National Workshop

Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012

AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

Stability of Ash Dykes: Peeping through Case-Studies

Arindam Dey1

1. INTRODUCTION
One of the major sources of energy in our country has been the coal-based thermal power
plants and is likely to be so for some decades to come. Indian coal has high ash content, as
owing to its huge usage, the total production of fly-ash in India is now looming in the range
of 150-175 million tonnes per annum. The extent of the production is posing a serious
challenge in its disposal. Although the utilization of fly-ash is growing leaps and bounds, but
is still yet not sufficient at all to supersede the rate of production. Hence, the major challenge
faced by the thermal power plants in the disposal of this by-product. The main sink of its
disposal remains to be an ash-pond site adjacent to the site of its production. Although the
practice of such disposal is being practiced for quite some time, still the efficacy of the
carrying capacity of the fly-ash ponds is always under scrutiny. Apart from design, the main
challenge faced is related to the accommodation of the continuous production of fly ash and
its subsequent disposal. Generally the ash pond is constructed in stages, wherein the first
stage comprises of the barricading the pond preferably with an earthen embankment. As time
passes, to meet the increasing demand of disposal, the ash dykes are raised from their original
height, in desired number of stages. Various types of raising methods are generally practiced.
With the attenuation of the rising stages, comes the necessity of stabilization and basal
improvement of the ash dykes. After a brief discussion about the ash pond and the raising
sequences, this paper reports various case studies related to the stability of the ash dykes and
the improvement techniques adopted in order to maintain their stability or improve their
failure characteristics to actually protect them from failures. Instead of going into detail about
what has been done, this article focuses on the issue of what can be innovatively and
thoughtfully done if a particular class of problem arises.

2. LAYOUT OF AN ASH POND: HOW DO THEY FIT?

Decision of the layout of an ash pond should and must be guided by the following factors:

1
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, IIT Guwahati, Assam-781039, India. arindam.dey@iitg.ernet.in

1
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

• To reduce the pumping cost, the area should be close to the power plant. This is
generally practiced all through.
• There should be ample provisions for the vertical and horizontal expansion of the ash
pond depending on the estimated life of the power plant. Although necessary, this
criterion may not always be fully satisfied for all purposes. Although vertical
expansion may not be difficult to attain, the possibility of horizontal expansion is
always guided by the several factors, such as the availability of the land during the
beginning of the construction, the probability of gaining extra space as construction
and disposal progresses, whether the bearing capacity of the land is sufficient enough
to sustain the progressively increasing load, and whether the vertical expansion
made, if skewed, will be sustained by the basal formation. All these factors govern the
nature of vertical expansion as a controlling parameter of the horizontal expansion
(to be discussed in the next section). These factors, in turn, alleviate the challenges to
the design on ash pond while maintaining its stability and safety.
• The ash pond should be located far away water bodies comprising of rivers and lakes
in order to prevent the contamination of the water bodies by pollutant transport from
the pond due to seepage action. Although this is theoretically possible to say,
practically it is a self-contradictory statement. Since the development of civilization
and industrialization, sites near water bodies have always been lucrative, specifically
due to one reason, i.e. the unhindered availability of water for myriads of purposes,
whether be it domestic or industrial. Sufficient quantities of water are necessary to
aid just in the cooling of the machineries. So it is not at all surprising that many of the
thermal power plants are located near water bodies. Care must be taken to prevent
contamination and pollutant migration, the issue being constantly under the watchful
eye of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) authorities.
• A primary requirement for choosing a favorable site for an ash pond rests with the
availability of an impervious stratum to prevent migration of ash water into the
ground water table. Such a situation can practically be called as a myth. A
Geotechnologist or a Geologist will not agree more that such sites are referred as
ideal, which ceases to exist to be found. Any site will be affected by varying degree of
perviousness and different magnitudes of inclination of the bedding stratum. Hence, if
unmonitored, slurry water is always going to seep in the ground. With the advent of
geosynthetics and their profound applications, nowadays this leeching can be

2
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
sufficiently controlled by the usage of geomembrane or utilizing composite
geosynthetic clay liners beneath the area covered by ash pond.
• It is preferable that the ash dykes be located near hilly terrains, so that the valley itself
will serve as the ash dyke and would save significant amount of construction cost.
However, although possible, one has to bear in mind that many such sites will provide
free flowing water along the hill terrains and percolated water through the bedding
channels which would add sufficient amount of water load in the ash dyke, causing
over-saturation of the pond. If not controlled, this situation can significantly hamper
the purpose and effectiveness of the site.

In most of the ash ponds, the total area available is divided into two or more compartments,
so that at any instant of time, any one of the compartment can be in operation while the others
are allowed to dry where the ash filling has already been completed. This allows for the rising
in the ash dykes of the dried sectors while the other pocket is still functional, and hence, the
flow and progress of the work is not hampered. An ash pond having a single pocket does not
allow to be risen from its original height while it is operational. The area of the pond is also
governed by the minimum time required for the settlement of the ash particle while the slurry
travels from inlet to the outlet point. Theoretically, this is controlled by the Stoke’s law of
particle settlement under terminal velocity.

3. RAISING METHODOLOGIES
The increased embankment height, and the corresponding increase in the ash pond level,
imposes greater load on existing embankment and foundation. At the same time, the pore
pressure and seepage condition also gets significantly affected. The necessary design features
associated with the raising of the embankment are: height of the embankment, crest width,
side slope, compacted soil cover to preserve the compaction moisture content, graded filter to
arrest piping and having suitable drain characteristic to reduce exit gradient, toe drain to
evacuate the seepage water emanating from the foundation and dyke to control the
development of excess pore-water pressure, and a trench drain to collect and dispose the
emanated water. The suitability of existing filter and other drainage elements must be re-
evaluated and re-designed at various stages of raising to account for the change in the
hydraulic conditions and phreatic line. Furthermore, compacted gravel drains can be installed
below the proposed embankment to reduce the possibility of soil liquefaction during

3
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
earthquake, and to accelerate the consolidation settlement with a target to improve the
strength characteristics of the underlying soil. Unlike a water reservoir, the ash pond is
generally constructed in stages, each raising having a height of 3-5m. The various methods of
stage-wise construction are described herein:

3.1 Upstream Raising

Figure 1 depicts the construction sequence adopted in an upstream raising of ash dykes. This
is the most preferred method of construction as the quantity of earthwork required is minimal.
It provides better environmental pollution control compared to other methods since the
constructed embankment being the final face of the ultimate embankment, vegetation and
other fugitive dust control and / or leachate control measures can be planned on the
permanent basis. Operational requirements such as haul and access roads, culverts, diversion
and perimeter ditches may be constructed easily to serve the entire useful life of facility. The
starter dam, if properly designed, can be used as a toe filter for the entire embankment.
However, this method has the following disadvantages:

Figure 1: Upstream raising of ash dykes

• The entire weight of the new construction for raising the dyke is supported on
deposited ash. Unless the ash deposition is done carefully, finer ash particles
deposited along the bund may result in significant lowering of the bearing capacity
which may be hazardous for new dyke.
• With the increased height of the pond, there is considerable lowering of the plan area
of the pond. Beyond certain stage, it becomes uneconomical to raise further height of
the dyke.

4
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

• The drain provided on the upstream face needs to be suitable connected to the drain of
the earlier segment. Improper design with regard to this issue can lead to the rising of
the phreatic line and the stability of the slope may be endangered.
• Since the entire segment of the new construction is supported on fly ash, it is
important to carry out a liquefaction analysis and if necessary, suitable remediation
measures should be adopted.
• The pond needs to remain suspended from operation during the raising of the dyke.
This is satisfactorily achieved without the stoppage of the slurry filling if sufficient
number of compartments has been provided.

3.2 Downstream Raising

Figure 2 depicts a typical downstream raising of an ash dyke. This method is most suitable
for the construction of new embankments. In this method, the construction is carried out on
the downstream side of the starter embankment, so that the crest of the dam is shifted
progressively towards downstream and the starter dam forms the upstream toe of the final
dam. This method has the following advantages: (i) None of the embankment is built on
previously deposited ash, the extensions being placed on the previously constructed earth
dam, and hence the issue of lowered baring capacity beneath the raisings does not come into
picture. (ii) The placement and compaction control can be exercised as required over the
entire fill operation. (iii) The embankment can be raised above its ultimate design height
without any serious limitation and design modification, and (iv) In this case it is possible to
raise the height of the pond even when the pond is in operation.

Figure 2: Downstream raising of ash dykes

5
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
However, the major disadvantage remains in the non-reduction of construction cost, since the
ultimate design height of the dyke is attained in an identical fashion which might have been
adopted for constructing the same at a single stretch. Moreover, since in this method, the
basal width of the dyke continues to increase in the outward direction, and this might pose a
problem if the project site has a restriction on the acquirement of more and more land space.

3.2 Centre-line Raising

Figure 3 depicts a typical centre-line raising of an ash dyke. The center line method is
essentially a variation of the downstream method where the crest of the embankment is not
shifted in the downward direction but raised in vertically upward above the crest of the starter
dam. In this method, after the pond gets filled up to the first stage, material is placed for
raising height of the dyke on either side of centre line of the dyke such that the center line of
the dyke remains at the same location. This requires part of the raw material to be placed on
the deposited ash and part of the material on the downstream face of the existing dyke. The
earth work required in this case is less compared to the construction while downstream
method. However, as the material is required to be deposited on the settled fly ash, it is not
possible to carry out the construction when the pond is in operation. This method can be
adopted only if the total area of ash pond is divided into compartments. The center line
method leads to many design, construction, environmental and operational problems and as
such it is not generally used. At present, often combinations of both upstream and
downstream methods are employed to optimize the disposal scheme.

Figure 3: Centre-line raising of ash dykes

3.2 Offset Raising

This method can be used when the existing embankment is extremely weak to support the
loading caused by raised embankment. Figure 4 depicts a typical example of offset raising.

6
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
This method has the same issues as the down-stream raising, but are to be more seriously
dealt, since apart from the starter dyke being weak, the offset has to rest on the slurry. Hence,
the attainment of stability in terms of slope and bearing failure is under serious question. As
such, this method is only used to tackle extremely unprecedented situations.

Figure 4: Offset raising of ash dykes

As can be comprehended from the above discussions, various raising techniques pose
different types of challenges in the construction and to maintain the integrity and safety of
ash dykes. The threat to safety is mainly dealt in terms of the slope failures of the dykes and
bearing failure of the bases. The following section reports few case studies where different
methods had been adopted or have been proposed to tackle such stability issues for various
ash dykes.

4. CASE STUDIES OF ASH DYKES

4.1 Ash Dyke of Wanakbori Thermal Power Plant, Gujarat
The existing ash dyke was located at ash dyke area of Wanakbori Thermal Power Station,
Wanakbori, Taluka Thasra by the side of river Mahi. The ash dyke area is subdivided into
compartments I, II and III spread over 380 acres of land. Due to land constraint the
downstream slope of earthen bund towards river side and village Sangol side is as steep as
1:1.5. The bottom level of dyke at the deepest portion is at RL 60.00. The earthen
embankment has been observed to be in damaged condition at certain locations due to
internal pressure and piping made by rats etc. As reported there have been several incidents
of breach/sliding of slope of bund.
The geotechnical investigation of the site had been carried out to estimate the soil
parameters. As reported, most of the soil in top 2-3 m in the field is partially saturated with
moisture content varying from 10% to 15%. Water table has not been observed in boring up

7
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
to 30 m of depth. Following parameters have been considered for the purpose of stability
analysis: (a) For embankment soil - cu= 18; Φu=220, γ = 18.5 kN/m2 (b) For pond ash - cu= 0;
Φu=25.560, γ = 10 kN/m2 and (c) For filling material soil - cu= 20; Φu=240, γ = 18.5 kN/m2.
The analysis of slopes has been carried out using GEO4 (FINE) engineering software
considering circular slip surface. The software uses optimization technique to locate the most
critical slip surface and finds Factor of Safety as a measure of stability. The new dyke was
recommended to be placed just above the existing bund. As requested the sections have been
modified, raised and extended on both side of existing bund except at certain locations where
offset is not available. On these locations the embankment has been raised on one side only
(ash pond area side) up to RL 95.00. On raising, most of the section comes out to be safe on
keeping the same existing slope but on few sections side slope of 1V:2H and 1V:2.5H is
needed to stabilize the existing section and to raise it further up to RL 95.00. Seismic stability
of the embankment has been evaluated by considering forces both in horizontal and vertical
directions. Coefficient of acceleration for earthquake in horizontal (ah) and vertical (av)
directions to be 0.15 and 0.075 respectively was considered.
Stability is considered in terms of bearing capacity of the foundation and factor of
safety of dyke slope considering above mentioned soil parameters with ground water table at
greater depth. Using these shear strength parameters, as discussed earlier, stability calculation
reveal that the ash dyke embankment has a factor of safety of at least 1.5 (normally
recommended for permanent slopes with water impoundment) under static loading conditions
and under earthquake loading using pseudo static analysis, factor of safety can be allowed to
go below up to reasonable value of the order of 1.2, normally required for high risk
conditions. As reported in soil investigation report, the safe bearing capacity (considering
continuous strip footing) comes out to be 9.5 T/m2 for load bearing wall 2.0 m depth.
Rain drops caused detachment of the particles of the attached exposed soil surface of
the embankment and detached particles are carried away by surface runoff. Natural growth of
the vegetation on the slope is thus hindered. The exposed denuded slope becomes
increasingly vulnerable to erosive agent and ultimately destabilized. Coir geotextile is
capable of reducing the erosive effect of the rain drop and controlling the soil particle of
exposed face. On biodegradation it fosters quick vegetative growth. Considering that Gujraat
having moderate rainfall use of coir geotextile is recommended.
Figures 5-7 shows few snaps of the stabilized Wanakbori ash dykes. Simple gravel
pitching and flattened slopes of raising with offsets is used as means of stabilization.

8
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

Figure 5: Stabilization of existing embankment with downstream raising

Figure 6: Stabilization of existing embankment with centre-line raising

4.2 Ash Dyke of Satpura Thermal Power Plant, Sarni, Madhya Pradesh
The existing ash dyke was located at ash dyke area of Satpura Thermal Power Station, Sarni
by the side of river Bemel Patha. There exist three ash dyke area compartments A, B and C.
during the duration of investigation, the ash pond is filled with fly ash up to RL 450.00. It
was observed that the earthen dyke (stage I, stage II and stage III) of compartment ‘B’ for
particular section from ch. 130 to ch. 390 m, was in weak condition and showing signs of
settlement and movement at top.

9
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

Figure 7: Stabilization of existing embankment with down-stream raising

Figure 8: Stabilization of existing embankment with offset raising

The geotechnical investigation of the site had been carried out to estimate the soil
parameters. As reported, most of the soil in top 2-3 m in the field is partially saturated with
moisture content varying from 13% to 20%. No proper information about the water table and
soil properties had been provided. Based on the experience of previous soil investigations
carried out in the vicinity of the site, reasonable properties for the earthen dyke, backfill soil
and pond ash was chosen, and stability analysis were carried out using Geo-5 with the
following parameters (cu= 0; Φu=31.750, γ = 20 kN/m2).
It has been observed that the existing section is unsafe considering the above
mentioned cu and Φu values. Therefore, it is suggested to adopt any one of the two

10
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
alternatives (see Figure 9 and Figure 10) to strengthen the existing weak bund. Figure 9
depicts the details of proposed modified section by extending the slope with rock-fill whereas
in Figure 10 a gabion wall has been proposed. The critical sections have been chosen for
stability analysis under seismic loading with kh equal to 0.10 and kv equal to 0.05 taking ru
equal to 0.5.
As depicted in Figure 9, for alternative one the existing section has been extended
beyond 4 m from existing rock toe. It is suggested to first install Geo-textile layer on existing
soil cover in order to ensure proper seepage/water drainage. After installing Geo-textile, the
well graded gravel (cu =0, Φu =41.50) can be placed. Hence, the first proposal comprised of a
composite geotextile-rock pitching solution for stabilization.

Figure 9: Stabilization of d/s slope using composite geotextile-rock pitching

Figure 10: Stabilization of d/s slope using a gabion wall

11
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
Figure 10 reveals the second alternative solution provided wherein the rock toe in
existing section has been replaced with a gabion wall (see details in Figure 11). It is
suggested to install Geo-textile layer on the back side of gabion wall in order to ensure proper
seepage/water drainage.

Figure 11: Details of the gabion wall replacing the rock toe

Using these shear strength parameters, stability calculation reveal that the ash dyke
embankment has a factor of safety of at least 1.5 (normally recommended for permanent
slopes with water impoundment) under static loading conditions, and of the order 1.2
(normally required for high risk conditions) under earthquake loading using pseudo static
analysis with horizontal force and vertical force taken as 10% and 5% of gravity respectively.

4.3 Ash Dyke of Birsinghpur Thermal Power Plant, Madhya Pradesh

The site of ash-dyke construction is down a hilly terrain which provides natural elevations in
three directions. In the fourth direction, it has plane region with a village road passing
through. To provide the required elevation in the fourth direction, the alignment of the ash
dyke has been chosen along the village road towards the hills without disturbing the existing
road. The ground strata of the site comprises of 2 m to 5 m of silty soil overlaying stiff rocky
strata. Although the top rock stratum contains mostly disintegrated rock, it poses sufficiently
good conditions for the ash dyke foundation. The local soil both inside and outside the

12
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
proposed alignment is suitable for use in construction of the ash dyke. There are several
natural drains (nalahs) in the region which can be easily connected to the ash dyke drain
system to drain out the seepage water and rain water from the lagoon.
The undrained shear strength parameters, cu and φu , were obtained from undrained
test under saturated conditions. The undrained cohesion parameter ranged from 57 kPa and
129 kPa, and the undrained internal friction coefficient parameter varied up to 7 degrees. The
following design parameters have been used in the analysis: (a) For the compacted flyash
material in the embankment: cu = 55 kPa, φu = 33 deg, γ = 11.00 kN/m3, (b) For the flyash

fill in the pond area: cu = 9 kPa, φu = 26 deg, γ = 10.00 kN/m3, (c) For the compacted soil in

the embankment: cu = 90 kPa, φu = 7 deg, γ = 19.6 kN/m3, (d) For the clay core used in the

starter dyke and raised ash dykes: cu = 50 kPa, γ = 19 kN/m3, and (e) For foundation
material of the embankment: (Near Bore Hole 1): Highly weathered rock comprising of silty
sand and the SPT value > 100. Since the material is very stiff, it may be assumed to have the
following properties cu = 100 kPa, φu = 40 deg, γ = 20 kN/m3.
The improvement of the existing embankment and the stability of the raisings in this
case study was achieved by means of join usage of the following (a) Properly designed
chimney and channel drains connecting between the raising and the starter dyke so as to
dissipate the excess pore pressure as quickly as possible (b) Application of vertical drains at
the bases of the raising resting on the pond ash. The raisings have been entirely u/s raising
resting on pond ash base with very low bearing capacity. The strength characteristics of the
base were improved by application of vertical drains sufficing dual purpose of accelerated
consolidation and improving the strength characteristics. (c) Utilization of a weir in order to
dispose off the excess water coming into the site from the watershed catchment area. (d)
Properly graded toe filters and drainage channels were also provided along the toe of each of
the raisings and starter dyke to ensure proper channelization of the exiting water. Figures 12-
20 depict the methods used in the present case.

4.4 Ash Dyke of Bongaigaon Thermal Power Plant, Assam

The present ash disposal site for the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Project is located at
Bongaigaon, 250KM from Guwahati, Assam. The site exists in earthquake zone V as per the
IS:1893(part-I)-2002 code.

13
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

Figure 12: C/S View of the weir

Figure 13: Front View of the weir

Figure 14: Section details of the starter dyke

14
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

Figure 15: Details of the toe filter

Figure 16: Section of Stage I raising

The then disposal area contained a large amount of stored fly ash. The existing ash
dyke was constructed by silty-clay soil. As per the information provided by the NTPC
Engineers, the existing ash dyke has approximately the following dimensions: the top width=
3m, bottom width=10m and height=6m. NTPC planned to raise the height of existing dyke up
to 16m and a divider bund in the disposal area. The available local soil collected from the
existing embankment is medium plasticity silty clay and the ash samples collected from the
pond predominantly have silt size particles.

15
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

Figure 17: Details of Stage II raising

Figure 18: Plan of installation of vertical drains

Both peak and residual shear strength parameters for design were obtained from
drained direct shear test (conducted with slow strain rate). Strength at large deformation, as
obtained from direct shear test is considered as residual strength. For static analysis peak
strength parameters were used. However, for seismic analysis, residual strength parameters
were used to consider post deformation behavior. The embankment soil had the peak shear
strength parameters as c = 40 kPa and φ = 27°, while the residual strength parameters were c
= 31 kPa and φ = 27°. The pond ash had the shear strength parameters as c = 14 kPa and φ =
27° (peak values) and c = 5 kPa and φ = 29° (residual parameters) respectively.

16
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

Figure 19: Downstream side slope drainage system

Figure 20: Provision of drains in the toes of the downstream slope and berm

The design of the ash dyke both for static and seismic conditions were taken up and
presented in this report. In this design, the downstream raising method is not considered due
to the non-availability of land. In case of upstream raising, some part of the raised section

17
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
will be founded on the filled up fly ash, which is likely to have very low strength as it will be
in an unconsolidated state with a very high water content. The area lies in earthquake zone-V
with a high probability to being subjected to seismic activity. Thus, there is every probability
of the unconsolidated saturated ash to liquefy, endangering the raised dyke. Therefore, this
upstream raising for designing the dyke is also not considered. Thus, it is finally
recommended that foundation of the main ash dyke and divider bund shall be kept on the
natural ground and not on the filled-up fly ash. Thus the possibility of the failure of ash dyke
due to foundation failure is eliminated.
The main ash dyke section considered for analysis has been shown in Figure 21. It
broadly consists of three zones, on upstream side, 10m high section is of silty clay soil
(similar material as used in existing dyke) with inner slope of 1.0V:1.5H, and outer slope as
1.0V:3.0H up. On the downstream side another portion made up of silty clay soil with an
inner slope of 1.0V:2.5H and outer slope of 1.0V:3.0H is considered in the design. On the
downstream side of embankment, a rock toe with 1.0V:3.0H slope is also considered. Central
zone of the section is considered to be made of compacted fly ash. It has 1V:3H slopes on
both side above the above the soil embankments. For the internal drainage system, a central
vertical chimney drain and horizontal blanket drain has been considered in the design. The
earth cover of 1.0 m thickness on downstream side has also been considered during the slope
stability analysis and it has the same properties as the material in soil embankment.
The divider bund section considered for analysis has been shown in Figure 22. It
consists of 10m high embankments made up with silty clay soil. Rock toe at both ends have
also been considered in the stability analysis of the embankment.
The seepage analyses of the sections were done using finite element software. For this
purpose the permeability of soil and ash compacted at OMC were considered. The
permeability of foundation material was modelled, following the geotechnical report
provided by NTPC.
The analysis of the slopes has been carried out using FINE-GEO5 software available
in the Geotechnical Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kanpur.
Circular Slip Surfaces (Using methods of Bishop and Peterson) and Polygonal Slip Surfaces
were tried to determine the critical slip surface and find the corresponding factor of safety
values for the same as a measure of the stability of the embankment. The phreatic surface
obtained by seepage analysis of the proposed embankment was incorporated in the stability
analysis.

18
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
Seismic stability of the embankment has been evaluated by considering forces in the
horizontal direction by carrying out a pseudo-static analysis. The coefficient of acceleration
in the horizontal direction was taken as αh= 0.19, considering PGA of 0.38. PGA was taken
as per the site specific seismic study report provided by NTPC. Further, coefficient of
acceleration in vertical direction (downwards) was assumed as αv =0.1 (≈50% of αh). For
analysis of upstream slope the direction of horizontal force in upstream direction and for
downstream slope analysis the direction of horizontal force is considered in downstream
direction. In both cases the vertical force is considered in the downward direction.
For suitable design, the minimum factor of safety was considered to be 1.5 under
static conditions and 1.1 under seismic considerations. On the basis of above, the detail of
recommended sections for main ash dyke and divider bund are as follows:
It is recommended to construct the ash dyke in single stage up to its full height (16m).
The recommended section for main ash dyke shown in Figure 21, has been checked for
different conditions and found safe. It broadly consists of 3parts, on upstream side, 10m high
section is recommended to be constructed using silty clay soil (similar material used in
existing dyke) with outer slopes as 1.0V:3.0H. The inner slope of this part is recommended as
1.0V:1.5H. On downstream side it is recommended to excavate the existing embankment up
to a depth of approximately 2.5m from top and encapsulate it with same material on upstream
side with inner slope 1.0V:2.5H slope and on downstream side it is recommended to
construct a rock toe for the proposed embankment by rockfill and filter material with
1.0V:3.0H slope. Central part of the section is proposed to be constructed by compacting the
fly ash, which is already available in the present ash pond area. On the upstream and
downstream fly ash slopes and on the crest of the embankment a well compacted 1.0m thick
earth cover is recommended. As part of internal drainage system, a central vertical chimney
drain and horizontal blanket drain shall be provided. The embankment can also be
constructed in two stages. In the first stage, the full section width shall be constructed up to a
height of 10m and in the next stage it can be raised up to 16m by central raising method. An
alternative proposal of using gabion walls at the toe of the starter dyke has been proposed and
analysed (Figure 22).
For divider bund, it is recommended to construct the embankment in single stage up
to its full height (10m). The recommended section shown in Figure 23 has been checked for
different conditions and found safe. The divider bund is recommended to be made by
constructing 10m high embankment with silty clay soil (similar material used in existing

19
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
dyke). Both side slopes of the embankment are proposed to be 1.0V:2.5H. Rock toe is also
proposed on either side of divider bund. To attain 16m height for the divider bund two
alternatives have been given in Figures 24 and 25. This may be done in two stages of 3m
each using fly ash. The typical sections for both alternatives have been analyzed and the
factor of safety values and the corresponding critical slip surfaces are also presented in the
Figures 24 and 25. Both sections are found safe in static analysis with steady state condition.
Both sections were also found safe in earthquake conditions with no water case. However,
these sections were not found safe under earthquake conditions with water filled in ash pond.
In case divider bund little risk may be taken therefore any of the two alternatives may be
selected for construction.
Figure 26 shows a glimpse of the stability analysis of ash dykes using geofabrics
making use of GeoStudio Slopw/W analysis.

Figure 21: Section of main ash dyke

20
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT
(GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

Figure 22: Alternative design of main ash dyke using toe gabion

Figure 23:
2 Section of Divider Bund

Figure 24: Proposal 1 for the continuous raising in the divider bund

21
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT
(GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter

Figure 25: Proposal 2 for the staggered raising in the divider bund

Figure 28: Application of geofabric to improve the stability of ash dykes

5. CONCLUSIONS
The report provides a comprehensive overview of the layout and possible construction
construc
methodologies of ash dykes. Various case studies cited herein reveals the different forms of
challenges which can be possibly generated depending upon the specific requirements of the
problem. Necessity of various ground improvement techniques is exemplified. It is to be
understood that ground improvement does not necessarily mean inclusion of artificial
reinforcing materials within the soil, which seems to be slowly grasping
grasping the present day
notion. Even a simple dewatering technique aids in the ground improvement. The above
study reports the usage of several basic and common techniques
techniques of ground improvement
which can be successively used to improve the bearing properties of the soil or prevent a soil
mass from stability failure. The case studies presented herein reveal the application of several
techniques such as simple flattening of slopes to reduce the shear stress,, dewater
dewatering and
drainage to reduce the seepage conditions and exit gradient,
gradient application of vertical drains for
accelerated consolidation and improved bearing characteristics, usage of gabion walls for toe
protection
ion against failure and excess stress, use of weirs under special cases to tackle hill
terrain runoff, and glimpse of application of geofabrics to enhance the slope stability.
stability This

22
 National Workshop
Ground Improvement Techniques with Reference to NE Region (GIT-NE), 2012
AEC Guwahati and IGS NE Chapter
should help to open up the scopes of various simple techniques that can be used in case of
necessity to stabilize an ash dyke. The industries need to come forth to accept such
challenging innovations apart from just flattening of slopes, which is a common and
successful age-old practice.

6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank Dr. Prabir Kr. Basudhar, Dr. Sarvesh Chandra and Dr. Amit Prashant to provide
him the opportunity to get involved in so many real-life problems which have helped the author to gain immense
experience in the field reverberated in this article.

REFERENCES

• Basudhar, P. K. and Chandra, S. (2004) “Design report for raising ash bund section at Wanakbori
thermal power station, Wanakbori” Submitted to Chief Engineer (C & O), GEB, WTPS, Wanakbori.

• Basudhar, P. K. and Chandra, S. (2004) “Modified design of existing ash bund section at Satpura
thermal power station, Sarni” Submitted to S. E. (Civil) C & M-II, STPS, MPSEB, Sarni.

• Dey, A., Basudhar, P. K. and Chandra, S. (2008) “Design report for starter dyke section of new ash
bund at SGPTS, Birsinghpur” Submitted to MPPGCL, Birsinghpur.

• Dey, A., Prashant, A. and Basudhar, P. K. (2009) “Design of Ash Dyke and Divider Bund for
Bongaigaon Thermal Power Project (4×250 MW), NTPC Ltd. Bongaigaon (Assam)” Submitted to
NTPC, Bongaigaon.

• Saikia, P. (2012) “Slope Stability Analysis of Geofabric Reinforced Ash Dyke: Development of
GeoStudio Tutorial for Slope/W” Summer Training Report, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Guwahati, India.

23