of seepage water through the dam
section and foundations should be limited.
2. The seepage line should be well within the
downstream face of the dam to prevent sloughing.
3. Seepage water through the dam or foundation
should not remove any particle or in other words
causing piping.
4. There should not be any leakage of water from
upstream to the downstream face. Such leakage
may occur through conduits, at joints between
earth and concrete sections or through holes made
by aquatic animals.
• To prevent structural failure
1. The upstream and downstream slopes of the
embankment should be stable under all loading
conditions to which they may be subjected
including earthquakes.
2. The foundation shear stresses should be within the
permissible limits of shear strength of the
material.
Advantages of earthen dam
1. Design procedures are straightforward and easy.
2. Local natural materials are used.
3. Comparatively small establishment and equipment
are required.
4. Earth fill dams resist settlement and movement
better than more rigid structures and can be more
suitable for areas where earth movements are
common.
Disadvantages of earthen dam
1. An earthen embankment is easily damaged or
destroyed by water flowing on, over or against it.
Thus, a spillway and adequate upstream
protection are essential for any earthen dam.
2. If it is not adequately compacted during
construction, the dam will have weak structure
prone to seepage.
3. Earthen dams require continual maintenance to
prevent erosion, tree growth, subsidence,
animal and insect damage and seepage.
 Dam Foundation requirement
 Foundation is the lower most part of the Dam which transmit the
load from the dam safely to the rock stratum.
 The foundation of the dam must be strong enough to withstand
foundation pressure exerted on it.
 Dam foundation requirements are based on the type of dam
proposed and is largely dependent on the strength, deformation,
and permeability characteristics of site materials.
 To determine the depth of excavation needed to achieve an
adequate foundation, observation of site conditions in borings and
test pits, field testing of soil and rock, laboratory testing of
representative samples and, ultimately, design analysis is needed.
 Foundation Treatment
In actual practice such an ideal foundation is not available. Therefore
it is necessary to carry out geological investigations to determine the
suitability of the foundation for dam.

If defects are observed , suitable measures can be adopted.

Foundation treatment commonly adopted for all foundation is carried

out in three steps:

 Preparing the surface

 Grouting the foundation
 Foundation drainage
 Foundation Preparation for Gravity Dams
 Generally a considerable length of area needs to be
excavated to enable the various operations to go on
continuously.

 Excavation of foundation for concrete spillway and

similar overflow structures should be carried out to
the desired depth and concrete should be laid on sound
rock.

 Excavation within 500 mm of the foundation grade

should be done just before concrete is laid on sound
rock and should not be allowed to remain exposed for
long time. In case the geological exploration indicates
existence of faults, shear or weak zones, necessary
treatment of the foundation should be carried out before
laying the concrete.
 Foundation Preparation for Gravity Dams
 Blasting operation should be carried out carefully without
affecting the rock mass beyond the required area of
excavation and shall be restricted to minimum 500 mm
above the foundation levels and at least 30 m away from
any existing structure.
 However, in special cases the blasting may be carried
out at a distance of less than 30 m from any existing
structure using controlled blasting. If necessary, field tests
may be carried out to decide various parameters of
controlled blasting.
 It is desirable to keep the foundation slope upwards in
downstream direction
 Foundation Preparation for Gravity Dams
 Immediately before placing concrete/ masonry, all surface of
foundations upon or against which the concrete/masonry is
to be placed, should be free from standing water, mud,
debris, organic deposits, and other foreign material which
may prevent a tight bond between the rock and
concrete/masonry.

 All surfaces of rock upon or against which the

concrete/masonry is to be placed should be clean, solid and
free from all objectionable coatings, sand loose,
semidetached or unsound fragments and should be
sufficiently rough to ensure satisfactory bond with the
concrete/ masonry.
Foundation Preparation for Gravity Dams
 Foundation Treatment Against Sliding
The following measures are usually taken to improve the
Sliding resistance of dam Foundation
 Roughening of Base.
 Provision of Shear Key.
 Upstream Sloping of Dam base.
 Use of Anchors.
 Use of Mat Foundation.
 Providing Buttress Structure.
 Struts bearing against sound rock ledge on the Down stream
side.
 Adopting a Slightly arched arrangement of the dam.
 Grouting the foundation
 An operation to correct the foundation conditions is called
Grouting
 Injection of a slurry or a liquid solution into a soil or rock
formation
 Required to seal the cracks and fissure in the foundation for
improving the bearing capacity of the rock
 The grout subsequently hardens - increases the strength and
decreases compressibility and permeability.
Types of Grouting
 Consolidation grouting
 Curtain grouting
 Consolidation grouting
 Consolidation grouting is a general term for grouting that is
carried out within a rock mass with the intent of filling rock mass
discontinuities.
 The process involves injecting a grout material to fill the
discontinuities, which are the pathways through which fluids or
gases migrate in most rocks.
 With grout filling the rock discontinuities, the hydraulic gradient
is reduced as the liquids or gases move through the grout,
ultimately reducing or stopping migration.
 Based on the nature of work, the number of drill holes, depth and
pattern are decided.
 The depth of hole is between 3-15m, spacing about 12-30m and
diameter 5-10cm . After the holes have been drilled , a mixture of
cement slurry (1:3 to 1:8) is forced into the holes at low pressure
of 30-40 N/cm2.
 Curtain grouting
 Construction of a deep grout curtain near the heel of the dam to
control seepage is accomplished by drilling deep holes and
grouting them using higher pressure.
 The depth of hole depends on the nature of its rock and the height
of dam.It may be taken as 30-40% of the depth of water in the
reservoir for strong foundation and upto 70% for poor rock.
 The primary series of hole in a line is usually drilled first having
spacing of 4.5-7.5 m.
 The secondary series of holes are drilled between the primary
holes and grouted.Sometimes additional tertiary holes are also
drilled and grouted.
 Generally, grouting pressure is about 2.5D N/cm2 where D is
depth of grouting in meter below the surface
 Piping or Underminings
 Internal erosion of the foundation or embankment caused by seepage.
 Erosion starts at the downstream toe and works back toward the reservoir.
 The channels or pipes follow paths of maximum permeability.
 Time-taking process.
 When highly permeable strata of gravel, sand or cavities are present in the
foundation of dams, it permits heavy seepage of water through it causing
erosion of soil which will result in the formation of piping.
 Hence, the dam will sink down causing its failure. Careful investigation of
foundations soil will help in avoiding such failures.

Piping Control:
 Piping can be avoided by lengthening the flow paths of water within the
dam and its foundations.
 This decreases the hydraulic gradient of the water flow and hence its
velocity.
 PIPING (INCREASING FLOW-PATHS):
Flow-paths can be increased by:
 Cut-off walls.
 Impermeable cores.
 Impermeable blankets extending upstream from the upstream face.
Remedies against piping
According to Bligh’s theory ,the safety against piping can be ensured
by providing sufficient creep length.
i.e L=CHL
HL/L=1/C
Where, C= Bligh’s Coefficient
HL/L = hydraulic gradient
Hence it may be stated that the hydraulic gradient must be kept under
a safe limit in order to ensure safety against piping.
 Exit Gradient
 The exit gradient is the hydraulic gradient at the downstream end of
the flow line where the percolating water leaves the soil mass and
emerges into free water at the downstream.

 In order that the soil particles at the exit remain stable , the upward
pressure at the exit should be safe i.e. the exit gradient should be
safe .
 The exit gradient is said to be critical when the upward disturbing
force on the grain is just equal to the submerged weight of the grain
at the exit.
 An exit gradient equal to 1/4 or 1/5 of the critical exit gradient is to
be ensured so as to keep the structure safe against piping.
Remedies against exit gradient

For most of the river sands , Ss=2 .65 and n =0 .4, then the value of
critical exit gradient = (1-0.4) (2.65 - 1) =0.6 x 1.65 = 0.99 =1.0
Hence, an exit gradient equal to 1/4 to 1/5 of the critical gradient has
to be provided for keeping the structure safe against piping.