‘Reproduction, representation t tfusion interes, Li dy OVO782 1365 Design and performance of the Yele asphalt-core rockfill dam Weibiao Wang, Kaare Héeg, and Yingbo Zhang Abstracts The planning, design, and performance of the Yele asphalt-core rockGill dam in Sichuan Province, China, ste presented, The dam has maximum height of 124.5 m, is located in a very seismic region with inclement climate, and is funded on a geologically complex foundation, partly resting on a deep and pervious alluvial overburden and partly on bedrock. With these site conditions only an embankmentype dam was considered Feasible, nd three different options were considered forthe design of the impervious barrier: () earth core, (i) conerete facing, and (ii) asphalt core. The third option was chosen. The design is based on extensive analyses and laboratory tests, and a special model test was pes- formed to study the behavior ofthe connection between the trrow asphalt core and concrete plinth. An impoundment test ‘was performed when the dam was 73 m high fo test the imperviousness of the constructed core and the connections be- tween () the core and plinth and (i) the plinth snd foundation cut-off wall. An extensive field monitoring program was implemented. Design predictions are compared with field performance observations of the core and its interaction with the adjacent transition zones. ‘Key words: embankment dam, asphalt core, laboratory ess, finite element snalyses, dam deformations, feld monitoring, Résumé : La plaiticaton, la conception et lt performance du barrage de Yele dans la province de Sichuan en Chine sont présentées dans eet article. Le barrage en remblai rocheux de Yele, avec noyau bitumineux ef une hauteur maximum de 124.5 m, est localisé dans une région de trés haute sismicité et sous un elimat inckément. Le barrage est poré sur une For- ation gologiquement complex e couche passe et permeéable dallas ten partic sure roe. Sous ces conditions, la seule altemtive fasable était un barrage en remblai. Tris options ont &é cons! tion de la batriére impermésble: ()) un poyaw en tere, (i) un revétement de beéton et (ii) un noyau bitumineax. Cete e dimensionsement est basé sur de aombreuses analyses et essais en laboratoie, ainsi que du comportement de Vinterlace entre le mince goyau central et Ia pinche ind fe bairage a atteint une hauteur de 73 m afin de tester Mimperméabilité en partie su fs pour Is concep sure une modélisaton expérimentale paticulig de béton, Un essai de mise en eau a éé fait bituminctx, et les interfaces noyau-plnthe et plinthe-mmur de fondation. Un programme extensif observations du noyau 4 aussi &té adopt. Les prédictions faites lors de la conception sont compar emvent in stu du noyau et te ses interactions avec les zones de transition adjacentes Mon-clév = batrage en sembloi. noyau bitumineux, essais de lnboratoire, éléments fins, barrage, observations in sit will be the highest so far, Spain, Saudi-Arabia, and Iran re= Introduction cently built their first such dams, Canada just completed an Phe first embankment dam with a compacted asphalt con crete core was built in Germany in 1961-1962, and The fn: temational Journal on Hydropower & Dams (Saxegaard 2010) provides a listing of asphalt-core dams that have been built or are under construction in different countries, The In- ternational Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) and others have summarized the experience with the design, construc tion, and performance of this type of dam (eg.. COLD 1992; Hieg 1993; Creegan and Monissnith 1996: Schinian 1999; Hieg et al, 2007: Wang 2008) Most asphalt-core dams have been built in Europe, but China has also built and is currently building several dams among them the 170 m high Quxue Dam that Received 11 May 2009, Accepted 22 March 200. Published om the NRC Research Press Web site al egh.nreca un 16 November 2010. W. Wang! and V. Zhang. Xian University of Technology. 5 Tinks Sous Road. 71H Xi'an, Chins Kv Meg. Norwesian Geotechnical fastitate (NGD. P.O, Box 390 Litevaal Siac, NO-D806, Oslo, Norway "Corresponding author (e-mail: wangweibinoS9@hounsil com, Can, Gostech.1,47 1MS-LKT 2010) sho tn. S/T HOR asphaltcore dam. the first of its kind in North America (Ali- 11 et al. 2008), and Hydro Quétee has decided to con struct several more embankment dams of this type in the Province of Quebec (La Romaine project), Brazil is cur rently completing its frst asphakt-core dam (Foz de Cha peco}, and several dams of this type are being considered For a very latge hydropower development in the Amazon re his paper presents the design and performance of the Yele asphalt-core roekfill dam in China, describes the chal- fenging site conditions and the studies performed to ensure the quality oF the asphalt core and its connection with the concrete plinth, and evaluates the performance of the core based on field monitoring. Construetion started in April 2001 and was completed in December 2008. Yele Dam site conditions hydro project. on the very upper reach of the The Yele Nanya River in the southwest af Sichuan Province of six projects in a cascade development for electricity eration, The river is 49.5 km fong with « hydraulic drop ofReproduction, representation et dtusion intnes, Loi du 01/0782, 1966 1714 m and an exploitable hydropower potential estimated to be 700 MW. The topography of the Yele basin is well suited for building a reservoir with a catchment of 323 km. ‘The annual mean river flow is 14.5 m/s, which is composed ‘mainly of rainfall, snowmelt, and groundwater. The river ba- sin planning includes a Yeie balancing reservoir for year- overyear storage and the following power stations: Yele (installed capacity of 240 MW), Liziping (120 MW), Yao- heba (123 MW), Nanguagiao (120 MW), Ximagu (42 MW), ‘and Daduhebian (60 MW). Therefore, the Yele reservoir will play a very important role in the Nanya River cascade «development. [At Yele the winter season is 6 to 7 months long and the rainy season is from May to October. Annually there are about 215 rainy days with a mean rainfall of 1830 mm and air relative humidity of 86%. The annual mean temperature is 7 °C, ranging from -20 to +28 °C. Figure | shows the geological conditions along the longi- tudinal section of the dam (Yu 2008; Hao and He 2008). The deep overburden from the bottom to the top may be Classified into the following five groups: (1) Qoll and Qe! — gravel with thin silty sand layers. 2) Qy!ll — overconsolidated and stiff cohesive soil contai ing a significant amount of stones. but with low perme ability: thickness of 31-46 m, (3) Qe — gravel with layers of loam; thickness of 46~ 154m. (4) QeA1V — gravel: thickness of 65-85 m. (5) Q25V — sandy silt layers with carbonized plant fray mens; thickness of 90-107 i On the left bank, under the 35-60 m overburden, there is fractured and jointed quartz diovite bedrock as shown in Fig. 1. The overburden is 55-160 m deep under the bottom ofthe valley and more than 220 m deep on the right bank Dam type selection and design For the difficult geological foundation conditions with irregular and compressible overburden and with the high re- gional seismicity. only an embankment-type dam was con- Sidered feasible. Three options were examined for the impervious barrier ip a rockfill dam: (J) earth core (ECRD), Gi) upstream conerete Facing (CERD), and (if) asphalt core (ACRD). To decide among these options, emphasis. w: placed on costs, sensitivity {0 severe weather conditions ing construction, earthquake resistance, and compatibility With the geological conditions that may cause significa differential settlements across the valley. Hoey et al. (2007) provides a general discussion of the relative merits of the three options. In the rainy and cold Yele area at high altitude (crest elevation (cl) 2654.5 metres above sea level (m.asl)), the water content of the earth core ‘material in the local borrow was 10% more than that re {quited for optimum compaction, It would be difficult and time-consuming to reduce the water content, and core place- ‘ment would have to be stopped during the frequent rainy pe: riods, For the CFRD option, the conerete slabs woul be placed after the upstream slope was completed, and it was Can, Geotech. J. Vol. 47, 2010 considered difficult to protect the upstream slope from dam- age by sudden heavy rains during the dam construction pe- fiod. Furthermore, the impounding could not commence until the dam with a concrete face was completed. This was fa disadvantage at the Yele site, where the reservoir would take a Jong time to fil as the rate of annual river flow is low. The core for an ACRD may be constructed during peri- ods of rain and cold weather. During heavy rains, the as- phalt mix is stored in hot silos. When the heavy rain stops, the asphalt-core construction can be sestarted immediately after cleaning and heating the asphalt surface, without the fong delay associated wit the earth core. An inftared heater is mounted in the front of the core paver. ‘The CFRD requires a longer concrete plinth than the ACRD, and if large differential settlements occur, leakage may develop in the joints between the slabs and in perimeter joints due to rupture of water stops. At the Yele site, such Settlements could be caused by the nonuniform geological foundation conditions and severe earthquakes, which may cause large in-plane stresses in the concrete face. On the other hand, the ACRD with a central asphalt concrete core, if properly designed, is considered sufficiently flexible and ductile t0 be able 10 accommodate differentia settlements without cracking. For the site and environmental conditions at Yele, the ECRD was estimated to cost approximately 10% more than the ACRD, while the CFRD was estimated t0 cost around 10% less than the ACRD. Among te three options, all as- pects considered, the ACRD was selected as the most suit able (Hao and He 2003) ‘At the start of the preliminary design of the Yele Dam in 1990, there were only a few asphalt-core dams of similar height: the High Island West and East Dams in Hong Kong (95 and 105 m, respectively). the Finstertal dam in Austria (150 m, but with a core height of only 96 m due to a rock ridge under the core), and the Storvain Dam in. Norway (90 m). In 1990 the Storglamatn Dam (125 m high) it: Nor- way was in the final design stage (constration. was com- pleted in 1997) long before the start of construction of the Yele Dann (Hieg et al, 2007). However, the Yele Dam was to be designed and built for a site with much more complex foundation conditions than any of the previous dams and is located in a region with much higher seismicity. Figure 2 shows the maximum area eross section of the Yele Dam. The asphalt core in that eross seetion is 120 m high and the total dam height 124.5 m, Figure 3 shows a plan view of the dam with the locations of eross-seetions A-G shown, and Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section giving the Tocations of the same eross sections. As designed, the Yele asphalt-core rockiill dam has a crest length of 411 m with «300 om long seepage cut-off wall extension over the right bank. Duc to the very high seismicity of the region (Si chuan Province) sith an assumed peak horizontal ground acceleration of O.45¢° al the Yele site. the dam is designed with gentle Slopes of 1V-2H upstream (whore: V represents horizontal) and 1V-22H vertical and H repre: downstream, and a wide crest (14m). In addition, as an eathquake-resistint measure. geo-grids® were placed hor See Appendix A See Apperaliy Pubtnhad by NRC Resa Possaot esrodueton, representation of itusion interes, Lota O17 2 Wang et al Fig. 1. Geological ross section of the Yele Dat foundation and abutments. 1, gravel with sity sand layers; 2, si, overconsolidated co- hesive soils with stones; 3, gravel with layers of loam; 4, gravel S, sandy soil with loam and carbonized plant fragments; 6, quar diorite bedrock; 7, crevice-lineament. W.L., water level 2700) 2600) 200) zane; 3 rveklll (I) 4, rookFil 1) 5. 5 nase zontally to reinforce the top 30 m of the dam (from el 2624.5 maisl. to the dam erest at el, 2694.5 masl.). Within the upper 20 m, the vertical height difference between the o-grids is 1 m and within the lower 10m is 2 m. Further wore, (0 strengthen the lower part of the upstream dam slope against large deformations and potential sliding during an earthquake, 40 1 long geo-grids were placed horizontally from the upstream dam Tace between el, 2594 mash, and el. 2603 maisl. The vertical height ‘geo-grids is 1.5 m. Jifference between these Design and construction of impervious barriers in the Yele dam founda Figure 5 shows the enmplex system of impervious harriers installed in the foundation to reduce ad contrat the unde) wid 2. Cross section ofthe Yele Dam (this is section D as shown in Figs. 3 and 4), All dimensions in metres. 1. asphalé core: 2. transition ral gravel or rockfil (I: 6, toe Berm (22 0 allery for field instrumentation; 8, concrew ew-off wall. (There iy no grout curtain under section D. see Fig. 5.) in thickness and 215 min length); 7, observation seepage. The foundation barriers may be divided into three main sections from the left to the right bank: left bank bar. rier section, river bed bartier section, and right bank barrier section, Afler excavating the top of the overburden at the left bank, a 20-60 m deep voncrete cut-off wall was con structed through the overburden, down to the stoping diorite bedrock. A grout curuin was injected into the quartz diorite hrough the conerete cut-off wall, A 150 m long and 80m, deep grout curtain was injected into the quartz diorite from the construction gallery (No, 7 shown on the left side of 5). Far the river bed overburden, 1 30-60 m deep con ‘cut-off wall way brought $m down into the relatively pervious soil kayer Qe!Tl shown in Fig. 1, For the right bank. the overburden is so deep that the water barriers bad to be built in four stages. The upper first harrier 4 the 15 m high concrete wall extension built in the open excavation: Pusha by NRC Resa Ponszor Feprodction. representation et citason interdtes, Loi ck 0107/92. 1368 Can, Gootech. J. Vol. 47, 2010 Fig. 3. Plan view of Yele Dam and location of monitoring instruments. |, displacement bolts; 2, observation gallery: 3, piezometers: 4, access galleries; 5, drainage gallery 6, grouting gallery: 7, observation huts, Locations of cross sections A-G are also shown in Fig. 4. Se 3M ( ESS \ [Gime y dell a AN au ele Dam showing locations of cross-sections A-G (see also Fig. 3), c D z 5, S 260 3630 ie Dist) the second barrier is the eonerete cutoff wall with a depth (1) Suitability of aggregates of local quartz diorite and local ‘of 70m down to the top of the second level construction "tural sands gallery: the third is the 60-84 m deep conerete cutoff wall (2) Optimum asphalt mix design with the available installed from the second level construction gallery, and the “ites, filer materials, snd bitumen rade, fourth isthe grout curtain with a maximam depth of 120m 3) Siciuearnnsciny aay saute ceenath behaviour a installed through the concrete cut-off wall, For more details {9? THaxial Comps tness-stiain-strength f about the very complex system of eutolf walls and grout ing, an extremely demanding tisk. reler to Chen (2003) and Hao and He (2008). alternative mix designs. 4) Testing of tensile, bending, snd creep behavior of the as halt mix (5) Resistance of asphalt conesete to cyelic loading simul ing earthquake shaking The quartz diorite quarry is located 3 km downstream of Asphalt-core design investigations ‘Afier the asphals-core option w ted in the early des the dum site nearby an access roud. while & dolomite quarry sign stage. a special test program was prepared to study the is located in the reservoir area 16 km upstream of the dam following aspects in mare detail (Sun and Wang 1994): site, A special access road would have to be built to use thePa Feprocuction, representation et ditusion intr, Loi dy 0107/92, Wang et al Fig. 5. Water barriers inthe Yele Dam foundation. All dimensions in metses. 1, crest; 2, asphalt cor 1969 3, ground surface; 4, excavation line; 5, concrete cut-off wall; 6, rout curtain; 7, construction gallery used for construction of grout curtain and conerete cut-off wal; 8, concrete cut-off wall extension built in the open excavation 0-150 TEI dolomite quarry. Dolomite is alkaline and has very good ad- hesion (0 bitumen (grade 5, Chinese boiling test. standard DLIT 5362-2006 (People’s Republic of China National De- velopment and Reform Commission 2006)). It is considered to be very suitable as an aggregate in asphalt concrete. ‘Quartz diorite is slightly acidic and therefore has weaker ac! hesion to bitumen (grade 4). However, as shown by Wang et ‘al, (2010), for hydraulic asphalt concrete with air ity <3%, somewhat poorer a e-bitumen adhesion has no significant effects on the stress-strain- strength behaviour and weathering resistance. Therefore, aggregates from the ‘quartz diorite quarry were considered satistactory, and this was a much more economical solution. Hydraulic asphalt to be used in a dam core should be vir ually impervious, flexible, and workable. The aggregate composition complies with Fuller's gradation curve im- proved with a fine grain component smaller than 0.073 mm (filler material) (Héeg. 1993). To ensure very low permieabil ty (about 10-! mm/s) the air porosity in the dam core should be less than 39 (Héeg 1993; Wang and Héeg 2009). Triax: ial compression tests should be carried out under different confining stresses to assure that the asphalt concrete exhibits flexible and ductile (not strain-softening) behaviour required to adjust to dam deformations caused by static and dynamic loads and differential foundation settlements, For the Yele am asphalt core, the bitumen content (Iype AH-70 in Chi nese standarel DL/T 5411-2009 (People’s Republic of China National Energy Administration 2009)) is 6.3% by total weight and the filler content is 12%. About 30% of the fine ogates (2.36-0.075 mm) consist of natural sands particles) 1o improve the workability of the asphalt Many of the details of these experimental studies and test results are reported by Wang (2008), who investigated the permeability af asphalt concrete as & funtion of imposed Shear strains, Two-and three-dimensional finite elentent analyses 10 study stresses, strains, and deformations in dif ferent embankment zones were also performed." "See Appendix ( © persis 8 Oram “] arzeses 3 ° © on710 ZO O "| wei2s6ss 3 ce > @§ 3] © no? ® vel SO dts ‘An additional test program was undertaken to focus om the effects of shear displacements causing possible leakage at the joint between the asphalt core and the conerete plinth (Wang and Sun 1997, 1999). Special attention was given to the mix proportions of the sandy asphalt mastic placed on the core plinth interface. Figure 6 shows the design of the critical asphalt core plinth connection and the top of the concrete cut-off wall in the foundation. A model (1:10 scale) was built to test the core-plinth interface when it was subjected to shear dis- placements in the downstream direction and high water pres- sure (Fig. 7). The asphalt core in the model was 240 mm wide at the bottom, 120 mm wide at the top, and 330 mm in height. The asphalt mastic layer between the core and the concrete slab was 20 mm thick. ‘The mastic mix consisted of bitumen type AH-70, limestone filler. and river sand in the proportions 1:2:1. respectively. The core-plinth connection ‘model tests were run at a temperature of 7 °C. As shown in Fig, 7, the water pressure at the interface be- tween the asphalt conerete core and the concrete plinth was kept at 0.3 MPa (ie., 30 m of head) during most of the test ‘The vertical stress at the base of the asphalt core in the Yele Dam design was computed by finite element analyses to be 1.65 MPa. The vertical stress applied in the model was in- creased gradually up to 1.65 MPa within 30 min. ‘Then the concrete slab (plinth) was pushed horizontally. The shear stress required to make the slab move relative to the base of we core was 0.6 MPa, and the slab displacement rate was then kept at 0.1 mm/min. The resulting shear stress on the ‘mastic layer was increased from 0.6 to 1.35 MPa during the shearing process. After 200 min of testing, the vertical dis placement of the core and horizontal displacement at the in- terface were 17-4 and 20.5 mm, respectively. No leakage was detected even when the waler pressure was increased From 0.3 t0 1.0 MPa at the end of the test. The slab was hen pushed at | mm/min to reach a shear displacement of 9% of the core thickness. This was the maxi smuin shear displacement the model allowed. No leakage Pubtnns by NRC Rescue ProsRexroductan, representation et cfusion inte, Lov du 0107/82, 1370 Fig. 6. Sruetural connection bet plinth (ll dimensions in metes; let side of figure is upstream, right is downstream). 1, asphalt core; 2, transition zone; 3, I thick sandy asphalt mastic; 4, geo-membrane covering foundation to upstream dam toe; 5, silt 6, filter and drainage layer; 7, concrete cut-off wall; 8 reinforced concrete plinth; 9, foundation overbur- den, 1 the asphalt core and conerete ® ‘was detected during the model testing despite the large im posed shear strains, The vertical stress, shear stress. vertical displacement, and shear displacement versus time for the model test are shown in Fig, 7. When the model was re- moved from the testing apparatus, some of the ma discovered to have extruded, and the mastic layer thickness hhad reduced to 12 mm from the initial 20 mm. However, no cracks or fissures were detected at the core-plinth interface (Chu et al. 2004), The test results showed that the behavior at the interface was satisfactory even for shear distortions ‘much larger than anticipated in the Field Dam construction and simultaneous reservoir impounding The vertical core wall, located 3.7 m upstream of the dam was designed to be 1.20 m wide at the bottom decreasing gradually to 0,00 mat the top (el Imaash), The base of the core is Hlared out against the ceonterline ‘and 265: plinth to a width of 2.40 m at the core: plinth interface, Sim- ilarly, the core is Hared out against the plinth at the abut ments 10 twice the core width at that elevation Although before the year 2000 more than 10 asphalt-core Can, Geotech. J. Vol. 47, 2010 dams had been completed in China, most of them were small and the cores had been constructed manually or with simple and improvised equipment. There was a lack of ex- pertise and available modern equipment to build large as- phalt-core dams. However, at the time, the asphalt core for the Maopingxi Dam (part of the Three Gorges Project) with fa height of 105 m was under construction using a modern aasphalt-core paver purchased from the Norwegian contractor Kolo Veidekke as. ‘The Yele asphalt-core construction presented a. special challenge because of the cold and rainy weather and a very ‘ight construction schedule. A Chinese asphalt paver was built and construction procedures were developed for plac: ‘ng the asphalt core during the night and at air temperatures down to -5 °C. The design of the asphalt-core paver was made very similar to the Norwegian one used for placing the Mopingxi Dam asphalt core (Hoeg 1993). Several job trials were undertaken before asphalt-core construction started. The asphalt-core paver places simultaneously the as- phalt core and the adjacent supporting transition zones. The total width that could be placed by the new paver was 3,8 m; thus, the transition zones on either side of the core ‘were each 1.3 m wide at the bottom and 1.6m wide at the top. The core and adjacent transition zones were built up ‘and compacted in 26 cm thick layers (compacted thickness) During dam construction, the core top elevation was at all times above that of the embankment rocklill and did not slow down the rapid construction progress. The Yele as- phalt-core construction was started in November 2003 and ‘was completed in November 2005. Systematic quality con- {ro} of the asphale core was carried out throughout the con- struction period! t0 ensure that the air porosity of the asphalt concrete in plice was less than the specified 3%, which gives a virtually impervious core (Hoeg 1993), Zones, com- paction specifications, and qulity control for the Yele Dam are shown in Table | Figure 8 shows the progress of dam construction and int pounding until October 2007. and the operation until No- ‘vember 2008 is shown in the first gure in the section titled “Field performance observations of the asphalt core”. The Yele Dam embankment construction started in Apri 2001 and in December 2004 the dam reached el. 2603 masl., which is LS m below the crest of the dam (el 2654.5 mash). In January 2005 a special impounding test was Started, At that time the water level was at el. 2552 masl. behind the upstream cofferdam, as shown in Fig. 8. After one month of impounding, the water level was raised 35.5 m (lo el, 2587 maasl,). Then the water was lowe cred fo its original level at el, 2552 m.asl. Observations were ‘made of the pore-water pressures on the downstream side of the core, of the deformations of the core, and ofthe strains in the concrete plinth and cut-off wall during the raising and lowering of the reservoir while the embankment height was kept constant at el. 2603 mal, The pore-water pressures on. the downstream side of the core wall were measured to be west. and the deforma tions of the asphalt core and the strains in the conerete plinth and cut-off wall were very small (see later discussion of per Tormance observations). On 9 March 2005 the reservoi water level was raised again and reached cl. 2634 mash. on close 10 2er0 during the impoundin Publ hy NRC Research PresWang at a ‘Reproduction, apresentaton at cifuson iene. Loi a UOTE srt Fg. 7. Model test to study behaviour of core-plinth interface when subjected 0 interface shear displacement and high water pressure. (a) Model of the asphalt cre-plnth connection. (b) Measured stresses and displacements versus time forthe 1:10 scale model of the asphalt ccore-plinth connection. Disp, displacement. @ consi rv 951th (0mm) Peer ie: ol Ksese ba eset <4 4 el Be [x3 “Foes iru con fei Boxe Keoseel s Manone Pr (2s s Fiabe ses | =sWatepresee 2 | eee ete » e z E fis 8 3 : Bo oe $ é os 5 ° 0 (0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 1€0 180 200 220 Time (rin) 26 Octaber 2005. The embankment reached the cres! eleva- tion 2654.5 msl. in December 2005. During operation and power generation the first year. the water level dropped to el. 2600 mash. but rose again 10 el 2642.5 masl. by 12 December 2006 (see Fig. 8). On 23 ‘April 2007 the water level had deopped to el. 2609 m.asl. but on 23 October 2007 it rose again t0 el, 2648 mast which is 2m below full supply water level at el 2650 mas. During construction, impounding and operation ff the dam was monitored by means of a comprehensive in sirumeatation system as described below, Dam monitoring and performance observations The monitoring system consists of measuring dam body deformations, seepage through the core, foundation and abutments, water pressures in the abutments and foundation, stresses and strains io the asphalt core, in the conerete plinth and in the cut-off wall, temperatures inside the core, and 2c celerations during any earthquake shaking (Chen 2003; NRBHDC 2007; Chen et al. 2009) Measured dam surface displacements during and after construction Figure 3 shows the arrangement of displacement observa. The 99 bolts are insialled ‘along seven longitudinal lines, one on the upstream slope, top of core, und three om tion bolts on the dam surface. tivo on the dam crest, ane on th the downstream slope. The horizontal distance between bolts, 50 m, corresponding 10 cross-sections B,C, D. E, and F The geodetic surveys for displace shown on Figs. 3 and 4 Published by NRC Research Press‘production, representation et cifusion intrctes. La dy O1O7A. 1372 ‘Table 1. Zoning, compaction specifications and quality contol for Yele the People’s Republi ‘of China 2002) and DLT 5411-2009 (People's Republic of Chi Gan, Geotech. J. Vol. 47, 2010 Dam (standards $1.274-2001 (The Ministry of Water Resources of National Energy Administetion 200)). —— eee Tayer ‘Compaction by Zone (see Fig. 2) _ Material thickness (mm) vibratory roller Quality contro ‘Asphalt core Bitumen AFF-TO, aggregate (D0 mm) (020-026 8 passes, 131 Air porosity < 30% ‘Transition zone A Gravel (0-80 min, grin size <5 mm passing 20%- 020-026 4 passes, 2t Dry density > 20.6 KNim', 13-16 m 40%; grain size < 0.075 mm passing = 10% porosity = 20% ‘Transition zone B_ Gravel (0-150 mm, grain size <5 mm passing 020-026 4 passes, 21 Porosity = 22% 20-40-m 10%%-20%6; sain size < 0.075 mm passing = 3% Shoulder) (Quarried rock (0-800 mm) 1042 8 passes, 201 Dry density > 21.9 kNim', porosity = 24% Shoulder (U) —__Quarried rock (0-800 min) O42 B passes, 201 Dry density 2 22.5 kN’, porosity = 229% ‘Shoulder (II) Natural gravel or guaried rock (0-800 mm) 10-12 B passes, 20¢ Day density » 21.1 kN/m!, porosity = 22% (upstream), 24% (downstream) “Toe berm Rock debris (01200 rami) 1 8 passes, 20 Dry density > 19.6 kN Fig, 8 Progress of dam construction and reservoir impounding. (Note: the reservoir was held back by the upstream cofferdam be- fore the impounding test started at el, 2552 mash) 2660 2850 2640 2620 2820, 2610 2600 2590 2880 2570 2560, 2550 2540 2530 Elevation (m.asl.) | Reser pain 2004 2008 2008 2007 Year ‘ment monitoring used six fixed benchmarks in the vicinity ‘of the dam. Only a few of the dam surface deformation measurements, will be discussed, as in this paper the focus is on the behav- jour of the asphalt core and ils interaction with the transition zones. AS an example, the movements of che bolls on the up- stream berm at el. 2620 m, asl, a distance of 79 m from the vertical dam axis, are shown in Table 2. The settlements have been measured since 25 July 2005 when the dam rockfill was at €1.2627.8 masl. Alter placement of additional rockfill (26.7 m) 10 the top of the embankment, and after reservoir raising and lowering during the construction and operation (see Fig. 8), the settlements of the bolts along this berm on 10 September 2005 and 9 May 2007 are as shown in Table 2, Over the almost 2 year observation period, the measure ments in Table | seem very consistent with the largest set- tlement of 82 mm at the maximum seetion D. On the left bank, the reduction in effective stresses due to impounding. caused the berm to heave 9 mm. On the right bank with the ‘deep overburden, the reduction of the effective siresses due to impounding caused the berm to heave 25 nun, Figure 9 shows the settlements of the holts on the down- sigeam berms at el. 2594.5 mas. and el, 2624.5 mast. at the tend of September 2007 (20 months alter end of construc tion), The maximum settlement (combination of construction and post-construction settlements) is 60 mm between cross- sections D and E. It should be noted that the bolt displace- ‘ments at the lower berm have been measured since 12 No- vember 2005 (when installed) and at the higher berm since 15 February 2006, Post-construction displacement observations at the top of the core (3.7 m upstream of the dam centetline), upstream crown points, and downstream crown points were started on 21 June 2006, Unfortunately, this is 0.5 years after the end ‘of dam construction, so the post-consiruction displacements during the first months are not included. The post-construction displacements. recorded on 27 September 2007 are shown in Fig. 10. The maximum post-construction settlement is measured to be 45 mm at the upstream crown point in cross-section E, However, the settlement may actually hhave been almost twice that if one were to include the post-construction settlements during the first 0.5 years after the end of construction, During the post-construction observation period until Oc. tober 2007, the dam had experienced two cycles of water level rising and lowering of around 40 m (Fig. 8). As shown in Fig. 10, the core crest settlement is 40 mm at section D. The settlement is slightly more at the upstream crown point and slightly more near the right bank than near the left bank. ‘The downstream crown point shows about 10 mm less set- dement than the core. The post-construction horizontal jlacements of the crown points and top of core are shown Fig. 10b. The downstream crown points show more dis- placement than the upsteeam crown point and the lop of the core, The maximum is about 27 mm in etoss-section D. The downstreatt erown point shows less posi-construction settle- ment, but more downstream displacement than the upstceam crown point, which agrees with the observations fron many coher central core rockfill dams (Hoeg et al. 20071. This is due to the effects of impounding on the behaviour of the up, stream fill Up wntil January 2009, the dam had experienced three cycles of water level rising and lowering. and the am had been subjected 1 10 earthyuakes of various magnitudes (Chen et al. 2009; Zhao et al, 2009). The maxitnum post construction settlement occurred at the upstreatn point of the terest at section D (maximum eross section of the dam). und the value was about Hem in June 2008. For comparison, Pu a by NRC Reseach ProseReproduction, raresaniaton at dusion it Wang et al ‘Table 2. Setlement(settim,) of bolts on the upstream berm at el terites. Lod OO78 1973 2620 mash Distance (in m) from dam crest on left bank, el.2654,5 m.2s) 100" 120(B) _170(C)_ 22000) 2708) 3201) _ 34" Water level Embankment Sottim. —Settim. Setlm. Set, Setdm, —Setlm. Set. Date (mash) level mas) (mm) (mm) (ram) (mm) __ (mm) (eam) mm) 35 hal 2005 SHAS —~—~«RETR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Sep 2005 2619.3 26378 4 1 2 35 28 6 4 9 May 2007 2610.1 26545 ~ 16 2 2 6 3 25 Note: B,C, D, and Freer to section lvaions shown on Fign 3 and 4 ‘Points loeted oer the lt sd right banks jst inside te emfanknent Fig. 9, Setlement of bots on the downstream slope. (Observation periods: el. 2504.5 msl, [2 November 2005 ~ 30 September 2007; et 2624.5 mas, 1S February 2006 - 29 September 2007.) ==] E20 < i ga By : ° Le we Distance from dam crest on left bank (m) the settlement of the upstream point of the crest for the Stor glomvatn asphall-core rockfill dam, also 125m high, was 18 em after the first 2 years of operation (Hoeg et al. 2007), ‘Table 3 shows the Settlements of the upstream points of the crest before and after the Wenchuan earthquake, 12 May 2008. When the Wenchuan earthquake struck, the Yele servoir level was near the miniswum operating level el 2600 maasl. The maximum additional crest settlement during The earthquake was about 15 mm at section D. The Yele Dam site is Hocated 258 km irom the epicenter of the Wen cchuan earthguake (magnitude 8.0) and the intensity (Chinese seale) at the dam site was Jess than VI (Chen et al. 2008: ‘Zvao et al. 2009). According to the monitored accelerations Thom ine strong-motion seismographs installed on and in the Yele Dam, the calculated maximum seilemnent, horizon- lal displacement (downstream direction). and longitudinal displacement (along dam axis) of the dam erest induced by the Wenchuan earthquake were 19, 25, and 17 mm, respec tively. The several other earthquakes th since the end of construction have had insigniticant effects fon the dam. In surmary, the dam surface disphicements show uniform rid consistent deformation patterns even afte rienced the Wenchuan earthquake, and the observed settle ments are smaller than expected, This must mean that the avel are of high qurality. the embankment wats Fig. 10, Postconstruction settlement and horizontal displacement of crown and top of core. (a) Postconstruction settlement atthe top of the core and the upstream and downstream points on the crow. (B) Post-construction horizontal displacement in the downstream direction ot the top ofthe core and the upstream and downstream Points on the crown. (Measurements started 0:5 yeats after the end of dam construction.) 0 (@) —BTop of core “© Upsteam cove 0 =e Downsiream own é Ex 5 2 2 8 « 0 270 10 «17 «220 «77030 37042 @oc DE F Distance from dam cteston left bank (m) b) 0 ee ©) | 2 Top of core 5 y,| —2-Upeteam sown . | ae imetrsr rum E10 Bis 20 Oo 0 ee ee ae ee) rn Distance from dam crest on left bank (m) ery well compacted, and that the alluvial overburden in the Foundation is less compressible than anticipated, Measured deformations inside the dam Five observation huts on the dant erest and five on theaon ‘Repro, rprasetation of sion ire, Lo a O17, 1374 Can, Geotech. J. Vol. 47, 2010 ‘Table 3 Settlements of the upstream points of the erest before and after the Wenchuan earthquake, 12 May 2008, Distance (in m) from dam erest on left bank e1.2654.5 mast om 1208) 1702) 270) 20H) _ 365" Water level Settim. Settim, —Settlm, Set. Sem. Setlm. —_ Settim Dae fina) (eam) (mm) mm) (mm) nm) (mm) tm) 25 Apr 2008 2602.0 315 RRS CNG TRB —«*OD 366 19 May 2008 2603.7 326 94) 1285341360 1G SRL “Powe Tooiod over the er und Feat banks outsde ie embankment, berms on the downstream slope were constructed (see Fig. 3). They are used for collecting all the measurements, of displacements inside the dam. The vertical displacements inside the dam ate obtained by water level settlement gages and the horizontal displacements by extensometer measure- ‘ments relative (o the movements of the bolts om the observa- tion huts. The reinforced concrete observation gallery inside the downstream dam body is located 8 m downstream from the dam axis. The base slab is at el. 2560 mash, 30 m above the dam plinth, which ensures that it is well above the line of saturation (see Figs. 2 and 3), The gallery is used to col lect measurements of pore pressures in the dam foundation. ‘The instrumentation leads that collect strain measurement in the plinth and cut-off wall are routed through a prefabri- cated vertical concrete pipe, which is located in the dow stream shell sear the right’ abutment, ‘The instrumentation Teads that collect measurements taken in the core and trans tion zone are routed vertically through the transition zone. During dam construction, the instrumentation leads were temporarily protected by vertical steel pipes. ‘Three vertical pipes with & total of 29 electromagnetic tings were installed inside the downstream transition zone. ‘behind the core, to measure local vertical and horizontal dis placements, The rings were arranged with an individual height difference of 10 m Special gages were installed at the upstream and down- strean> interfaces between the core and transition zones to measure differential settlements between the core and transi tion zones at different elevations, The gages were modified joint meters used in conerete structures with one end anch= fred in the core while the other was fixed in the transition zone, The gages were only installed over the lower part of the core in each cross section (over the lower 25. m in ‘eross-section D and over the lower 15m in sections B and F), Vertical strain meters were also installed on the upstream ‘and «downstream faces of the core over these same lower parts 10 measure strains in the axphalt concrete. Total pres- sure cells were installed at the bottom of the asphalt core ‘on top of the plinth near cross-sections A and D. Further more, shear displacements were measured by gages installed atthe interface between the core and conerete pint to de~ termine the shear distortions at the interface The structural connection between the asphalt core and re inforced conerete plinth is shown in Fig, 6, Strain meters ‘were mounted on the reinforcing steel in the plinth to meas ture steel strewses, and there were four lines of optic fibre sensors to monitor potential cracking in the concrete plinth Observed settlements in the downstream transition zone in August 2007 (ie.. 19 months after the end of construction) Fig. 11. Seilement inside the transition zone behind the core a te cross sections. Observation date 3 August 2007, 2650 2630 10 2590 2570 2590 200 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 Settlement (mm) fare shown in Fig. 11. The maximum setlements, including the foundation setilements, at sections B,D, and F were 560, 1060, and 550 mm, respectively. The vertical strain in the transition zone varied significantly over the height, but the average compressive strains were 0.9%, 1.3%, and 0.8% in the three sections, respectively. The maximum horizontal displacements in the downstream tsnsition zone in the downstream direction (normal 10 the dam axis) at sections B, D, and F were 30, 207, and 33 mm, respectively. In the Jongitudinal direction (along the dam axis), the maximum displacements towards the sight bank in these three sections ‘were 94, -240, and 144 mm. respectively. ‘The measurements of strains in the plinth (as of January 2009) indicate low values and no cracking has occurred. Strain meters are also installed in the cut-off wall at four twansverse sections, and the observed results indicate very satisfactory performance (Wu et al. 2009: Zhao et al. 2009; ‘Zeng and Wang 2009), Field performance observations of the asphalt core ‘The measiwed settlement differences between the lower part of the asphalt core and the adjacent transition zones, nd the maximum measured compressive strains in the up- Stream and downstream faces of the core, are shown in Ta ble 4. The observation date is 18 October 2007. when the reservoir level was at el. 2647.5 masl, Since then and up to November 2008. the settlement differences between the core and transition zone and the compressive strains in the core have shown almost no change (Wang and Zheng 200), Paine by NRC ResWang et a. reeset etuson interes. Loi dy 0107192, 1375 ‘Table 4, Measured settlement differences between the asphalt core and the upstream and downstream transition zones and measured compressive strains in the core. ‘Setlement diference between the core and transition zone (men)* Compressive stain inthe core (%) Elevation Section _(masl.) __ Upstream Downstream Upstream face _ Downstream face B 2504 9 cs = = 26044 7 9 12 26095 9 2» _ Dd 25nd “= — — 31 248 2» 0 25 31 2558, 48 58 7 27 F 2585 50 40 = = 2595 39 30 = — 2600 2 4 26 29 SPosnive vale Hea War Ue Cove Tan Se ore Te Fanon He ‘The data show that there are large variations in the meas bred differential settlements, but the asphalt core has seitled ‘more than the (ransition zone in all measurements. The maxi- mum tecorded settlement difference in November 2008 was about 60 mm, Figuee 12 shows the differential settlement curves with time at el, 2558 m. asi. in section D. The curves show that the settlement differences took place during the dam construction period, and there is virtually no measured in- crease in differential setlements after the end of construction, Figure 14 shows vertical core strain versus time. The curves show that around 90% of the asphalt strains cook place during the dam construction and impounding period, ‘and there is minimal measured increase in the core strains during the subsequent 3 year operation period. The compre sive vertical sirains on the upstream and downstream sides ff the asphalt core in the lower 25 m of the core wall in cross-section D were measured to be 25%-3%, while the average compressive strain in the downstream transition zone over the vomesponding height was 1.7%. As shown in the figure, the 12 May 2008 Wenehwan earthquake had in- significant effects on the strains in the core. ‘The temperature of the core is observed with [4 temper lure sensors at sections B, D, and F, During the first month after asphalt concrete plicement, the temperature dropped from around 160 -C to less than 20. C and gradually reduced ‘with time, The temperature at the bottom of section D was 13.7 -C in December 2004, 12.4 C in Devember 2005. 915 C in December 2007. and 94°C in Novernber 2008. In July 2009, the temperatures at different points in the core were in the range 7.2-12.5 °C (Wang and Zheng 2009) Evaluation of asphalt core performance Interaction between asphalt core and adjacent transition The vertical compression stresses measured! by the tol pressure cells at the bottom of the core are 0.65 MPa near cross-section A and 2.1 MPa oear section D (see Fig. 4), ‘These values have stayed almost constant from the end of dun construction (December 2005) to the latest observation in November 2008. showing only very srnll_ variations teaused! by fluctuations inthe reservoir fevel (Wang and Zheng 2009), ‘The measured stresses are 90% (section A) ‘and 70% (section D) of the stresses computed by multiply- ing the local height of the core with the unit weight of the material above, The stress computed by the finite element analyses for cross-section D was |.65 MPa, which is consid- erably less than the measured stress of 2.1 MPa. This means. that the arching effect between the core and the stiffer tran sition zones is smaller than that modeled by the finite ele- ment analyses. This is probably due to the inadequate modeling of the viscoelastic-plastic behavior (with tempera- ture and time) of the asphalt core during construction. The ‘measured arching effect corresponds to a small average ver~ tical, upward shear stress of around 4 kPa on both sides of the core, The constitutive modeling of asphalt concrete be havior for use in numerical analyses must be improved 10 give more reliable analyses in better agreement with field ‘observations. Interesting comparisons may be made between the fietd ‘measurements trom the Yele Dam and the Maopinaxi Dam, The Maopingxi asphalt-core dam is 105 m high with a crest length of 1840 m, The dam was built from 1997 to 2003 and was extensively instrumented (Xu et al. 2009). The meas: tured results. 5 years after end of construction, indicate that the maximum settlement difference between the core and the transition zones was 48 mm, and that occurred 14 m above the core base. The vertical strains on the upstream ‘and downstream side of the asphalt core are all compressive with a maximum value of 4%, The compression stress meas bored at the core bottom against the concrete plinth is 1.5 MPa for the maximum cam section, which is 60% of the stress computed by simply multiplying the local height ‘oF the core with the unit weight of the material above. Shear placements at the core-plinth interface normal to the plinth in the downstream direction were mezsuired to be less than 2 mm (Zou et al, 2008), When considering the differ ences in dam geometry. soning, and material propesties be: ween the Yele Dam and Maopingxi Dam. one may conclude that the measured behaviour of the two asphalt ry consistent with each other, Iu is a difficult task to take measurements of differential sottlementy berween the hot core and the adjacent transition ones sane! 10 measure stra in the eure itself bul i hay also.zon Reproaueton, presentation et dtusion interes, Li dy 110782, 1376 Can, Geotech. J. Vol. 47, 2010 Fig. 12, Settlement differences between asphalt core and transition zones versus time at el, 2558 mash. at section D. Latest observation date 1 Novernber 2008, sw _ = : = E oo 8 60 2620 % 5 2610 & ie 5 2500 S pat 2 Downstream core interface Pal aes 5-2 eee | oe — Impounding 2540 = Est a a ar 13. Stains at upstrea Latest observation date 1 November 2008, 1m (up) and downstream (down) faces of the core versus time at different heighis above the plinth at section D. 39 2580 38 2650 33 2640 38 2630 S27 2320 F © 24 210 ® Ea 2600 & 2 18 2500 § S15 2500 § B12 2570 > 09 2560 08 2550 03 2540 ° 2530 been attempted for some earlier dams. Measurements at Storvain Norway (Adikari et al. 1988), showed smaller differential settlements (10-30 mm) than in the Yele and Maopingxi dams, and in the case of Dhinn Dam. Germany, there was virtually no measured differential settle ‘ment (Strobl and Schinid 1993). For earth-core dams there is concern about the arching ef- in the core between the acljacent filter zones and a possi fe bly significant reduction in effective stresses in the core whieh then may crack due to hydraulic fracturing. This is of much less concern in a core of ductile asphalt conerete, which also has some tensile strength, and the International Commis- sion on Large Dams (ICOLD 1992) states that hydraul turing cannot occur in an asphalt concrete core. tn the Yele Dam core, the total stresses towards the bottom of the core are higher than the corresponding water pressures. so the ef Fective stresses are positive. However situations there may be a concer about hydraulie fracturing. Therefore Is the authors are currently carrying out laboratory experi at Xi'an University of Technology to study whether cond tions may arise that potentially could lead to the phenomenon of hydraulic fracturing in an axphalt conerete core, Back-analysis of strains in the core based on measured dam and foundation settlements For a dam resting on a compressible foundation where Jorge differential settlements may occur, whether transverse cracks or fissures may develop through the asphalt-core wall needs to be considered, Differential settlements were finitely a concern for the Yele Dam at the design stage, However, the lield measurements show that the foundation settlements are relatively small, and the setlement profile ueross the valley is rather gradual and almost symmetrical about the centerline of the valley. A simplified back-analysis oof the shear strains in the core was pertormed using the ob: served foundation settlements 2 years afer construction, The finite element analysis of strains in the axphalt core is based on the following simplifications and assumptions201 Reproduction, representation e iuson intrdes La dv 00782. Wang et al (1) Two-dimensional (2-D) plane strain analyses have been undertaken using the software SIGMA in GeoStudio 2004. (2) The settlements along the plinth, as shown in Fig. 4. have been increased in proportion to the dam height (as the dam was constructed in 13 layers). (3) The unit weight of the asphalt core (25 kN/m?) has been reduced to an equivalent unit weight of 18.4 kN/m*, This is done to simulate the effect of skin friction (arching) between the core and transition zone on either side of the core, The magnitude of the reduction was determined by using the total stress measured at the base of the core in section D. Having observed the settlements at sections B, D, and F in the downstream transition zone and the settlement differ- cences between the asphalt core and transition cone (Fig. 12 and Table 4), one may estimate the seitlements of the as- pphalt core at these three sections. The comparisons between the calculated (by the 2-D finite element analyses) and ob- served settlements in the core at sections B, D, and F are shown in Fig. 15. In the analysis, the equivalent Young's modulus for the core was taken equal to 45 MPa and Pois- son's ratio equal to O4 based on the laboratory test results presented by Wang (2008) for the asphalt concrete used in the core of the Yele Dam, ‘The observed and calculated settlements at these three sections match reasonably well below el. 2625 maasl., but ot towards the top of the core. As geo-grids were placed horizontally over the top 30 m of the dam, they confine the horizontal displacements of the top part of the dam body, which then undergoes smaller settlements. This is not mod cled in the back-analysis and is one reason why the calcu lated settlements over the top 30 m are much bigger than the observed settlements, The back-caleulated shear stresses and shear strains in the core are shown in Fig, 16, The results from the back-analysis, confirm that the most critical location for the asphalt core is 160 m from the left bank, where the bottom of the cut-off wall leaves the rock base and goes over to the mote com pressible overburden. The computed stresses and strains at this location are shown in Table 5, The shear stresses are al ‘most symmetrical around the deepest section of the dam due to the rather symumetrieal foundation settlement pattern that was measured and used in the analysis (Fig. 14). The settle- ments are only slightly larger on the right bank than on the left bank, where the depth to bedrock is much smaller, ‘Stress_strain-strongth tests were performed on 100 mm diameter samples drilled out of the asphalt core during con- struction, The results from strain-controlled compression tr ‘axial tests, keeping the lateral confining stress constant during each test, are shown in Fig. 17. The tests were run at 7-°C. The stress-strain curves show a very ductile asphalt ‘concrete behavior with insignificant strain-softening even for tests with very Tow confining stress (Wane 2008). ‘This is characteristic of the behavior of hydraulic asphalt concrete with a bitumen content between 6.5% and 7.5% (by total weight), 12-15% filler content. an aggregate grain-size curve that satislies the Fuller distribution of particle sizes. land maximum aggregate size between 16 and 20 mm. Th behavior is that of a ductile, viseoelastie-plastic material 1377 Fig. 14, Measured settlements slong the plinth at end of construc tion and impounding. (These settlements are used as input in the Finite element back-analysis.) ° 04 02 03 Sattement (rn) oe os. 30-20-70 120 170 720 270 320 370 420 Bc DE F Distance from dar crest on left bank (m) Fig. 18. Comparisons between the measured and calculated settle ‘ments in the core at sections B, D, and F. 2670 2580 2520 2510 2500 Elovation (m.as.) 2510 2550 210 =200 9 200 400 600 800 1000 ‘Settlement (men) 1200 with self-healing (sell-sealing) properties should any fissures or eracks occur duc to excessive shear distortions Eberlaste Dam, Austria, was one of the first asphalt-core embankment dams ever built (1962-1964). It rests on a deep and compressible alluvial foondation, and large differ- ential settlements have taken place under the dam, causing significant shear distortions in the asphalt core (Hcg 1995). However, even in that ease, no leakage due 10 crack ing in the core has occurred. As the designers of the Eber laste Dam had anticipated lange differential settlements, they specified the use of an especialy soft grade of bitumen the asphalt conerete to be able to accommodate large shear distortions without cracking (Riendssl 1973). This is Cone of the advantages of an asphalt-core embankment dam: the geomechanical properties of the asphalt concrete may to ‘certain extent be tailored to the specific design conditions, making it well suited for use in a dam water barrier Based on the finite element analysis results presented in ‘Table 5 and the test results for the Yele asphali-core speci- mens. one may conclude that the computed stress and stra states inside the core are safely within a stress-strain range where there is no danger of cracking duc to high shear stresses of significant shear dilation that could increase the Published by NRC Resear Pressaon -Repricton, presentation ef itso ited, Lol cy 010782 1378 Can, Gootech. J. Vol. 47, 2010 Fig. 16, Computed maximum shear stresses and strains inthe core. (a) Maximum shear stress contours (KPa) in the asphalt core from the back-analysis. (6) Maximum shear strain contours in the asphalt core from the back-analyss. @ Mac: 00334 op ‘Table 5. Stess and stain state in the most eritcal location of the asphalt core at seetion C. ‘Max. Major principal Minor principal Ratio of major Sate Vertics! Longitudinal Hlor—vert. shear Max. shear _ stress stress sninorpeinipal sess Siew (Pay 17108 “019 NA 038 178 Tos ras Swain (%) 19 015 Lis 204 2M NIA NA. NIA Rote Nor vert horonal-veteal NVA, fot apple Fig. 17. Triaxial compression test resus ftom 100 mun diameter samples diled out uf the Yele Dan» core during constuction. Results presented for different levels of coafining stress. 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 +000 500 aa | 0-400 2-700 -o-c-1000 | Deviator stress (kPa) 0 2 4 68 & 1 12 14 Axial strain (%) permeability of the core, The measured field behaviour of the core-plinth interface in the Yele Dam is also very reas- Asphalt core as impervious barrier Thirteen pizeometers were installed in the downstream transition zone adjacent to the core at sections B.C, D, and E, and [5 piezometers were installed upstream and down- strenn near the joint between the asphalt core and concrete plinth at these Same sections. Fifteen piezometers were in stalled in the foundation under sections B.C, and D. and 20) piezomcters were installed trom the observation gallery down 10 2.m below the dam base, About 200 m downstream of the dam toe, a measuring weir was installed to measure the seepage rate coming from the river bed section, left side of the dam, und left abutment Most, if not all, of the seepage through the right side of the dam and through the right abutment is assumed t0 be col lected and measused by the 12 weirs installed on the right Palisa by NRC Reset esszon FReproductin, cepresenation ection ntrtes. Lol du 1072 ‘Wang et al bank in the drainage gallery, construction gallery, access galleries, and a drainage ditch (see Fig. 3). During the impounding test, very little scepage was re- ‘corded and the pore pressures measured on the downstream side of the asphalt core above the plinth were zero or negli- gible up to a reservoir level of about cl. 2630 mast. When the reservoir level exceeded el. 2633 mash, there was a sig- nificant increase in seepage through the right bank. When the reservoir was at el. 2648 maasl. (.e., only 2 m below full supply level), the pressure at plinth level on the up- stream side of the core was 118-m while the pressure head in the river bed at the downstream side of the core was still only 7 m under section D. However, the pote-water pressure in the foundation under section F on the right bank was ob- served to be high, increasing, with the reservoir level. ‘The significant seepage beneath the cutoft wall at this section ‘was of concer, and in early 2006 a deep drainage well was installed in the foundation through the observation gallery. In December 2007, when the reservoir was at el 2650 mas. (i full supply level) the maximom total seep- age was 358 1/5, which is still smaller than the maximum seepage value of S00 Lis anticipated during design (Wang ct al, 2009), From May to September 2008, additional grout ing was carried out, and new drainage wells were drilled in the drainage gallery in the right bank. When the reservoir was at full supply level again in November 2008, the total seepage was reduced to 277 Lis Based on the measured pore pressures in the downstream dam body, atthe plinth level downstream, and on the results, from the impounding test, one may conclude that insignifi- cant seepage is coming through the asphalt core and the core-plinth interface. Concluding remarks For the complex foundation and inclement climatic condi~ tions at the Yele Dam site, which is in a bighly seismic re- gion, a rockfill dam with a central core of asphalt concrete ‘was selected rather than a dam with an earth core or con crete facing. The design of the dam has been presented in this paper with an emphasis on the design and construction, Of the asphalt concrete core, ‘The properties of asphalt concrete may to a certain extent be tailored to specific design and site requirements, and field experience and research show that asphalt concrete is a “for= giving” material very well suited for use in the impervious. ‘core oF an embankment dam. ‘An extensive field monitoring program was implemented for Yele Dam, and the recorded results have been compared With those of other high rockfill dams with an asphalt core, Special attention has been given to the interaction between the core and adjacent transition zones. Based on the field measurements, back-analyses, tests on the properties of the asphalt conerete and the joint between the core and plinth, one may conelude that the asphalt core ff the Yele Dam performs very well. There are no indica- tions of any leakage through the core or at the joint between the asphalt core and conerete plinth above the foundation ccu-of¥ wall However, as anticipated at this geologically very dificult Site, there i$ some leakage under the dam in spite of the ex 1379 tensive use of deep cutoff walls and curtain grouting. In late 2008 the leakage amounted to about 280 L/s. Continu- ‘ous surveillance is taking place to study and control the de~ ‘velopment of this underseepage. Acknowledgements ‘The first and the third authors would like to thank Profes- sors Sun Zhentian and Wu Liyan and the late Professors Ding Purong and Yang Quanmin at Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, People’s Republic of China, for their co- operation during several research programs on the Yele as- pphalt core since 1991. The authors thank the Nanya River Basin Hydro-Electric Development Cooperation, the dam owner, for permission to present the performance observa tions of the Yele Dam. 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China Water Power Press, Bejing, pp. 85t-858. Ch, W., Ya, LS. and Wo, LY, 2004, Joine seucture model test ‘of asphalt conerete core of embankment dams. Joumal of North ‘west Hydrovlectric Power, 201): 23-26, {In Chinese) CCreegan, PJ. and Monismith, C.L, 1996, Asphalt concrete barriers For embankment dams. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Press, New York Hao, Y.L., and He, $.B. 2008, Layout of Yele hydropower st ‘Sichuan Water Power, December 2003. [In Chinese, Hao. ¥ Land He, §.B. 2008, Design of Yele asphalt conerete core rockfil dam, Dam construction in China ~ state of the art. Chi ‘nese National Committee on Large Dams, Beijing. pp. 226-2. Hoeg, K. 1993. Asphaltic concrete cores for embankment clams ‘tikka Press, Oslo, Norway. Hoeg, K. 1995, Transverse cracking in embankment dams. litera- ture and finite element study. Norwegian Geotechnical Institut Oslo, Norway. NGI Report 532060, Hoog, K., Valsta,T., Kjaernsi,B., and Ruud, A.M, 2007. 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Analysis on the mechni- ‘eal behavior and safety of Maopingxi asphalt core dam, Dam ‘construction ia China ~ state of the art. Chinese National Com- rmitee on Large Dams, Beijing, pp. 240-248, Appendix A “The Yele Dam is located in the northern part of the seis- tically active fault zone of the Anning River region, and the reservoir is about 2 km west of the Anning River down stream active faults. ‘The basic seismic intensity of the dam site is VII (Chinese scale) and the design intensity is IX with a peak horizontal ground acceleration of 0.45¢. ‘The Yele Dam seismic analyses were carried out by tak- ing the peak horizontal rock ground acceleration of 0.454 in the river direction and 0.3g in vertical acceleration, ‘The cou pling coefficient of earthquake horizontal and vertical zcce! erations of 0.5 was used. The earthquake was assumed to last 40 s in a time-domain analysis. The predicted maximum earthquake induced settlement, horizontal displacement (downstream direction), and ' longitudinal displacement {along the dam axis) of the dam crest were 62, 188, and 52 mm, respectively. Based on the results of the analyses, the dam design as presented in this paper is considered 10 be very earthquake resistant Appendix B In the original design, the earthquake resistance was in- creased by using reinforced conerefe beams in the top part ff the dam. As this was found to be impractical from a con- struction point of view, it was decided to use geo-grid rein forcement instead. That was the first ime geo-grids were to be used to increase earthquake resistance in an embankinent dam in China, The type and physical parameters of the geo grids used are: maximum tensile strength > 250 MPa, max: imum longitudinal tensile toad > 150 kNim; maximum transverse tensile loud 2 80 kNém; maximum tensile stain > 8Gp; tensile load 2 60 kN/o at a tensile strain of 3%. The tensile strength at joints was specified to be > 50 kNim, When using geo-grids in such designs, the material of the ‘geo-grids should be made of polypropylene or high-density polythene and an oxygen-resistance agent should be added to prevent the geo-grid from ageing Published by NRC Rescuch PressWang et a. Appendix C ‘Reproduction, representation et citusion ntenttes, Loi du 0072. 1981 ble C1. Dam fill material parameters used in Dunean-Chang model (Duncan and Chang 1970) in finite element analysis. ‘Material c (see Figs. and 2) RK G D Ky A Pa) 0431950 038 433800400 70 065 1800 oas 38 3600-400 70 068 900 038 43° 200 370 80 Qe 0.70 1100 038 56 200 380 80 Qe 059 1300 039 59 2600-390 o ov 065 900 038 57 200 370 Cy Asphalt core 076 R50 038 Is 1200270200 ‘Transition zone (dry) 0671200, 032 3 2003S 0 ‘Transition zone (wel) 04671080 032 Ss 210 41S ° Upstream rockfill @ry) 0.721000 033 6 1800 8S 0 Upstream rockill (wet) 0.72900 033 6 10 6S 0 22 Downstream rackfill (1) 065 1200 031 3 2000 50S 0 235 Downstream rockill (2) 0.721000 033 0066800 8S 0 22 “Toe berm 06s 800 sl ons 3 80D 0 23 Dowastream rockfill (M1) 0.75 __ 800 0.05 e036 022 TNoter Ry rato between the asymp wo he hype iis curve andthe maximum shear srengy Ky modulus number deserbing the rari sites a value deveribing the rte of change of the material fess as 2 function of the confining sess C.F. and D. est parameters related to material volume Reference Duncan, JM. and! Chang, C.-Y. 1970. Nonlin 1 analysis of stress and strains in soils Journal of the Soi! Mechanies and Found: tions Division, ASCE, 96(8): 1629-1655. ‘modus umes wsed sing unloading and reloading: mail Fit degree: C7 cohesion Inecep ‘angle m derees; 4, increase of materia et Published by NRC Reseaeh Press