Seepage Analysis of Guangzhao RCC Gravity Dam

Xiaohui Qian
1
, Hao Yang
2
, Lin Luo
3

(
1
China Three Gorges Corporation Three Gorges Complex Construction Operation Administration,
Yichang, Hubei)

Abstract: Based on comprehensive research of Guangzhao hydropower station dam foundation
hydrogeology conditions as well as the seepage properties of dam body and dam foundationa finite
element model of the typical dam section was establishedwhich simulated the impervious structure and
drainage systems of dam body as well as geology and anti-seepage and drainage structure of dam
foundation in detail. The seepage states under different conditions were calculated using variation
inequality-based seepage flow finite element. Key calculations were drawn as follows: Distorted concrete
in impervious structure of the dam plays a key role while RCC mainly has an auxiliary seepage control
function; Using the scheme which is formed from distorted concrete and two-graded RCC as impervious
structure on the upstream face of the dam together with vertical and horizontal drainage can well meet the
requirements of the dam seepage control; Drainage holes play an important part in controlling water flow
and reducing the uplift pressure, which will exert serious impact on surrounding seepage field once
failure occurs; When penetrated crack appears in impervious structure of upstream dam or transverse joint
copper seals lose effectiveness, most of the dam body will be saturated due to infiltration, then the dam at
different levels will maintain a high uplift pressure head, which will be extremely detrimental to the
stability of dam; The permeability of foundation rock and impervious curtain as well as drainage curtain
have significant effect together on seepage field of dam foundation, the scheme of anti-seepage and
drainage is feasible, which can well play a hole on seepage-proof and drainage as well as decompressing;
The permeability of the fault F1 has an important effect on seepage field and uplift pressure of the dam
foundation; There is no significant difference of influence on the seepage of dam between the methods of
diagonal roller compaction and flat roller compactionbut when seepage control of the dam exists defects,
the former approach is more detrimental to the dam stability than the latter one.
Key words: Guangzhao hydropower station; RCC dam; seepage analysis and control; the finite element
method

1. Introduction
Guangzhao hydropower station is located in the middle reaches of Beipan River in Guizhou province,
China. The dam is a roller compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam, 410 meters long and 200.5 meters
high. The normal water level is 745m, the total capacity of the reservoir is 3.135 billion cubic meters, and
total installed capacity of the power station reaches 1040MW. Distorted concrete together with two-graded
RCC are used as main impervious structure in dam body seepage control system, anti-seepage curtain of
dam foundation includes the main upstream anti-seepage curtain and the downstream bed sealing curtain.
For drainage system of the dam foundation, a row of main drainage holes are arranged in upstream
grouting gallery, while auxiliary drainage holes are laid in four longitudinal galleries and seven transverse
galleries which are in the scope of closed curtain river
[1]
.
In this article, seepage properties as well as its influence factors of the dam body and dam foundation
were analyzed by using the seepage finite element method. Rationality and reliability of the dam
impervious structure and drainage system design scheme was evaluated, the conclusions obtained may
provide reference to seepage optimization measures and stability analysis for RCC gravity dam.
2. Basic Engineering Geological Conditions
The attitude of stratum in dam site area is steep, river valley around appears transverse and V-shaped.
The Feixianguan Formation T
1
f and the Yongningzhen Formation T
1
yn as well as the Guanling Formation
T
2
g expose sequentially from upstream to downstream, quaternary system mainly distributes above T
1
f
[2]
.
Large faults exist in the dam site area are F1 and F2.
Karst hydro-geological structure presents interstratified. Permeable layer is located in between
water-resisting layers, which shows significant ribbon distribution. Lithology plays a main control

function on groundwater flow. Six following permeable rock groups are divided according to the karst
hydro-geological structure in dam site area: T
1
f
2-1
, T
1
f
2-3
, T
1
yn
1
, T
1
yn
3
, T
1
yn
4
and T
2
g. T
1
f
2-2
and T
1
yn
2
are
relative impermeable rock groups.
3. Basic Principle and Method of Seepage Calculation
3.1 Stable Seepage Finite Element Principle
The basic differential equation of stable seepage can be expressed as follows
[3]
:
0 ) ( ) ( ) ( = +

z
H
k
z y
H
k
y x
H
k
x
z y x
(1)
Boundary conditions:
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )

=
<

=
=

=
y x Z z y x H
n
H
y x Z z y x H
n
H
z y x q
z y x z y x
S
S
S
S
, , ,
0
;
, , ,
0
; , ,
n
H
k
; , , , , H
4
3
2
1

(2)
Where H is the total water head, is Source Term, is the given head, q is the given normal flow
rate, S
1
S
2
S
3
S
4
respectively mean the head boundary, the boundary of flow rate, free surface boundary
and spill over surface boundary.
According to variation principle, definite solution problem of three-dimensional seepage is
equivalent to the solution of the extreme value of energy functional:
( ) dxdydz
z
H
k
y
H
k
x
H
k H I
z y x

(
(

\
|

+
|
|

\
|

+ |

\
|

=
2
2
2
2
1

2
min
S
qHds
(3)
According hydro-geological structure in study area, the seepage field is discreted. Take variation of
Eq.3 as zero, the basic finite element format which solves seepage field will be got after superposition of
each sub-region:
} { } ]{ [ F H K = (4)
Where ] [K is the whole penetration matrix, } {H is array of the node head, } F { is array of the node flow
rate.
The calculation of construction joints, dam body cracks, drainage holes and free surface is of critical
importance in seepage analysis of RCC gravity dam. In this paper, thin layer element method was used to
calculate construction joints and dam body cracks
[4]
, while nonlinear boundary like drainage holes or free
surface was calculated using variation inequality method. Then variation inequality method will be
briefly introduced.
3.2 Simulation of Free Surface and Drainage Holes Based on Variation Inequality
H
A
B
G F
E
D
h
C
x
z
w

Fig.1. Illustration of seepage flow through a soil dam

As shown in Fig.1, the seepage flow through domain is actually the flow through the wet
domain
w
below the free surface
f

.The wet domain

w
will be determined as long as the free surface
f

is got. However, the free surface is unknown in advance in many engineering cases. To define a new
boundary value problem on the entire domain, as a variation inequality formulation requires, Darcy's
law is redefined as follows:
0
v k v + = (5)
where v is the flow velocity,
o
v is the initial flow velocity, k is the second-order hydraulic conductivity
tensor, is the gradient operator,
w
p z + = is the total water head, z is the vertical coordinate, p is the
pore water pressure,
w
is the unit weight of water. Here
o
v is introduced to eliminate the virtual flow
velocity on the dry domain
d
, in the form of
= k z H v ) (
0
(6)
In which ) ( z H is a Heaviside function:

<

=
) (in if 1
) (in if 0
) (
d
w
z
z
z H

(7)
The seepage flow through domain (
d w
) is then governed by the following continuity
equation:
) (in 0 = v (8)
Subjected to the following boundary conditions:
(1)The water head boundary condition
CD) AB (on + = =

(9)
Where is the given water head on

.
(2) The flux boundary condition
) BC on (
T
= =
q n
q q v n (10)
Where q is the given flux on
q

, n is the outward unit normal vector to the boundary. For an

impermeable boundary, 0 = q .
(3)The boundary condition of Signorini's type on the seepage surface
DEFGA) (on
0 ) ( ) (
0 ) ( ,
=

=

s
n
n
q z
q z


(11)
Where
s
is the potential spillover surface boundary. Obviously, on section DE, z = and 0
n
q ; while
on section EFGA, z < and 0 =
n
q . z = and 0 =
n
q are satisfied at the spillover point E.
(4) The free surface boundary condition
AE) (on 0 | |
d w

= = =
f n n
q q (12)
Where } | ) , , {( z z y x
f
= is the free surface, an interface between
w
and
d
.
Here we use a method combining the variation inequality formulation of Signorinis type which has
been introduced above with the penalty Heaviside function
[5]
. The mathematical statement for a discrete
version of the iterative formulation is given as: find a vector
h
VI

, such that for

h k
VI
1

+

, the following
inequality holds:
k k k k
q
T 1 1 T 1
) ( K ) (
+ + +
(13)
Where

= =
e
kB B k k K
e
e
e

T
d ,
(14)
( )

=
=
= =

e
T k e
e
e
e
k k
o
T k
kBd B z H k
k K
K d v B q

(15)
} for , ; for , ; | {
VI s i i i i
n h
i z i R = =

(16)
Where k is the iterative step, n is the total number of nodes in the finite element mesh (FEM), B is the
geometrical matrix of the finite element model and

H is the penalized Heaviside function introduced to

evade numerical instability and mesh dependency, given by:

+
+ < <
+
+

=
2
2 1
2 1
2
1
if 0
if
) (
if 1
) (

z
z z
z
z
z H
(17)
Where is the adaptive parameter,
1
and
2
are two parameters associated with each element. The
parameter
1
is defined as the vertical distance between the lowest integration point to the lowest node,
while
2
is defined as the vertical distance between the highest integration point to the highest node, in
the FEM model concerned.
Generally, the convergence control standard used in calculation is as follows:
1
max 2 max

i i
H H
H H

<

<

(18)
Where
i
H is the head difference of nodei caused by two adjacent iteration of free surface,
i
H is the water
head of nodei in the current iteration,
max
H is the largest head difference of each node caused by two
adjacent iteration of free surface,
max
H is the water head difference between upstream and downstream,
1
and
2
are specified allowable errors.
The unconfined seepage solution based on variation inequality can better theoretically eliminate the
singularity of the spillover point, and precisely position the free surface and the spillover point for strong
nonlinear seepage problem, furthermore, this method presents many prominent advantages like fast speed, high
precision and strong stability, and is suitable for seepage analysis of complex seepage control structure, such as
drainage holes, tunnel, curtain and so on.
4. The Finite Element Model and Calculation Conditions
4.1 The Three-dimensional Finite Element Model
The three-dimensional finite element model of the No.11 typical overflow section was built for
seepage analysis in this paper, as shown in Fig.2 and Fig.3. The X axis is pointing positively to the left
bank, the Y axis is pointing positively to be upstream, and the Z axis is vertical upwards. The calculation
scope of the finite element model is as follows:
(1) Along the height direction: From excavation face of the dam foundation down to the relatively
impermeable layer, as deep as two times of dam height, which approximately reaches to 150m elevation.
(2) Along river flow direction: The same distance as dam height was taken upstream since the dam
heel, while about two times of dam height was taken downstream. The total length along river flow
direction is 850 meters or so.
Dam morphology of the No.11 typical section was simulated accurately in this paper, such as dam
shape, drainage gallery, drainage holes, curtain grouting, concrete material partition, and so on.
Hexahedral elements were used for mesh generation in this model, which generated a total of 11793 units
and 16340 nodes.


Fig.2. FEM and material partition of the dam body Fig.3. FEM and material partition of the dam foundation
of No.11 typical section of No.11 typical section

4.2 Calculation Parameters
The parameters of the dam concrete are distinguished according to impermeability grade, and the
parameters of rock stratum and faults are analyzed and counted on the basis of geological conditions and

water pressure test results. Specific parameters of the three-dimensional seepage finite element
calculation are shown in Tab.1.

Tab.1. Calculation parameters of three-dimensional seepage finite element (unit: m/d)
Material k Material k
R1 2.428E-6 T
1
f
1
0.0043
R2 4.087E-6 T
1
f
2-1
0.0864
R3 4.087E-6 T
1
f
2-2
0.0225
R4 1.071E-6 T
1
f
2-3
0.1123
R5 1.616E-6 T
1
yn
1-1
0.1728
C1 1.616E-6 T
1
yn
1-2
0.2333
C5 2.428E-6 T
1
yn
1-3
0.1296
Cb1 1.071E-6 T
1
yn
2
0.0475
Cb2 1.616E-6 T
1
yn
3-1
0.0691
Curtain 7.180E-3 T
1
yn
3-2
0.1728
RCC layer 8.000 F1 30.240
Note1: Average hydraulic opening of RCC layer values 813m. F2 21.600
Note2: R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 are RCC; C1, C5, Cb1 and Cb2 are distorted concrete; F1 and F2 are faults.

4.3 Boundary Conditions
In seepage calculation, the normal water level is adopted, upstream and downstream water levels are
respectively 745.0m and 583.5m. Surface nodes in submerged area are regarded as the given head
boundary; Left and right boundaries, up and down boundaries as well as bottom boundary are all regarded
as impermeable boundaries.
4.4 Calculation Conditions
The impervious system of the dam body has the following two design conditions:
A1. Distorted concrete with two-graded RCC is used as impervious structure on the upstream face of
the dam;
A2. On the upstream face of the dam, Distorted concrete with two-graded RCC are used as
impervious structure below 710m elevation, above which are distorted concrete with three-graded RCC.
The drainage system of the dam body has the following three design conditions:
D1. The interval of the vertical drainage holes is 5m, the interval of the horizontal drainage holes
between the elevation of 658m and 702m is also 5m while the interval of horizontal drainage holes below
658m elevation is 3m. (Both vertical and horizontal drainage holes take effect.)
D2. The interval of the vertical drainage holes is 5m and the interval of the horizontal drainage holes
is 3m below 658m elevation. (The vertical drainage holes and part of horizontal drainage holes take
effect.)
D3. The interval of the vertical drainage holes is 5m above 658m elevation while the interval is 3m
below 658m elevation. (The vertical drainage holes take effect without horizontal drainage.)
In order to comprehensively analyze the seepage properties of dam body and dam foundation and
properly evaluate the rationality of seepage control structure scheme of high RCC gravity dam, twelve
typical calculation conditions of seepage field are worked out in this paper, all of which are shown in the
Tab.2.

Tab.2. Calculation conditions of No.11 dam section
Serial
number
The impervious
system of the dam
body
The drainage
system of the
dam body
Drainage holes
Impervious
curtain
Remarks
1 A1 D1
Drainage holes in both
dam body and dam
foundation are effective.
effective
2 A2 D1 The same as condition 1. effective
3 A1 D2 The same as condition 1. effective
4 A1 D3 The same as condition 1. effective

5 A1 D1
Drainage holes in dam
body are failure.
effective
6 A1 D1
Drainage holes in dam
foundation are failure.
effective
7 A1 D1
Drainage holes in both
dam body and dam
foundation are failure.
failure
8 A1 D1 The same as condition 1. effective
The penetrated crack appears
in the dam body.
9 A1 D1 The same as condition 1. effective
The transverse joint copper
seals of the dam are failure.
10 A1 D1 The same as condition 1. effective
The permeability coefficient
of F1 increases by one order
of magnitude.
11 A1 D1 The same as condition 1. effective
The permeability coefficient
of F1 decreases by one order
of magnitude.
12 A1 D1 The same as condition 5. effective
The inclined-layer placing
method is adopted below640m.

5. Analysis of Seepage Calculation Results
5.1 Comparative Analysis of Seepage Control Schemes of the Dam Body (Condition 1 and 2)
For condition 1, the distribution rules of total water head and uplift pressure of dam foundation are
shown in Fig.4 and Fig.5 respectively. Results indicate that because of the drainage and pressure lowering
effect caused by vertical drainage holes in the upstream of dam body, the hydraulic gradient in the range
of upstream distorted concrete and RCC is significant large, even up to 23.164 at the boundary of
impervious curtain and the dam foundation concrete. The uplift pressure of dam foundation sharply
decreases from the upper side of the dam foundation to the lower reaches, which is down to several
meters behind the upstream impervious curtain and is almost zero in drainage galleries at any elevation in
the dam body. The above shows that anti-seepage and drainage effect of condition 1 is well.



Fig.4. Distribution of total water head under condition 1 Fig.5. Distribution of uplift pressure under condition 1
of No.11 dam section of No.11 dam section

The seepage rules drawn from calculation results of condition 2 are similar to those of condition 1:
the seepage field, uplift pressure and flow rate in the foundation of dam are almost unchanged, while the
infiltrative ranges both in the upper part of dam body and at downstream are enlarged slightly. Therefore,
from the view point of seepage control, the seepage rules of the dam are mainly influenced by the
distorted concrete, and if distorted concrete works properly, RCC at downstream has few influences.
5.2 Comparative Analysis of Drainage Schemes of the Dam Body (Condition 1, 3 and 4)
The results show that seepage field water head distribution rules drawn from calculation results of
condition 3 and 4 have few differences with those of condition 1. Almost all the seepage flow through the
dam is drained away intensively by drainage holes and drainage galleries. The free surface in the dam
body is vertically distributed and anterior to drainage holes, while it presents horizontally distributed in
the dam foundation. The equal headlines at the upstream impervious curtain of dam foundation are

distributed densely, which shows the impervious curtain has significant anti-seepage effect. What is
different about condition 3 and 4 compared with condition 1 is that the infiltration range is slightly larger
and the water discharge is a little smaller. Thus, for the purpose of engineering safety and rationality, it is
necessary to take the measures of both vertical drainage and horizontal drainage.
5.3 Calculation Results Analysis of Special Conditions (Condition 5 to 12)
5.3.1 Condition 5, 6 and 7
When drainage holes of the whole dam body fail to work, calculation results are shown in Fig.6:
Nearly the whole dam becomes infiltrated and the equal headlines essentially fit horizontal uniform
distribution. The water head difference between the front and the back of drainage holes in dam body
decreases significantly, here distribution characteristics of the dam seepage field depend on the
permeability properties of distorted concrete and RCC, that is, seepage control effect of the dam has been
greatly weakened. Uplift pressure in the elevation of 600m and 680m increase obviously, while uplift
pressure in dam foundation can be still well controlled due to the effective of impervious curtain, galleries
and drainage holes of dam foundation.


Fig.6. Distribution of total water head under condition 5 Fig.7. Distribution of total water head under condition 6
of No.11 dam section of No.11 dam section

When drainage holes of the dam foundation fail to work, calculation results are shown in Fig.7: As
the dam foundation seepage flow can't be drained away in time, uplift pressure in dam foundation
increases significantly, which is adverse to the dam stability. In the meantime, the effective of impervious
curtain is weakened owing to the failure of drainage holes of the dam foundation, the infiltrative range in
lower part of the dam expands obviously, and the free surface rises to about 640m elevation, which leads
to the formation of unfavorable seepage load in lower dam.
When both drainage holes in the dam body and foundation and impervious curtain fail to work
(Fig.8): Uplift pressure at different levels in dam body and foundation increase significantly, especially in
the middle of the dam the uplift pressure goes up to 60m, and average flow rate per unit area of the dam
foundation soars to 84.91 l/dm
2
. Seepage of the whole dam at the moment is almost out of control, which
is the most unfavorable seepage condition.


Fig.8. Distribution of total water head under condition 7 Fig.9. Distribution of total water head under condition 8
of No.11 dam section of No.11 dam section

5.3.2 Condition 8 and 9
Calculation results of condition 8 and 9 show that both the appearance of penetrated crack in
upstream impervious structure and the failure of transverse joint copper seals will lead to saturation in

most part of the dam body (Fig.9 and Fig.10), also there will be virtually no effect of seepage-proof and
decompressing in impervious body and drainage holes of partial dam. Furthermore, the dam at different
elevations will maintain a high uplift pressure head, which will be extremely bad to the stability of dam.


Fig.10. Distribution of total water head under condition 9 Fig.11. Distribution of total water head under condition 10
of No.11 dam section of No.11 dam section

5.3.3 Condition 10 and 11
According to comparative analysis of the penetration sensitivity of fault F1, conclusions can be
drawn as follows (Fig.11 and Fig.12): The uplift pressure at dam foundation will be raised significantly
with the increase of the permeability coefficient; otherwise, it will be decreased.
The fault F1 is regarded as a good channel for groundwater due to its high permeability. When the
anti-seepage curtain and drainage holes work normally, permeability of F1 has little impact on the
seepage of dam foundation, but if both are invalid, the high permeability of F1 will result in the increase
of uplift pressure, which is bad for the safe operation of the dam.


Fig.12. Distribution of total water head under condition 11 Fig.13. Distribution of total water head under condition 12
of No.11 dam section of No.11 dam section

5.3.4 Condition 12
When inclined layer RCC is used below 650m elevation and drainage holes in the dam body fail to
work, compared with corresponding condition 5, differences are as follows (Fig.13): The total water head
and pressure head in inclined layer RCC area are significantly raised, and the average leakage of the dam
body also increases dramatically. Thus, from the terms of influence caused by different RCC layer surface,
if inclined layer RCC is used, it will be worse for the seepage stability of the dam when dam impervious
and drainage system goes wrong.
6. Conclusion
(1) Distorted concrete with two-graded RCC seepage structure in the upstream, as well as vertical
and horizontal drainages in the dam body are both suggested to satisfy the requirements of dam seepage
control.
(2)Drainage holes in the dam body play a key role in both seepage control and uplift pressure
reduction, whereas its invalidation will affect the surrounding dam seepage field incredibly.
(3)When penetrated crack appears in impervious structure of upstream dam or the transverse joint
copper seals fail to work, most of the dam body will be saturated due to infiltration, and the dam at
different elevations will maintain a high uplift pressure head, which will be extremely detrimental to the
stability of dam.

(4)The seepage field of the dam foundation is controlled by permeability of foundation rock,
impervious curtain and drainage holes, the latter two are complementary to each other. Failure of the
drainage holes will impair the anti-seepage effect of the impervious curtain, and obviously affect the
seepage field at the bottom of the dam.

Reference
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th
National Symposium on
Geotechnical Engineering[C]. 2006:417-421.
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Hydro-China Guiyang Engineering Corporation.
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1999:1-74.
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