SEEPAGE CONTROL AND SLOPE

STABILITY OF ZONED EMBANKMENT

DAMS: A SHORT REVIEW

ROMANA YASMEEN
(SN 0423110039)
CE6405: Earth Dam And Stability of Slopes

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING,

MIST, DHAKA, BANGLADESH
01 INTRODUCTION
An overview on zoned embanked
dams

CONTENTS
TABLE OF
02
ZONING FOR SEEPAGE CONTROL
How zoning can be impactful
against seepage

03 ZONING FOR SLOPE STABILITY

Improving stability with different
dam components

04 FINDINGS
Significant findings of the review

05 CONCLUSION
Summarizing the overall picture
of the study
 INTRODUCTION
Zoned dam shells use resilient, heavy, and
permeable materials, while low-permeability
materials are often insufficient on dam sites. KEYWORDS:
Soil properties and uncertainties make it Zoning, dam shells, dam core, dam
difficult to secure low-permeability materials safety, material availability
for dam core construction, making
transportation economically unfeasible and
unsustainable. To maximize dam safety,
materials with low available permeabilities
should be carefully placed to zone the dam
core.
 SIGNIFICANCE
• Approximately 30% of failures occur due to
seepage failures through piping and
sloughing.
• Controlling seepage involves reducing
quantity through anti-seepage elements and
providing safe water outlets through filters,
sand drains, stone columns, and relief wells.
• Seepage is a significant issue in embankment
dams, particularly non-homogeneous (zoned)
dams with a clay core.
CORE SLOPE
• Seepage discharge in slanting core cases was
greater than in vertical cases.
• As side slopes and top breadth increased,
seepage discharge decreased due to the lower
permeability coefficient of the core material.
• As the upstream slope of the core increased,
seepage discharge decreased for slanting core
cases.
CORE GEOMETRY
ZONING
SEEPAGE CONTROL WITH
• The wedge-shape was the most effective in reducing
seepage quantity, followed by vertical, upstream, and
downstream inclined cores.
• Core slope had minimal effect on upstream water
level to phreatic line and seepage discharge through
the dam shell.
• The phreatic level on the downstream face was the
most affected parameter, especially for inclined cores.
DAM HEIGHT AND
ANISOTROPY
• Reducing the core's permeability ratio reduces
seepage discharge ratio and phreatic level on the
downstream core face, increasing safety against
seepage effects.
• The dam's height directly impacts hydraulic gradient
and seepage flow.
• Filters near the upstream slope increased seepage
losses, while those near the downstream toe
reduced seepage and increased the saturated zone,
reducing the dry zone.

SIGNIFICANCE
Hydraulic fracturing is a
significant threat to earth dams,
leading to interior failure over
time.
Differential settlements between
the core and shell can cause
cracks within the core sub-
surface, potentially causing
internal erosion of the dam core.
SLOPE STABILITY
Thin clay cores protect seepage
and internal erosion but hinder
slope stability.
An intermediate filter on the floor
of a hydraulic structure can reduce
uplift pressure by 72% in the
downstream area.
Horizontal drains can increase
slope stability during heavy
rainfalls.
STABILITY
EMBANKMENT DAM
ENHANCING STABILTY
Different cutoff wall locations and
angles can affect dam stability, with
inclined cutoffs reduces uplift
pressure more than vertical cutoff
walls.
Relief wells are used downstream
to collect seeped water below the
dam foundation, preventing excess
pore water pressure formation.
 SIGNIFICANT
FINDINGS
• Wedge-shaped inner core of the dam was
found to be the most effective in reducing
seepage quantity.
• Slope of the core has minimum effect on
the quantity of seepage discharge and the
ratio of upstream water level to the
phreatic line level.
• Reducing core to shell permeability ratio
increase safety against seepage impacts.
• Keeping the core area same, vertical core
has lesser seepage discharge compared to
the slanting core, though slanting cores
enhances downstream stability.
• With an increasing ratio of core
anisotropy, seepage discharge increases
as well as phreatic line level of the core
rises.
✓ The upstream slope must be protected against erosion
by wave action, whilst the crest and downstream slope
must be protected against erosion due to wind and rain.

✓ Differences in stiffness of the core and its abutment

SIGNIFICANT
FINDINGS
zone can cause differential settlement and may lead to
soil arching, followed by internal erosion of dam core
resulted by the induced cracks.

✓ An inclined cutoff wall reduces the uplift pressure more

than a vertical cutoff wall which enhances stability of
the dam.

✓ Semi-impervious compacted clay blanket may be used

at upstream to reduce seepage discharge for better
stability.

✓ Increasing the length, thickness and number of

horizontal drains increases the slope stability during
heavy rainfalls.
 A zoning study is crucial for determining the
availability and location of materials for embankment
CONCLUSION

dam components, such as core,

upstream/downstream shells, filters, drains,
transitions, and protections.

A zoned dam body allows for more efficient utilization

of locally available resources. However, there is often
a lack of low-permeability material volumes at dam
sites, making it difficult to safely transport
heterogeneous materials for dam core construction.

To increase dam safety, strategically positioned

materials would be the best option for the earth
embankment dams with zones.
 THANK YOU
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