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All content following this page was uploaded by Alireza Sharifi Soltani on 15 November 2015.
Alireza Sharifi Soltani, Principal Geotechnical Engineer & Project Manager, BSc &
Siavash Litkouhi, Chairman, PhD
Soils Engineering Services Co
#135, Zhoubin Cul-de-Sac
North Dastour Street
Gheitarieh
Tehran 19317-64611
Iran
Email: sharifi@sesce.com / slitkouhi@sesce.com
Abstract
The lack of clay borrow sources at the Meijaran dam site, along with a high annual
precipitation rate in the area, led consulting engineers to replace the clay core with an
asphalt concrete core (ACC) at the rockfill dam. The steps taken for the project from
the start, i.e. the selection of suitable aggregate sources for the asphalt concrete (AC)
and the adjacent filter materials to the end, i.e. ACC placement in the dam body, are
briefly discussed. AC mix design parameters, which were finalized upon completion
of laboratory tests are presented, as well as the scope of trial placements conducted
for optimizing the hand - and machine - placement of the ACC. Proper results were
gained both in the final trial placement and in the dam body, in accordance with the
quality control program. The air void contents measured in the AC cores were all
below three percent. Construction of the dam took about 18 months which, when
compared with the placement of a clay core, is a very short length of time for dam
construction activities along the northern coastal region of Iran. The Yangtze Three
Gorges Technology & Economy Development Co (TGDC) supervised the whole
work.
Keywords: Asphalt concrete core, clay core, rockfill dam, Marshall test, air void con-
tent, trial placement, hand placement, machine placement, drilled core.
1. Introduction
For many years clay core has been conventionally used in embankment dams, as a
sealing element in the dam body. However, when there is a lack of clay borrow
sources at the dam site, or it is not available within an economically viable distance
170.0
160.0 8.0 153.0
150.0 N.W.L. 148.0
140.0 75
: 1. 1.0
:1
130.0 5 1 .0 1 .6
10.3 2 5
120.0 112.0 6.0 4 3 3 4
110.0 0 1.0 8.0 105.0
: 2. : 1.5 .5
1.0
100.0 1.0 :1 :1
.6
1.0
90.0 9 8 9
7 6
10
1- Asphalt concrete core 4- Rockfill shell 7- Upstream cofferdam 10- Grout curtain
2- Filter 5- Protection layer 8- Concrete plinth
3- Transition 6- Toe drain 9- Bedrock
:
1.0
2.0
Concrete plinth
1.5 2.0 1.5
5.0
3/8´´
3/4´´
1.5´´
#50
#30
#16
#10
US sieve numbers/opening
#4
2´´
3´´
4´´
100
90
80
70
Percent passing (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
00.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Clay Silt Fine Medium Coarse Fine Coarse Cobbles
Sand Gravel Boulders
3/8´´
3/4´´
1.5´´
#50
#30
#16
#10
US sieve numbers/opening
#4
2´´
3´´
4´´
100
90
80
70
Percent passing (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
00.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Fine Medium Coarse Fine Coarse Cobbles
Clay Silt Sand Boulders
Gravel
Grading of the ACC, together with the filter material, are shown in Figures 5 to 7,
respectively.
#200
#100
3/8´´
3/4´´
1.5´´
#50
#30
#16
#10
US sieve numbers/opening
#4
2´´
3´´
4´´
100
90
80 Fuller’s Curve
Tolerances
70
Percent passing (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
00.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Fine Medium Coarse Fine Coarse Cobbles
Clay Silt Sand Boulders
Gravel
3/8´´
3/4´´
1.5´´
#50
#30
#16
#10
US sieve numbers/opening
#4
2´´
3´´
4´´
100
90
80
70
Percent passing (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
00.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Fine Medium Coarse Fine Coarse Cobbles
Clay Silt Sand Boulders
Gravel
3/8´´
3/4´´
1.5´´
#50
#30
#16
#10
US sieve numbers/opening
#4
2´´
3´´
4´´
100
90
80
70
Percent passing (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
00.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Fine Medium Coarse Fine Coarse Cobbles
Clay Silt Sand Boulders
Gravel
5. AC mix parameters
AC test samples containing various bitumen content were prepared, ranging from 5.5-7.0
percent, on which Marshall tests were performed. Table 4 presents the final bitumen
content and various other parameters of the AC laboratory samples.
Subsequent to finalizing the laboratory AC mix design, additional tests were performed
on the corresponding laboratory samples, the results of which are presented in Table 5.
9. Trial placement
Prior to ACC placement in the dam body, a trial placement was conducted for a) practic-
ing the activities needed for preparing the dam axis for ACC placement, b) ACC contin-
uous placement, c) optimizing the rolling passes, heat control and investigating the
simultaneous sequence of AC and filter compaction, and d) collecting drilled cores for
testing the properties of the AC, especially the air void content.
Trial placements were also required even during construction of the dam body where,
due to various reasons, the component materials of the AC (bitumen, aggregate, filler,
etc), or the placement method is changed.
During this project trial placements were conducted three times. Firstly, at the
beginning of the work, and prior to construction of the dam body, for simulation of
hand placement of the ACC in the dam body. Secondly, during construction of the
dam body when an ACC paver machine was imported and, lastly, when the original
quarry used for the ACC materials was changed due to the termination of extractable
volume, which was followed by a new mix of the original AC design.
However, for the main part of the work the hand placement method was applied. At
first the steel formworks were set up so that the centerline of the formwork rows (the
Plate 3. Drilled cores collected from the ACC in the dam body
Plate 5. Hand placement of ACC in the dam body (loader is transporting the asphalt concrete to
be placed, while the temperature of the ACC in the bucket is being controlled)
To collect qualified drilled cores, the ACC needs to be left to cool for 4-5 days. As
this method of coring and testing is still the most reliable for in situ air void content
measurements [7], the only way to compensate the time loss in this regard is to increase
the level of quality control for each step of the work. When there is no change in the
a) The quality of bitumen produced by the refineries (which is not necessarily under the
contractor’s control). Unqualified bitumen loads, if delivered to the site, are not allowed
to be used. Hence, extra costs are imposed to the project both in budget and time.
b) An elaborate and systematic quality control program should be prepared and fol-
lowed. This includes component materials, tests, and specifications, as well as AC pro-
duction, transportation, unloading, compaction and protection.
c) As continuous and efficient placement by hand requires more manpower than
machine placement, the quality control program should be more restricted. During con-
tinuous hand placement in the dam body, sections of ACC are being dealt with simulta-
neously, while various other activities are being conducted at each of the remaining sec-
tions, e.g. one section is being cleaned for formwork installation, another is having the
formwork installed and the filter spread, in another section the AC is being unloaded and
the lower layer preheated, while in another rolling is underway. At the same time lorry
13. Conclusions
Considering the merits of the asphalt concrete core in the construction of a dam body, it
should be considered an important alternative in dam construction technology in Iran.
Providing the mix design is properly conducted and the AC production, placement and
work quality are properly supervised and controlled, this sealing element in the dam
body will be both watertight and stable. However, when dealing with hand placement,
the sequence and continuity of activities, as well as the quality control, should be more
effectively conducted in comparison with machine placement. Where needed, this
method of construction [7] could be an alternative for increased productivity.
Enhancement of the quality control at each stage of the project, together with obtaining
sufficient qualified test records of the air void content, could be an alternative for
decreasing the number of coring periods, provided that none of the details of the works
(based on which the core void results are obtained) are changed.
14. Acknowledgements
The first author wishes to acknowledge Professor Kaare Höeg for studying this paper
and giving valuable comments. The authors also wish to acknowledge the Mazandaran
Regional Water Co, Tehran Sahab Consulting Engineers, and the Kotra Construction Co
for their cooperation with the specialist contractor both during the project and whilst
preparing this paper.
References
[1] Ghanooni Mahabadi, S & Mahin Roosta, R, (2002), ‘Seismic analysis and design of
asphaltic concrete core embankment dams’, International Journal on Hydropower &
Dams, Vol 9, Issue 6, pp75-78.
[2] Höeg, K, (1993), ‘Asphalt concrete cores for embankment dams”, Statkraft,
Veidekke and NGI, StikkaTrykk, 1993.
[3] Duncan, J M & Chang, C Y, (1970), ‘Non-linear analysis of stress and strain in
soils”, Journal of the Soil Mechanics & Foundations Division, ASCE, Vol 96, No SM5,
pp1629 - 1653.
[5] International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), (1992), ‘Bituminous cores for
fill dams - state of the art’, Bulletin 84.
[6] International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), (1982), ‘Bituminous cores for
earth and rockfill dams’, Bulletin 42.
[7] Saxegaard, H, (2002), ‘Asphalt core dams: increased productivity to improve speed
of construction’, International Journal on Hydropower & Dams, Vol 9, Issue 6, pp72-
74.