NTNU Week 37

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

TVM5115 Planning and Design of Dams

Exercise No. 4
Soil Mechanics 3:
Submit Task 1 and 2 on September 18th, 2020.
Solutions will be provided for all three tasks.

Task 1 – Vertical flow upwards through stratified soil

Figure 1 shows a cross-section through an 11 m deep deposit of stratified soil.

Figure 1 Stratified soil deposit

The permeability coefficient is known for the three different layers. In the bottom gravel layer, it is
measured a constant pore water pressure up to elevation 26.5 m. This situation is considered as
stationary.
The unit weight is γ = 19 kN/m3 for all layers.

a) Calculate the pore water pressure on elevation 19 m, just above the silt layer.
What is the gradient through this layer?

b) How much water is transported to the surface during one hour?

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NTNU Week 37
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
TVM5115 Planning and Design of Dams

Task 2 – Flow net

Figure 2 shows a section through a proposed dam construction, consisting of a concrete caisson and
a downstream clay carpet, impervious compared to the permeable silt deposit below. Water levels
on downstream and upstream faces and all relevant data are given on the figure.

Figure 2 Dam section

a) Draw a flow net with three flow channels (Nf = 3), and calculate the water flow for a 100 m
long dam.

b) Determine the greatest exit gradient and the safety against hydraulic piping.

c) Find the pore pressures beneath the dam (points a, b and c).
Estimate the factor of safety against heave of the clay carpet.
What can be done to improve the situation?

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NTNU Week 37
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
TVM5115 Planning and Design of Dams

Task 3 – Flow net II

Figure 3 an impermeable concrete construction, elongated with an impervious wall, damming a

water reservoir.

Figure 3 Water reservoir

There is a 12 m difference between the water levels on the two sides of the structure. The soil is a
fine sand with unit weight γ = 20 kN/m3 and coefficient of permeability k = 10-3 cm/s. Assume two-
dimensional, stationary conditions.

a) Choose the number of flow channels Nf = 3 and draw a flow net for the profile.

b) Calculate the amount of water (Q) that is passing under the structure.

c) How large is the pore pressure uP in point P?

d) Determine the exit gradient iO. Is there any risk of hydraulic piping?