Risk analysis for earth dam overtopping

In this paper, a model of overtopping risk under the joint effects of floods and wind waves, which is based on risk analysis theory and takes into account the uncertainties of floods, wind waves, reservoir capacity and discharge capacity of the spillway, is proposed and applied to the Chengbihe Reservoir in Baise City in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The simulated results indicate that the flood control limiting level can be raised by 0.40 m under the condition that the reservoir overtopping risk is controlled within a mean variance of 5×10-6. As a result, the reservoir storage will increase to 16 million m3 and electrical energy generation and other functions of the reservoir will also increase greatly.

Top coal caving mining technique in thick coal seam beneath the earth dam

It is important to study the mining technology under structures for raising the coal resources recovery ratio. Based on the geological and mining conditions, the top coal caving harmonic mining technique in thick coal seam beneath the earth dam was put forward and studied. The 5 factors such as the panel mining direction, panel size, panel location, panel mining sequence and panel advance velocity were taken into account in this technique. The dam movement and deformation were predicted after the thick coal seam mining and the effects of mining on the dam were studied. By setting up the surveying stations on the dam, the movement and deformation of the dam were observed during mining. By taking some protective measures on the dam, the top coal caving mining technique in thick coal seam beneath the earth dam was carried out successfully. The study demonstrates that harmonic mining in thick coal seam is feasible under the dam. The safety of the earth dam after mining was ensured and the coal resources recovery ratio was improved.

A quantitative model for danger degree evaluation of staged operation of earth dam reservoir in flood season and its application

Based on the natural disaster risk evaluation mode, a quantitative danger degree evaluation model was developed to evaluate the danger degree of earth dam reservoir staged operation in the flood season. A formula for the overtopping risk rate of the earth dam reservoir staged operation was established, with consideration of the joint effect of flood and wind waves in the flood sub-seasons with the Monte Carlo method, and the integrated overtopping risk rate for the whole flood season was obtained via the total probability approach. A composite normalized function was used to transform the dam overtopping risk rate into the danger degree, on a scale of 0-1. Danger degree gradating criteria were divided by four significant characteristic values of the dam overtopping rate, and corresponding guidelines for danger evaluation are explained in detail in this paper. Examples indicated that the dam overtopping danger degree of the Chengbihe Reservoir in China was 0.33-0.57, within the range of moderate danger level, and the flood-limiting water level （FLWL） can be adjusted to 185.00 m for the early and main flood seasons, and 185.00-187.50 m for the late flood season. The proposed quantitative model offers a theoretical basis for determination of the value of the danger degree of an earth dam reservoir under normal operation as well as the optimal scheduling scheme for the reservoir in each stage of the flood season.

Reliability analysis of earth dams using direct coupling

Numerical methods are helpful for understanding the behaviors of geotechnical installations.However,the computational cost sometimes may become prohibitive when structural reliability analysis is performed,due to repetitive calls to the deterministic solver.In this paper,we show how accurate and efficient reliability analyses of geotechnical installations can be performed by directly coupling geotechnical software with a reliability solver.An earth dam is used as the study object under different operating conditions.The limit equilibrium method of Morgenstern-Price is used to calculate factors of safety and find the critical slip surface.The conmercial software packages Seep/W and Slope/W are coupled with StRAnD structural reliability software.Reliability indices of critical probabilistic surfaces are evaluated by the first-and second-order structural reliability methods(FORM and SORM),as well as by importance sampling Monte Carlo(ISMC)simulation.By means of sensitivity analysis,the effective friction angle(φ′)is found to be the most relevant uncertain geotechnical parameter for dam equilibrium.The correlations between different geotechnical properties are shown to be relevant in terms of equilibrium reliability indices.Finally,it is shown herein that a critical slip surface,identified in terms of the minimum factor of safety(FS),is not the critical surface in terms of the reliability index.

Seismic rehabilitation and analysis of Chaohe earth dam

Stability of earth dams during earthquakes has been a major concern for gcotechnical engineers in seismic active regions. Liquefaction induced slope failure occurred at the upstream slope of a major earth dam in the suburb of Beijing, China, during the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake. The gravelly soil with loose initial condition liquefied under relatively small ground vibration. In recent years, a major seismic rehabilitation project was carried out on a similar earth dam nearby using dumped quarry stone. Seismic stability analysis was carried out using model test, finite element simulation, and pseudostatic slope stability program after taking into account the influence of excess pore pressure.

Control of Seepage through Earth Dams Based on Pervious Foundation Using Toe Drainage Systems

Many dangerous effects arise from seepage through earth dams based on pervious layer. Therefore, the dam embankment must be provided with seepage control measures to avoid such effects. In the present work, different control methods were used such as flat slopes, toe drainage systems, and a catch drain in the tail water. The hydraulic performance of each control measure was evaluated using the analytical solutions, previously developed, to estimate the seepage quantity (q), the height of seepage surface (h3), and the coordinates of the free surface (hx). Study was conducted on a physical model for a dam embankment having a top width (b) = 10.0 meter, height (Hd) = 30.0 meter, and slope factor (m) = 1.5. The obtained results were analyzed and presented in dimensionless charts. Results showed that, the used control measures possess a great effect on the characteristics of seepage through earth dams based on pervious foundations. A comparative study was conducted between the studied toe drainage systems to enable the designers the better choice for design purposes.

Seismic response of an earth dam:finite element coupling analysis and validation from centrifuge tests

Variations in acceleration and excess pore water pressure during a seismic event are critical early-warning indicators of an impending dam collapse.To assess these variations,the seismic responses for three simplified model dams,based on cross-sections through a real earthen dam,were assessed with numerical simulations and centrifuge tests.A normalized root-mean-square error was utilized as a comparison index to assess the closeness between simulated and the recorded values.Assuming that the experimental records are reliable,the reliability of the numerical program was evaluated using this root-mean-square error estimation approach.Explanations for inconsistency between the two approaches are presented.The conclusions are drawn from the results of the three model dams.

Application of material strength reserve method to the stability analysis of earth dam of feilaixia multipurpose project

The material strength reserve method is practical in the study of the stability and failure mechanism of earth dam by analysing the development of failure zone of different shear strength parameters of the earth mass of the dam. The stability in the concrete dam and ensemble architecture has got general application while analysing. In combination with Feilaixia Multipurpose Project, application of this method to earth dam stability analysis was studied by plane Finite Element Method(FEM) for the first time. Through plane FEM, we can get the failure mechanism of earth dam and appraise to the security, for operating and managing put forward some reference suggestions.

Hydrological Process Analysis in Earth Dams Using the PCSiWaPro as a Basis for Stability Analysis

Earth dam is always a safety issue, as it can experience catastrophic destruction due to the slope failure caused by various factors, such as water content increasing in earth slopes, vegetation root decay and so on. This study is to investigate the variation of hydrological processes in the saturated and partially saturated slopes with a new simulation program PCSiWaPro （a computer aided leachate forecast tool） under transient boundary conditions. The integration of a weather generator inside the PCSiWaPro allows a transient water flow calculation with respect to atmospheric conditions （precipitation, daily mean temperature and sunshine duration） and removal of water by plant roots and leaves. The simulation results of one scenario in a Chinese earth dam clearly demonstrate a good applicability of the program PC S iWaPro.

Geotechnical and Structural Benefits of Utilizing Reinforced Soil in Earth Dams

Approximately, 75% of constructed dams in the world are earth dams. The use of an earth dam is restricted by its geometrical area, weir restriction, and the availability of sufficient amount of earth material. These restrictions can be alleviated by the use of reinforced soil. In this research study the use of geotextile to stabilize and increase the shear strength of clay soils has been investigated. The results show an increase of about 25% in shear strength and cause an enhancement of stability in sandy soil in earth dams.

The Effect of Alluvial Foundation on the Earth Dams Settlement

Careful monitoring in the earth dams, to measure deformation caused by settlement and movement has always been a concern for engineers in the field. In order to measure settlement and deformation of earth dams, usually the precision instruments of settlement set and combined Inclinometer that is commonly referred to IS instrument, will be used. In some dams, because the thickness of alluvium is high and there is no possibility of alluvium removal (technically and economically and in terms of performance), there is no possibility to place the end of IS instrument (precision instruments of Inclinometer-settlement set) in the rock foundation. Inevitably, have to accept installing pipes in the weak and the deformable alluvial foundation that this leads to errors in the calculation of the actual settlement (absolute settlement) in different parts of the dam body. The purpose of this paper is to present new and refine criteria for predicting settlement and deformation in earth dams. The study is based on conditions in three dams with a deformation quite alluvial (Agh Chai, Narmashir and Gilan-e Gharb) to provide settlement criteria affected by alluvial foundation. To achieve this goal, the settlement of dams was simulated by using finite difference method with FLAC3D software and then the modeling results were compared with reading IS instrument. In the end, the caliber of the model and validate the results, by using regression analysis techniques and scrutinized modeling parameters with real situations and then by using MATLAB software and Curve Fitting Toolbox, a new criteria for the settlement based on elasticity modulus, cohesion, friction angle, density of earth dam and alluvial foundation was obtained. The results of these studies show that, by using the new criteria measures, the amount of settlement and deformation for the dams with alluvial foundation can be corrected after instrument readings and the error rate in reading IS instrument can be greatly reduced.

Numerical analysis of nonlinear dynamic behavior of earth dams

A numerical study is conducted to investigate the dynamic behavior of earth dams.The numerical investigation employs a fully nonlinear dynamic finite difference analysis incorporating a simple elastic perfectly plastic constitutive model to describe the stress-strain response of the soil and the Rayleigh damping to increase the level of hysteretic damping.The extended Masing rules are implemented into the constitutive model to explain more accurately the soil response under general cyclic loading.The soil stiffness and hysteretic damping change with loading history.The procedures for calibrating the constructed numerical model with centrifuge test data and also a real case history are explained.For the latter,the Long Valley(LV)earth dam subjected to the 1980 Mammoth Lake earthquake as a real case-history is analyzed and the obtained numerical results are compared with the real measurements at the site in both the time and frequency domains.Relatively good agreement is observed between computed and measured quantities.It seems that the Masing rules combined with a simple elasto-plastic model gives reasonable numerical predictions.Afterwards,a comprehensive parametric study is carried out to identify the effects of dam height,input motion characteristics,soil behavior,strength of the shell materials and dam reservoir condition on the dynamic response of earth dams.Three real earthquake records with different levels and peak acceleration values(PGAs)are used as input motions.The results show that the crest acceleration decreases when the dam height increases and no amplification is observed.Further,more inelastic behavior and more earthquake energy absorption are observed in higher dams.

Overtopping breaching of cohesive homogeneous earth dam with different cohesive strength

In consideration of the range of clay content of Chinese earth dams, the world's highest prototype tests have been made to research on the effects of cohesive strength of filling of cohesive homogeneous earth dam on breach formation. Three breach mechanisms were presented, they were the source-tracing erosion of dam body with the form of "multilevel headcut", "two-helix flow" erosion of dam crest and collapse of breach sidewalls due to instability. It can be concluded that the cohesive strength of filling of earth dam has great effect on breach formation. When the cohesive strength is bigger, the breach process becomes slower, and the peak outflow and the final width and depth of breach become smaller. The main character of the breach formation is head cutting and dumping collapse. When the cohesive strength is smaller, the breach process becomes faster, and the peak outflow, the final width and depth of breach become bigger. The main character of the breach formation is single level head cutting and shearing collapse.

Seepage safety monitoring model for an earth rock dam under influence of high-impact typhoons based on particle swarm optimization algorithm

Extreme hydrological events induced by typhoons in reservoir areas have presented severe challenges to the safe operation of hydraulic structures. Based on analysis of the seepage characteristics of an earth rock dam, a novel seepage safety monitoring model was constructed in this study. The nonlinear influence processes of the antecedent reservoir water level and rainfall were assumed to follow normal distributions. The particle swarm optimization （PSO） algorithm was used to optimize the model parameters so as to raise the fitting accuracy. In addition, a mutation factor was introduced to simulate the sudden increase in the piezometric level induced by short-duration heavy rainfall and the possible historical extreme reservoir water level during a typhoon. In order to verify the efficacy of this model, the earth rock dam of the Siminghu Reservoir was used as an example. The piezometric level at the SW1-2 measuring point during Typhoon Fitow in 2013 was fitted with the present model, and a corresponding theoretical expression was established. Comparison of fitting results of the piezometric level obtained from the present statistical model and traditional statistical model with monitored values during the typhoon shows that the present model has a higher fitting accuracy and can simulate the uprush feature of the seepage pressure during the typhoon perfectly.

Evaluation of behaviors of earth and rockfill dams during construction and initial impounding using instrumentation data and numerical modeling

In this study,the behavior of Gavoshan dam was evaluated during construction and the first impounding.A two-dimensional（2D） numerical analysis was conducted based on a finite difference method on the largest cross-section of the dam using the results of instrument measurements and back analysis.These evaluations will be completed in the case that back analysis is carried out in order to control the degree of the accuracy and the level of confidence of the measured behavior since each of the measurements could be controlled by comparing it to the result obtained from the numerical model.Following that,by comparing the results of the numerical analysis with the measured values,it is indicated that there is a proper consistency between these two values.Moreover,it was observed that the dam performance was suitable regarding the induced pore water pressure,the pore water pressure ratio r;,settlement,induced stresses,arching degree,and hydraulic fracturing probability during the construction and initial impounding periods.The results demonstrated that the maximum settlement of the core was 238 cm at the end of construction.In the following 6 years after construction（initial impounding and exploitation period）,the accumulative settlement of the dam was 270 cm.It is clear that 88% of the total settlement of the dam took place during dam construction.The reason is that the clay core was smashed in the wet side,i.e.the optimum moisture content.Whereas the average curving ratio was 0.64 during dam construction; at the end of the initial impounding,the maximum amount of curving ratio in the upstream was 0.81,and the minimum（critical） amount in the downstream was 0.52.It was also concluded that this dam is safe in comparison with the behaviors of other similar dams in the world.

Characteristics and factors that influenced damage to dams in the M_s 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake

Based on raw data from dams damaged in the Wenchuan earthquake, including many that were severely damaged, characteristics and factors that influenced the damage are discussed in this paper. Findings from this study include： severely damaged dams were densely distributed along the seismologic fault; small dams, especially small earth-rock dams, had the most serious damage that was caused by a variety of factors; the most serious damage was caused by seismic waves; damage was aggregated by aftershocks; and the extent of the damage patterns increased with the seismic intensity. Damage patterns varied in different intensity zones and cracking was the most common type of damage. Most of the dams had a good base with relatively high bearing capacity, and the walls of the earth-rock dams were mostly of clay soil. This type of base and body material mitigated some of the damage to dams. Reservoir maintenance and other factors also have a significant impact on the seismic safety of the dam. Finally, some recommendations to reduce seismic damage to dams are proposed.

Effect of Seismic Permanent Deformation on Safety and Stability of Earth-Rock Dam Slope

In order to study the effect of seismic permanent deformation on the safety and stability of earth-rock dam, the permanent deformation is considered as the non-design permanent load, and the stress-strain hysteresis curve is also considered when the earth is under cyclic load. The research work can make the calculation results of plastic collapse more accurate by including the effect of the post-earthquake degree of plastic deformation on the stability of the earth-rock dam, and the dam safety factor decreases from 2.50 to 1.90 after the magnitude-8 earthquake. Moreover, the research work will also improve the design of the earth-rock dam under abnormal operating conditions.

Dynamic Risk Assessment Index System for Earth-Rock Dam during Construction

During the construction of earth-rock dam,mutual exclusive construction goals such as quality,safety,progress and cost all have influences on each other,with risk factors being everchanging as the construction progresses.Accurate identification of the risk factors,as well as clearing any possible effect that any risk factors might have on the construction project is the key and foundation to our cooperative control of the construction goals.According to the construction planning of earth-rock dam,the hall3 D structure was used to identify the potential changes of risk factors,and the possible means of any risk factors to interfere with the construction goals.The dynamic risk assessment index system is established by deploying the WBS-RBS(work breakdown structurerisk breakdown structure)method,aiming at the construction goals of earth-rock dam.The case study shows that the index system is very effective at risk management of earth-rock dam during construction,and relatively practicable.

Application of 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography for Diagnosing Leakage in Earth Rock-Fill Dam

The leakage occurs during operation of the dam in Liuhuanggou reservoir. It’s a threat to the safety of the people’s lives and property in downstream. In order to eliminate the hidden danger of reservoir, ensure the safety of the dam, play better the function of flood control and water storage of the reservoir etc., we apply the 3D electrical resistivity tomography detecting technology and volume rendering image processing technology, make the measurement in field, process the data and combine the field survey to find out the leakage channels inside the dam. The results show that the 3D resistivity images appear the low resistivity zone corresponding with the leakage channels. There are two main leakage channels that come from different location inside the dam. It is feasible to diagnose the leakage in earth rock-fill dam by applying 3D electrical resistivity tomography.

Comparison between the Isotope Tracking Method and Resistivity Tomography of Earth Rock-Fill Dam Seepage Detection

This paper compares the different inversion results of three different earth rock-fill dam models with the actual leakage passages by performing isotope tracing tests and resistivity tomographic tests. The accuracy of the experimental results is evaluated, and the characteristics of these two methods are analyzed. As a result, some significant references are offered for earth rock-fill dam’s hidden defects detection. The experimental results show that the leakage and the direction of the seepage can be judged by isotope tracing tests, meanwhile, the degree of the leakage can be confirmed through the determination of the horizontal seepage velocity and the vertical seepage velocity, but it is difficult to properly determine the position of leakage passages and the range of leakage. Relatively speaking, the positions of the leakage passages can be accurately and directly displayed through resistivity tomographic tests. The experiment results show that the resistivity tomographic method is much better than isotope tracing method with regard to earth rock-fill dam’s hidden defects detection, and the resistivity tomographic method expresses much more convenience and much higher precision than isotope tracing method.