Post-construction settlement of earth core rockfill dams - a new empirical approach

Mohammad Kermani

In the proceedings of: GeoVancouver 2016: 69th Canadian Geotechnical Conference

Session: INFRASTRUCTURE - VII Embankment Dams

ABSTRACT: Post-construction deformation of rockfill dams is mainly predicted through empirical approaches or numerical models, which are calibrated based on laboratory tests. Empirical approaches can be inaccurate due to limited number of considered parameters. Additionally, the representativeness of laboratory experiments is questionable due to scale effects, difference between densities and stress paths in laboratory and in the field, especially for rockfill material. In order to address such limitations, the in-situ behavior of materials during construction was used to predict the long-term mechanical behavior of dams. In other words, by studying settlements of several Earth Core Rockfill Dams (ECRDs) during and after construction, trend lines for prediction of post-construction settlement of these embankments were presented based on their measured settlements during construction. The findings yield a reasonable guideline for prediction of long-term behavior of ECRDs. However, using engineering judgement, as well as numerical tools to model rockfill wetting collapse, consolidation of fine-grained soil, and creep of earth materials is required to complement the presented approach. Key words: Rockfill, dam, post-construction, settlement, wetting collapse, empirical.

RÉSUMÉ: Les déformations post-construction des barrages en enrochement sont principalement prédites par des approches empiriques ou des modèles numériques qui sont quelquefois calibrés basés sur des essais en laboratoire. Dans certains cas, les approches empiriques sont non représentatives. De plus, applicabilité des essais en laboratoire est discutable les cheminements de contraintes et les masses volumiques et ceci particulièrement pour les enrochements. Dans le but de surmonter ces limitations, cette étude utilise le comportement in situ des matériaux afin de prédire le comportement mécanique à long terme. En étudiant les tassements enrochement avec les noyaux en terre (ECRDs) les tendances pour la prédiction des tassements post-construction de barrages sont présenté en fonction de leurs comportement observé pendent la construction. enrochement. Toutefois qui permettent de calculer les déformations causées par le enrochements, la consolidation des sols à grains fins et le fluage des matériaux est un complément nécessaire à cette approche. Mots clés : Enrochement, barrage, post-construction, tassement, effondrement au mouillage, empirique.

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