Kathmandu University

School of Engineering
Department of Civil and Geomatics Engineering

Presentation On Demonstrative model of

Seepage and Seepage Control in Earthen Dam

Project Co-ordinator: Group Members:

Er. Ramesh Adhikari Buddhacharya Rizbi (13)
Shilpakar Shovik ( 42)
Project Supervisor: Shrestha Rushit (48)
Er. Suman Shrestha Suwal Abhay (53)
Tamang Amrit (54)
Tamang Ashish (55) 1
 CONTENTS
1. Introduction
1.1 Embankment Dam
1.2 Earthen Dam
1.3 Advantages and Disadvantages
1.4 Seepage
1.5 Causes of Seepage
1.6 Control Measures
2. Background
3. Objectives
4. Scopes and Limitations
5. Methodology
6. Materials Required
7. Calculation
8. Cost Estimation
9. Gantt Chart 2
10. Expected Outcome
11. References
 INTRODUCTION
EMBANKMENT DAMS
• Embankment dams are made up of compacted Earth or the
rock fill without any cementing agents.
• Are further classified into Earthen Dams and Rock Fill Dams.
• Have impervious core of compacted earth fill.
• Rely on their weight to hold back water.

Fig 1: Embankment dam

Source: http://www.water-technology.net/water-
 EARTHEN DAM
• Compacted soil accounts for more than 50% of the placed volume of
the material.
• Are much more massive than concrete gravity dams.
• Require larger amount of materials.
• Can be built on any type of foundation except on strongly liquescent
muddy soil.
Downstream
Upstream

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Fig 2: Earthen Dam
Source: www.ecourseonline.iasri.res.in
 ADVANTAGES
• Are suitable for river valleys.
• Uses naturally available materials.
• Comparatively less costly.
• Foundation requirements are not as rigorous as other dams.
• High skill man powers are not required as compared to other dams.

DISADVANTAGES
• Are more susceptible to damage than Concrete gravity dams.
• Seepage problem is higher.
• Greater maintenance cost are required as compared to concrete 5
dams.
 SEEPAGE

• Slow escape of a liquid through porous material or small holes.

• If the magnitude of seepage is within the design limit then it may
not harm the stability of dam.
• It may lead to failure if seepage is concentrated.

Fig 3: Seepage Effect in Earthen Dam

Source: www.soilvision.com
 CAUSES OF SEEPAGE

• Poor compaction of embankment soils

• Rotted tree roots and wood
• Cracks
• Poor foundation
• Earthquake
• Insufficient structural drainage

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 CONTROL MEASURES

Seepage can be controlled by the following measures:

• Regular monitoring and inspection of dam.
• Use of permeable soils and materials at toe of dams.
• Impermeable upstream and horizontal blankets should be
deployed.
• Provision of impermeable core and proper drain system.

8
 BACKGROUND
For this project, we have taken the reference of Nurek Dam
which is situated across the Vakhsh River.
• The tallest earthen dam in the world.
• Constructed for the hydropower generation with the installed
capacity of 2700 MW.
• The dam section has a central core with slopes protected by
filters on either side.

Fig 3: Nurek Dam

Source: www.tajik-gateway.org
 OBJECTIVES

• Visualization of seepage action in Earthen Dam.

• To understand how filter materials control the seepage.
• To know about the physical structure and appearance of
Earthen Dam.

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 SCOPE

• Helps to demonstrate the seepage line in Earthen Dams.

• Helps to understand how filters are used to control Seepage.

LIMITATIONS
• All the dimensions cannot be scaled down in same R.F.
• Materials used in construction of our model may not be the
same as in the real dam.

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METHODOLOGY

Preliminary Study

Consultation

Calculation

Material Collection

Construction of Model

12
Testing and Debugging
 MATERIALS REQUIRED

• Clayey Materials
• Sandy Materials
• Rocks and Gravels
• Ply Wood
• Glass Plane
• Aesthetic Materials

13
 CALCULATION

The Nurek dam was scaled down to appropriate size for the
construction of our model. The distorted model will be made
using different R.F. as shown in the table below:

R.F. for Height = 1:750

Height of the dam = 300 m Height of our model = 40 cm
R.F. for Width = 1:1760
Width of the dam = 704 m Width of our model = 40 cm
R.F. for Length at base = 1:300
Length of the dam at base = 150 m Length of our model at base
=50cm
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 COST ESTIMATION

S.N Materials Rate(NRS) Quantity Amount(NRS)

1. Clay 50 per kg 4 kg 200

2. Sand 100 per cubic feet 2 cubic feet 200

3. Plywood 105 per square feet 25 square feet 2625

5. Gravel and Rocks 100 per cubic feet 2 cubic feet 200

6. Glass Plane 150 per square feet 4 square feet 600

7. Aesthetic 500 per litre 1 litre 500

8. Miscellaneous 215

Total 4540
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 Weeks 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Works
Literature Review

Consultation

GANTT CHART
Proposal Submission

Proposal Defence

Material Selection and

Purchase
Model Design

Model Construction

Mid-Term Presentation

Testing and Debugging

Demonstration

Report Submission and

Final Presentation 16

Work Completed Work Estimated

 EXPECTED OUTCOME

This research project expects to have following outcomes by the

end of the project.
• We shall learn about seepage line and seepage action.
• We shall learn about Earthen Dam and Seepage seen in it with
the control measures.
• It will lead to the construction of two Earthen Dams, one with
Seepage Filters and other without Seepage Filters.

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 REFERENCES
• About Dams. (2010, July 15).
Retrieved from
http://www.britishdams.org/aboutdams/embankment.html
• Creager, W.P., Justin, J.D. & Hinds, J. (1995). Engineering For
Dams. India, U.P., Roorkee: Nem Chand & Bros.
• Dr. Eng., Prof. Narita, K. (2000, April). Design and Construction
of Embankment Dams.
Retrieved from http://aitech.ac.jp/~narita/tembankmentdam1.pdf
• Earth Embankment Dams. (2014, May 9).
Retrieved from http://www.aboutcivil.org/embankment-dams-
types.html
• Gar, S. K., (Oct., 2008). Irrigation Engineering and Hydraulic
Structures. India, New Delhi, Darya Ganj: Khanna Publisher.
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• Singh, B. & Varshney, R.S. (2004). Embankment Dam
Engineering. India, U.P., Roorkee: Nem Chand & Bros.