Preface

This project Design Aspects of Embankment & Gravity Dams. has been taken up due to requirement of schedule of summer training for students in 2009. The topic/work of the training was allotted by the designated mentor for the undersigned. The subject matter of the report pertains to the Design Aspects of Embankment & Gravity Dams.

Acknowledgement
Apart from the efforts by me, the success of this training depends largely on the encouragement and guidelines of many others. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this training. I would like to show my greatest appreciation to my mentor Sandeep Singhal sir, also I would like to thank Vibhash Pathania sir for motivation and encouragement they have given me during the completion of this project. The guidance and support received from all other member who contributed to this training, was vital for the success of the training, without whose support this would not have been possible. I am grateful for their constant support and help.

Badal Singh Rana

1.0 INTRODUCTION:
This report is in respect of the summer training undergone at Civil & HM Design & Engg. Deptt of Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd., Rishikesh, which is a joint venture corporation of the Govt. of India and Govt. of U.P. It was incorporated as a limited company under the companies act 1956, in July 1988, to develop, operate and maintain the Tehri Hydro Power Complex (2400 MW) and other hydro projects. Presently the Corporation is handling several Hydro Electric Projects in India and abroad. During the training, various aspects related to the Design of Embankment & Gravity Dams were learnt. The training programme consisted of imparting knowledge about several aspects related to above viz., general information about hydro projects, hydro power in India, advantages of hydro projects, hydro power mechanism, type of hydro power plant, various components of a hydro project, selection of site for a dam, selection of dam type, design concepts of gravity of earth & rockfill dams etc. Besides above, a general knowledge about the various design features of a 260.5 m high Earth & Rockfill dam at Tehri and 65m high concrete gravity dam at Pipalkoti, Uttarakhand was also obtained. This report covers a brief account of all the aspects mentioned above.

2.0 PROJECTS IN HAND WITH THDC: Operating

It comprises of 260.5 m high tehri dam which is the highest earth and rock fill dam in the Asian region with an under ground hydro power plant, having four conventional turbine/generator sets of 250 mw each.

Tehri dam and HPP stage -1(1000MW)

Construction
The Koteshwar hydro electric project comprises of a 97.5 m high concrete gravity dam and 400 MW (4*100) hydro power plant at koteshwar, 22km, downstream of tehri koteshwar project is a run off river scheme with minimum diurnal storage.

Koteshwar hydro electric project (400MW)

Tehri psp scheme, is having four reversible units of 250 mw each, has been envisaged to generate 1000 mw of peaking power for enhancing system reliability and also to provide balancing load to the thermal base generation during off peak hours. The reservoir created by the tehri dam would function as upstream reservoir for this project, while the koteshwar dam reservoir shall be the lower reservoir.

Tehri pumped storage plant(psp) (1000MW)

Vishnugad pipalkoti project (444MW)

It is located in Chamoli distt on the river Alaknanda, the project envisages construction of a gated diversion dam, 65 m high near village Helong. The dam shall divert the water of river Alaknanda through a water conductor system to an underground power house with installed capacity of 444MW (4*111MW).

New project
The following six new hydro projects has been entrusted to THDC for development. Serial no Name of project 1 2 3 4 5 6 Karmoli Gohan tal Jadhganga Malaria jhelam Jhelam tamak Bokang bailing Capacity 140 MW 60 MW 50 MW 55 MW 60 MW 330 MW River Jadhganga Birahiganga Jadhganga Dhauliganga Dhauliganga Dhauliganga(K ) District Uttarkashi Chamoli Uttarkashi Chamoli Chamoli Pittoragarh

Salient features of the Tehri Dam Project (2400 MW) and Vishnugad Pipalkoti HEP (444MW) are enclosed at Annexure-1 & 2 respectively.

3.0 GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT HYDRO PROJECTS: 3.1 Necessity of Hydro Schemes
In India the occurrence of rainfall is quite non uniform. This non uniformity is both in terms of time of occurrence and also in terms of regional distribution. About 60 to 70% of the rainfall in the country occurs just in 4 months i.e. during monsoons and the rest during the remaining period. Due to this there is sometimes occurrence of floods in the monsoon, which causes lot of damage and also there is wastage of useful water, and sometimes scarcity of water in the remaining period. Similarly due to regional non uniformity, there is occurrence of flood in some parts of the country and at the same time occurrence of draughts in other parts. Due to above, there is a strong requirement of having a control over the river flows by constructing hydro schemes so that water can be used for various beneficial purposes throughout the year and regional non-uniformity of distribution of water is also tackled. Besides above there is also increasing requirement of electric power for economic development and improving living standards, irrigation for increasing the yield of agricultural products and domestic & industrial water supply etc. Hydro schemes provide solution to all the above issues.

In the subsequent paragraphs, the various issues pertaining to Hydro Power plants are discussed.

3.2 Hydropower in India

India has immense economically exploitable hydropower potential of over 84,000 MW at 60% load factor (148700 MW installed capacity), with Brahamaputra, Indus and Ganges basins contributing about 80% of it. Various studies have established the ideal Hydro: Thermal power mix for India at to be at 40:60. The present mix of 25:75 is creating much problem in the Indian power system with country facing energy shortage of 9.3% and peaking shortage of 12.8%. The total requirement ending XI plan is set to be 206000 MW. The current installed thermal and hydropower capacity stands at 66% and 26% of the total power generated with 83272 and 32726 MW respectively. Remaining 8% of 10091 MW is achieved from other forms including wind and nuclear. The current captive generation amounts to 14636 MW.

3.3. Advantages of Hydropower

Hydropower has immense benefits and has been brought forward as a preferred option for power generation over the last decade. The reasons for these can be summed as follows:

Abundant potential of hydropower development in India as discussed above Hydro Power Plants are essential for meeting out peaking power demand. With relative independence from international market like oil prices, hydropower involves no extra foreign exchange outgo Hydropower is a no-inflation power as Water- the raw material for power generation is free of inflation Environment friendly Hydropower projects support socio economic development of remote areas as the project site is developed Hydropower is cost effective and renewable form of energy It has additional benefits like irrigation, flood control, tourism etc.

3.4. Hydropower mechanism

The water in the reservoir is considered stored energy. When the gates open, the water flowing through the penstock becomes kinetic energy because it's in motion. The amount of electricity that is generated is determined by several factors. Two of those factors are the volume of water flow and the amount of hydraulic head. The head refers to the distance between the water surface and the turbines. As the head and flow increase, so does the electricity generated. The head is usually dependent upon the amount of water in the reservoir.

3.5. Types of Hydropower Plants Conventional

Most hydropower plants are conventional in design, meaning they use one-way water flow to generate electricity. There are two categories of conventional plants, run-of-river and storage plants.

1. Run-of-river plants
These plants use little, if any, stored water to provide water flow through the turbines. Although some plants store a day or week's worth of water, weather changesespecially seasonal changescause run-of-river plants to experience significant fluctuations in power output.

2. Storage plants
These plants have enough storage capacity to off-set seasonal fluctuations in water flow and provide a constant supply of electricity throughout the year. Large dams can store several year worth of water.

Pumped Storage
The majority of hydropower plants work in the manner described above. However, there's another type of hydropower plant, called the pumped-storage plant. In a conventional hydropower plant, the water from the reservoir flows through the plant, exits and is carried down stream. A pumped-storage plant has two reservoirs:

1. Upper reservoir - Like a conventional hydropower plant, a dam creates a reservoir. The
water in this reservoir flows through the hydropower plant to create electricity.

2. Lower reservoir - Water exiting the hydropower plant flows into a lower reservoir rather than
re-entering the river and flowing downstream. Using a reversible turbine, the plant can pump water back to the upper reservoir. This is done in off-peak hours. Essentially, the second reservoir refills the upper reservoir. By pumping water back to the upper reservoir, the plant has more water to generate electricity during periods of peak consumption.

3.6. Main Components of a hydropower plant:

Schematic layout of a Hydro-Power Plant

Dam - Most hydropower plants rely on a dam that holds back water, creating a large reservoir.
Often, this reservoir is used as a recreational lake, such as Lake Roosevelt at the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State.

Intake - Gates on the dam open and gravity pulls the water through the penstock, a pipeline that
leads to the turbine. Water builds up pressure as it flows through this pipe.

Penstock and Tunnel - Penstocks are pipes which carry water from the reservoir to the turbines
inside power station. They are usually made of steel and are equipped with gate systems. Water under high pressure flows through the penstock. A tunnel serves the same purpose as a penstock. It is used when an obstruction is present between the dam and power station such as a mountain.

Tail race tunnel - Used water is carried through pipelines, called tailraces, and re-enters the river
downstream.

Surge Tank - Surge tanks are tanks connected to the water conductor system. It serves the
purpose of reducing water hammering in pipes which can cause damage to pipes. The sudden surge of water in penstock is taken by the surge tank, and when the water requirements increase, it supplies the collected water thereby regulating water flow and pressure inside the penstock.

A spillway - as the name suggests could be

called as a way for spilling of water from dams. It is used to provide for the release of flood water from a dam. It is used to prevent over toping of the dams which could result in damage or failure of dams. Spillways could be controlled type or uncontrolled type. The uncontrolled types start releasing water upon water rising above a particular level. But in case of the controlled type, regulation of flow is possible.

Turbine - The water strikes and turns the large blades of a turbine, which is attached to a
generator above it by way of a shaft. The most common type of turbine for hydropower plants are the Francis Turbine and Pelton Turbine.

Generators - As the turbine blades turn, so do a series of magnets inside the generator. Giant
magnets rotate past copper coils, producing alternating current (AC) by moving electrons.

Transformer hall - The transformer inside the powerhouse is kept inside transformer hall which
takes the AC and converts it to higher-voltage current. Transformer hall can be underground or above the earth surface.

4.0

Selection of a dam site

Important considerations for selection of a dam site are as given below.

1. Geology of dam site: a dam is a massive structure and imposes not only the heavy load of dam body but also high water pressures on the foundation. It is necessary that the foundation be able to sustain these loads, after suitable treatment where necessary, without such deformation or stress concentration as may cause damage to or failure of the dam. 2. Reservoir rim and basin: the dam plugs the valley and raises the water level to the desired height. The water will spread out to the contour of full reservoir level behind the dam. When a flood is passing, the water will be at the designed flood level at the spillway crest and will have a rising slope upstream. If there are any saddles lower than the H.F.L in either of the valley sides, these will have to be plugged to maintain the storage. It is necessary to investigate the hillsides along the reservoir shore for their stability. The reservoir basin should not have continuous leakage paths to cause loss of stored water into the same valley downstream of the dam or into adjacent valleys 3. Construction material: For embankment dams bulk of construction material should be available in the vicinity of the dam site. If natural soil materials with desirable characteristics for different zones in the dam are available close by, the design becomes simpler and more

economical. For gravity dams, aggregates of suitable quality required for manufacturing of concrete should be available in the vicinity of dam site. 4. Suitable spillway location: on rigid dams of concrete masonry, arrangement for discharge of surplus flood waters can often be made on the dam crest itself, not possible with embankment dam where spillway has to be located separately. A saddle upstream of, and close to the dam is convenient for locating a trough or chute spillway, particularly if it is of required width and elevation. If there is no such saddle, spillway crest and trough can be locate in the excavation. For embankment dams, spillways have to be made as a separate structure from the dam. 5. Submergence aspects: the submerged area has a present productivity as forest, agricultural or pasture land and has a potential productivity which may be higher. The possibility of presence of useful mineral in the reservoir area should be explored. In general, direct and indirect loss due to the submergence should be low in relation to the expected benefit. 6. Construction infrastructure: a massive construction project such as a dam requires adequate infrastructural facilities. Transport, space for workshops, offices and residential area close to the site, communication and electrical power etc. are essential. These requirements do not govern the acceptance of a site but may have an important bearing on costs.

5.0

Choice of type of dam

Dam may be divided into two broad categories rigid and embankment. Rigid dams are mostly constructed from concrete but in India a few consist of stone masonry. They may be of the gravity, arch, hollow gravity or buttress type. All rigid dams can take bending moments while embankment dams depend on shear resistance for their stability. All dams in which the bulk of the construction comprises naturally occurring materials such as souls of different types, clays, sands, gravels naturally occurring boulders or quarried fragmented rock are categorized as embankment dams. The primary criteria for choice of dam type ata given site are valley shape and foundation geology. A narrow V-shaped valley with abutments strong enough to resist the arch thrust is best suited for an arch dam. For a moderately wide valley with small depth of overburden and strong foundation at the base, a gravity or buttress dam is indicated, however depending on the economy a embankment is equally feasible. For a wide valley and deep overburden an embankment dam is best solution. In valleys with irregular cross sections a part embankment and par concrete may be built

6.0 Design Aspects of Gravity dams

6.1 General
A gravity dam is a structure so proportioned that its own weight resists the forces exerted upon it , this type of dam is the most permanent one , requires little maintenance and is most commonly used, A gravity dam may be constructed either of masonry or concrete. However, now a day with improved method of construction, quality control and curing concrete is most commonly used for the construction of gravity dams. A gravity dam may be hollow or solid. Gravity dam are particularly suited across gorges with very steep slide slopes where earth dam might slip. Where good foundation are available, gravity dam can be built up to any height. The highest dam in the world is of gravity type.

Heel: contact with the ground on the upstream side Toe: contact on the downstream side Abutment: Sides of the valley on which the structure of the dam rest

Galleries: small rooms like structure left within the dam for checking operations. Diversion tunnel: Tunnels are constructed for diverting water before the construction of dam.This
helps in keeping the river bed dry.

Spillways: It is the arrangement near the top to release the excess water of the reservoir to
downstream side

Sluice way: An opening in the dam near the ground level, which is used to clear the silt
accumulation in the reservoir side.

6.2 Forces acting on a gravity dam:

Following are the various kinds of forces acting on a gravity dam, which are generally considered in the design: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. water pressure uplift pressure earthquake pressure silt pressure wave pressure ice pressure weight of dam

A schematic diagram showing various forces acting on gravity dam

Variation of these forces along the face / base of the dam, their point of action in dam section along with the general equations used for estimation of these forces are shown in the following diagrams:

(7) Weight of a dam

The unit weight of concrete generally should be assumed to be 2.5 tonne/cum exact unit weight is determined from the concrete materials investigation. In the computation of the dead load, relatively small voids such as galleries are normally not deducted except in low dams, where such voids could create an appreciable effect upon the stability of the structure the dead loads considered should include the weight of concrete, superimposed backfill, and appurtenances such as gates and bridges.

6.3 Modes of failure & stability requirements Following are the general modes of failure of a gravity dam:
1 Overturning 2 Sliding 3 Compression or crushing 4 Tension

Overturning
The overturning of a dam takes place when the resultant force at any section cuts the base of the downstream of the toe. In that case the resultant moment at the toe becomes clockwise (or ve). On the other hand if the resultant cuts the base within the body of the dam there will be no overturning. For stability requirement the dam must be safe against overturning the factor of safety against overturning is defined as the ratio of the righting moment (+ ve) to the overturning moments, i.e, Righting moment F.S = ______________________ Overturning moment the factor of safety against overturning should not be less than 1.5.

Sliding
A dam will fail in sliding at its base, or at any other level if the horizontal forces causing sliding are more than the resistance available to it at that level. The resistance against sliding may be due to frictional and shear strength of the joint. Shear strength of develops at the base if benched foundation are provided and at other joints if the joints are carefully laid so that a good bond develops. Shear strength also comes into play because of the interlocking of the stone in masonry dams. If the shear strength is not taken in account, factor of safety is known as the factor of safety against sliding. Factor of safety against sliding is defines as the ratio of actual coefficient of static friction on the horizontal joint to the sliding friction. The sliding factor is the minimum coefficient of friction required to prevent sliding. Sliding factor is given by:

Compression or crushing
In order to calculate the normal stress distribution ate base or at any section, let H be the total horizontal force, V be the total vertical force and R be the total resultant force cutting the base at the eccentricity e from the centre of the base of the width b the normal stress at any point on the base will be the sum of the direct stress and the bending stress.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Total normal stress is given by Pn:

Tension
Normal stress at heel is given by Pn = V/b (1-6e/b) It is evident that if e>b/6, the normal stress at the heel will be negative or tensile. No tension should be permitted at any point of the dam under any circumstances for moderately high dams for no tension to develop; the eccentricity should be less than b/6 in other words the resultant should always lay within the middle third. However in case of extra high dams ,230m to 260m,small tension within the permissible limits generally permitted for comparatively small periods of loading such as heavy flood or earthquake. An example showing procedure for pseudo-static stability analysis of a gravity dam is appended at Annexure-3.

6.4 VISHNUGAD PIPALKOTI DAM:

VISHNUGAD PIPALKOTI is a 444MW project situated in district Chamoli. A diversion dam of concrete (65m high) is proposed to be constructed across the river Alaknanda near village Helong. The project shall utilize the drop in water level between outfall of Tapovan- Vishnugad Project and Birahi- Alaknanda confluence. A discharge of about 228.86 cumecs is proposed to be passed through head race tunnel of 13.4Km length and 8.8m diameter to an underground power house proposed to be situated near village Hat, about 7Km from Pipalkoti. The tail race discharge will be diverted in the river Alaknanda through a tunnel of 3 Km in length and 8.8m diameter. The power station shall utilize a design head of 212.46m. A typical Section of the 65m high concrete gravity dam at Pipalkoti at non-overflow and overflow section is shown in the following figures.

General features of the dam section are as below: Crest Elevation = 1270m River Bed Level = 1225m Foundation Level = 1205m

Crest Length = 89.3m (NOF 32.3m, OF 57.0m) Crest width = 10m U/s Slope: vertical upto El.1230m and 0.5H: 1V below this level. D/s Slope: Vertical upto El.1262m and 1H: 1V below this level. Within the body of dam, four nos. of under sluices of size (7.2m x 15m) with radial gates operated by means of hydraulic hoists have been provided to pass the flood on d/s of the dam. Section of the under sluices can be seen in the overflow section given above. Discharging capacity of under sluices is about 8000 cumecs. As the design PMF for the project is 10840 cumecs, therefore additional spillway capacity shall be provided by spill tunnels proposed in lef abutment of the dam.

Design Aspects of Earth and rock fill dam 7.1 General:

The earth & rockfill dam mainly consists of following components: 1. The main rockfill 2. The impervious zone 3. Auxiliary supporting members The main rockfill provides the structural support for the dam by its weight and internal stability. The impervious zone holds back the water. It is made up of the membrane which holds the water and transition zone which transfers the water load to the rockfill. The membrane may be a thick blanket or core of earth or a thin diaphragm or deck of wood, concrete, steel, asphalt, dry rubble masonry or stone masonry. The auxiliary support members help to sustain the membrane or parts of the main rockfill. These components are similar to the shell, core, and appurtenances of the earth-fill dam and are analyzed in a similar way. A typical section of a zoned embankment dam is shown below:

Other prevalent types of embankment dams with variation in the position of impervious core are shown in the Annexure-4 .

7.2 Advantages of earth rockfill Construction

1. Economical - due to the use of cheap local materials. 2. Suitable where the foundation conditions are not good, especially where high hydrostatic uplift is likely to be a factor in design. Rockfill is particularly suitable when there is no satisfactory earth available and when a plentiful supply of sound rock is at hand. The rockfilling is especially adapted to construction during wet and cold weather and permits continuous work under weather conditions that would not permit earth or concrete construction. Very rapid constructions are possible with rockfill because of its adaptability to bad weather and because the process of filling does not have to be interrupted for rolling or other separate compaction operations. The rockfill dam with an upstream diaphragm is very well adapted to stage construction. The dam height can be increased merely by dumping more rock behind the impervious diaphragm without interfering with or encroaching on the reservoir. The dam is then made water-tight by continuing the impervious face upward. The stage construction concept is also suitable for coffer damming, as the first part of the dam serves as a cofferdam which protects the remainder of the foundation for further construction. The quality of the rock is a major factor in the choice of a rockfill dam and in the design of the structure. Extensive testing is necessary to judge whether the rock is suitable for construction. .

7.3 Rockfill Materials Rock Durability - There is no entirely satisfactory test to determine durability of rock over
centuries, and hence good judgment has to be used. Examining old structures such as walls and bridge piers built of the same material is helpful. Accelerated durability tests do exist, where the samples are subjected to alternate cycles of wetting and drying or freezing and thawing. Compressive strength tests can be made after each series of wet-dry and freeze-thaw testing if there are sufficient samples.

Strength - In high dams where crushing of the corners of the rock pieces will result in settlement,
the strength is important. In general strengths of over 35MPa or more are desirable for dams over 40m, while strengths as low as 14MPa are more suitable for dams less than 15m in height. Friability, the tendency to become a powder during crushing is important because too many fines can seriously interfere with construction.

Petrography - The study of the rock under chemical reaction and under a microscope to establish
rock breakage.

Likely to be satisfactory Granite, diorite Gneiss Basalt Sandstone Dense limestone Dolomite Quartzite Massive Schist

Likely to be unsatisfactory Shale Slate Schist Siltstone Porous limestone Chalky limestone

Shear Strength - Large size triaxial or direct shear tests are the best method for determining
strength.

7.4 Design of Core Zone

Selection of core material

Given the requirement for a large quantity of materials earth dams have to be designed to utilize those available within a relatively short distance of the dam site. Likely borrow areas for the impervious zones have to be located near the dam site and than investigated for available quantity and relevelant properties. The important soil properties to be considered are permeability, compacted density, shear strength, compressibility, and flexibility and erosion resistance Soils of high compressibility should be avoided as excessive settlements, cracking, and high construction pore pressures for a given placement moisture content have been recorded. A preliminary estimate of the compressibility can be made from the liquid limit. Two desirable quantities to be looked for are flexibility and erosion resistance. Flexibility means ability to deform without cracking and erosion resistance is ability of soil to withstand the erosion action of water leaking through possible cracks. Flexibility increases with increase in plasticity index, however, very high values may be associated with high compressibility. Tests conducted by Jagdiish Narain showed that high plastic clays are more flexible than clays of low plasticity. Erosion resistance is mainly derived from two sources cohesion of the fines and the resistive action of the coarse particles to the flowing water and their tendency to wedge in leakage channel. This effect is best obtained in well-graded sand gravel mixture with enough finer particles to provide imperviousness.

Suitability of soil for construction of dams

Relative suitability Very suitable Suitable Homogeneous dams GC CL-CI Impervious core GC CL,CI Pervious shells SW,GW GM Impervious blanket GC CL,CI

Fairly suitable Poor Not suitable

SP,SM,CH -------

GM,GC,SM,SC,CH SP,GP ML,MI,MH ---OL,OI,OH, Pt ----

CH,SM,SC,GC -----

Impervious materials used in U.S.B.R dams

U.S.C group GM GM-SM GC GC-SC SM SM-SC SC ML ML-CL CL CH Total No. of soils 1 3 2 2 16 3 7 7 2 10 1 54 % of total 1.9 5.5 3.7 3.7 29.6 5.5 13.0 13.0 3.7 18.5 1.9 100.0

Blending or mixing of ingredient is not yet a common practice to improve properties of core materials, as it would increase the cost of construction. For very high dams presently being planned, the designer should consider the possibility of blending to improve flexibility and erosion resistance The current trend is not to insist on clayey materials alone for use in core but instead to use available material such as silts even these are cohesion less and relatively erodible. The reason is obvious-filters are the primary means of defense against piping or concentrated leaks. Water high in sodium tends to flocculate soils high in alumina, thereby reducing their permeability. On the other hand, fresh water may deflocculate clay soils rendering them more permeable. Maintenance of a low sodium absorption ratio in percolating water is essential to prevent undesired changes in the soil sodium absorption leading to leaching.

Core thickness
Core material usually has smaller shear strength than the material of the pervious zones. Further, being impervious it retains higher neutral pressures which further reduce its stability: it has to be compacted in thinner layers with fairly accurate moisture control and require a large number of roller passes. All these factors indicate the desirability of using minimum thickness of core section consistent with the safety of the dam. The minimum core thickness is generally governed by the designers estimate of the requirement for safety against piping or leakage. for horizontal or downward inclined seepage through the core, the weight of soil grains does not oppose the seepage forces, though it would offer some resistance due to friction and cohesion. Also, thinner the core, the greater the likelihood of a through crack forming in it In a thicker core it is more likely that a crack would penetrate only part of the thickness.

Sherard have summed up the current practice as below 1. Core with a width of 30% to 50% of the water-head have proved satisfactory under diverse condition. Probably a core of this width is adequate for any soil type and dam height. 2. Core with a width of 30% to 50% of the water-head are considered thin but, if adequately designed and constructed filter layers are used, they are satisfactory under most circumstances. 3. Core with a width much less than 10% of the water head have not been used widely and probably should be considered only in these circumstances wherein a large leak through the core would not lead to the failure of the dam. The core thickness in general varies in the extreme range of 1.0 to .11H, but in the majority of cases lie between .5H and .33H. Thin cores have to be accompanied by a generous and well designed filter on each side; otherwise there may be danger of blowthrough in a segregated zone of thin filter. According to Bharat Singh, a guide to core thickness may be obtained as: L/H = Yw.t / 2 1 L is the core thickness H is the head Yw is the unit weight of water T is the thickness of the crack 1 the limiting shear stress

Location of core in dam section and type of core

The core can be located in one of the following three position: 1. central 2. moderately slanting 3. slanting The central position need not be exactly symmetrical: cores with steeper downstream slope and flatter upstream slope or even with a slight slant in upstream direction would still have characteristics of central core. When the downstream face of the core has an upstream slant of . 5H: 1 V or more, the core may be considered as moderately slanting. A truly slanting core would be such that the downstream zone has a self supporting slope, I,e., 1.25H: 1V or so, such a core is almost always associated with a rockfill dam in which the main mass of rockfill downstream of the core can be placed independently by dumping or in thick layers and the placement of filter zones, core and upstream pervious zones taken up later. Even with a moderately slanting core, if the downstream rockfill zone is substantial it is possible to carry out a portion of the work ahead of core placement.

7.5 Design of transition filter

A filter or transition zone must invariably be interposed between an impervious, finegrained zone or layer and the pervious coarse grained material adjacent to it. Thus a filter must be provided between the core and shells on either side. While normally the seepage is from the core to downshell, the flow direction is also towards the upstream after drawdown. Chimney drains, horizontal drainage and the rocks toe have to be protected by filters. Filters can only be avoided where the criteria described below are satisfied by the material in the two adjacent zones themselves. The filter is the most important component of the dam section to protect it from piping failure. The design of the failure has to satisfy two limiting criteria: 1. The soil particle from the protected zone should not be able to pass through the pores of the filter material. This places an upper limit on the size of the filter material. 2. The filter should be that much more pervious than the protected low permeability zone as to provide effective relief to hydraulic pressure inside that zone. This determines the lower limit for filter material grading.

Terzaghis criteria
1. The 15% size of the filter material,D15 must not be more than 4 or 5 times the 85% size D85, of the protected soil D15 of filter ____________________ < 4 to 5 D85 of protected layer 2. The 15% of the filter material, D15 must be at least 4 to 5 times the 15% size, D15, of the protected soil. D15 of filter ____________________ D85 of protected layer Other requirements of a good filter are: 1. Its gradation curve should be app. Parallel to the gradation curve of the protected soil, especially in the finer range. 2. Filters should not contain more than 5% fines and fines should be cohesion less. This is to ensure that filter remains adequately pervious and does not sustain a crack. 3. The filter should not have particles larger than 75mm so as to minimize segregation. >4 to 5

4. If the base material ranges from gravel (over 10% >4.75mm) to silt (over 10% passing 75), the base material should be analyzed on the basis of gradation of fraction smaller than 4.75mm.

U.S.B.R Criteria
S.no. Filter material characteristics Ratio R50 = D50 of filter __________ D50 of base 1 2 3 Uniform grain size distribution Well graded to poorly graded (non uniform) sub-rounded grains Well graded to poorly graded (non uniform) to angular particles 5 to 10 12 to 58 9 to 30 Ratio R15 = D50 of filter __________ D50 of base 12 to 40 6 to 18

Recommendation as per I.S Code 9429-1980

1. D50 of filter _____________<5 D85 of base 2. D15 of filter __________ >4 and <20 D15 of base

3.

D50 of filter __________<25 D50 of base

The gradation curve of filter material should be nearly parallel to the gradation curve of base material. Relaxation in the above criteria is recommended for the cohesive soils, which by virtue of cohesion, can withstand higher seepage gradients and resist piping action. For dams of a height up to 10m it is recommended (I.S Code 12169-1978) that when a sill containing 20% or more clay is used as a base soil and has non dispersive properties, the filter criteria outlined above need not be strictly enforced and any clean san available locally may be used irrespective of gradation, for dams of a height more than 10m the criteria for filters protecting cohesive soils may be relaxed by the designer according to his judgment an experience. the filter criteria may also be relaxed depending on gradation and shape of particle of the filter material.

7.6 Modes of Failure of Earth Filled Dams and Stability:

Earth dam failures can be grouped into three general categories: 1. Hydraulic Failure 2. Seepage Failure 3. Structural Failure

Hydraulic Failure:
Types of failure in dams: Overtopping of dams Erosion of the Upstream Surface Erosion of the Downstream Surface Erosion of the Downstream toe

Overtopping of dams: Overtopping failures result from the erosive action of water on the embankment. Erosion is due to un-controlled flow of water over, around, and adjacent to the dam. Earth embankments are not designed to be overtopped and there for are particularly susceptible to erosion. Once erosion has begun during overtopping, it is almost impossible to stop. A well vegetated earth embankment may withstand limited overtopping if its crest is level and water flows over the crest and down the face as an evenly distributed sheet without becoming concentrated. Erosion of the Upstream Surface: Here zones of different materials are made. Shell is used to give support and stability to the structure of dam. It is made of coarse materials and is pervious in nature. Core is used to make the dam water tight and to reduce the seepage. Fine material is used here. Used in large dams. Erosion of the Downstream Surface:

Due to rainfall, snow and winds the downstream surface of the dam also erodes. By providing a section of coarse materials here, this erosion can be reduced or prevented.

2. Seepage Failure:
Seepage failure of the dams is of the following types Piping through the dam Piping through the foundation Conduit Leakage

Piping through the dam: There are two kinds of forces acting on the downstream face of the dam: Weight of the material Seepage Force All earth dams have seepage resulting from water permeating slowly through the dam and its foundation. Seepage must be controlled in both velocity and quantity. If uncontrolled, it can progressively erode soil from the embankment or its foundation, resulting in rapid failure of the dam. Erosion of the soil begins at the downstream side of the embankment, either in the dam proper or the foundation, progressively works toward the reservoir, and eventually develops a direct connection to the reservoir. This phenomenon is known as "piping." Piping action can be recognized by an increased seepage flow rate, the discharge of muddy or discolored water, sinkholes on or near the embankment, or a whirlpool in the reservoir. Once a whirlpool (eddy) is observed on the reservoir surface, complete failure of the dam will probably follow in a matter of minutes. As with overtopping, fully developed piping is virtually impossible to control and will likely cause failure. Seepage can cause lope failure by creating high pressures in the soil pores or by saturating the slope. The pressure of seepage within an embankment is difficult to determine without proper instrumentation. Aslope which becomes saturated and develops slides may be showing signs of excessive seepage pressure

3. Structural Failure: Not very common 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Failure of downstream face during steady seepage conditions Failure of upstream face during sudden draw down Failure due to sliding of foundation damage due to burrowing animals Failure of dam due to earthquake

1. Usually upper part of the dam is dry and the lower is saturated with water which gives rise to pore water pressure within the voids. Dam body is saturated - All pores / voids are filled with water, pore water pressure is induced. Effective pressure reduces and shear strength of soil decreases 2. When water is suddenly withdrawn or in other words if the level of water in the reservoir reduces suddenly, the soil on the upstream face of the dam body may be highly saturated and has pore water pressure that tries to destabilize the dam and if this force is high enough, it can fail the dam. 3. If the shear strength of the soil on which the foundation is built is weak though the foundation itself may be strong but due to weakness of the soil foundation may slide on the sides and in some cases the foundation itself may be not able to resist the shear force that may have increased from normal due to any reason. 4. Burrowing animals - Small animals living in the holes and pits may have dug their holes anywhere in the dam body which may widen with the passage of time and can be dangerous. 5. Earthquake

7.7 Earth & Rockfill Tehri Dam:

Tehri dam project as build up now comprises of a 260.5 m high earth-rockfill dam located downstream of confluence of rivers Bhagirathi and Bhilangna with 1000MW underground power house having 4 units of 250 MW each. In view of the topography, geology, physical properties of foundation, seisimicity, availability of the materials at the Tehri dam site and economy of the construction, a rockfill dam with inclined core has been adopted. Dam is located in a narrow, Sshaped valley; left abutment providing toe support to the dam. The u/s and d/s slopes of the dam are 2.5H: 1V and 2.0H: 1V respectively. Top of the dam is at EL 839.5m with FRL at 830m. Minimum draw down level of the reservoir is 740.0m. The crest of the dam is 25m wide in central portion, which has been flared to 30.5m near the abutments. Length of the dam at the crest level is 592.7m and the width at the base is about 1125m. Locally available materials (boulder upto 600 mm size, gravel, sand and clay) have been used for placement in various zones after processing and blending wherever necessary. Total quantity of various fill materials placed in the dam is about 27.98 M cum. including the quantity of fill in coffer dam which is a part of the main dam. The typical dam section is shown below.

2A

5 4

5 4 6 8 9 3 2D 2B 2C

1 3 11 10

(1) (2A) (2B) (2C) (2D) (3) (4)

Impervious Clay Core Upstream Shell Downstream Shell Processed Shell Processed Shell Fine Filter Coarse Filter

(5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11)

Riprap Inspection Gallery at El. 725 m (+/-) Inspection Gallery at El. 835 m (+/-) Consolidation Grouting Grout Curtain Underground Grouting Gallery Coffer Dam

The descriptions of different zones of the dam are as follows: a) Core Zone (Zone-1) Impervious core (Zone-1) material has been produced by utilizing the deposits of clayey soils available in the vicinity of dam site at Koti. Based on various investigations, it was found that the Koti clay is suitable for the core of dam. In order to improve the shear properties and compressibility etc, clay material has been blended with pebbles. The blended core material shall also be more erosion resistant. Max particle size of pebbles in the core is 200mm in the central portion and 80mm near abutments. At the contact with the abutments, in a zone of about 2 to 3 m thickness, a more plastic core material with the maximum particle size restricted to 80 mm has been placed at moisture content 2 to 3 % above O.M.C. to reduce dam abutment interaction. The core material has been compacted to achieve dry density of 1.9 T/cum in central portion and 1.85 T/cum near abutments. At the crest, width of the core is 10m which has been further flared to 15m near abutments for providing better abutment contact. b) Shell Zone (Zone- 2A, 2B, 2C & 2D) The terrace gravelly material available in old and new Dobata borrows areas near dam site has been utilized as shell material. Max. particle size in the shell material used is 600mm and silt content is up to 5%. Shell material has been compacted to an unprecedently high density of 2.36 T/cum to reduce settlement and consequently built up of pore pressures during earthquake. c) Transition Zone (Zone-3 & 4) A two layered transition zone (filter material) has been provided on u/s and d/s of core. This filter material has been obtained by processing the river bed material / terrace gravel material. First layer of transition zone i.e. fine filter (Zone-3) has been provided in the full height of the dam on both u/s and d/s side of core. In an unlikely event of cracking of core, u/s fine filter would get washed into cracks and seal them. D/s fine filter (Zone-3) will prevent migration of fine particles of core in the event of its cracking thereby not permitting the erosion of core when water flows through these cracks. It comprises of a graded sand and gravel with silt content upto 3 percent and maximum size of particle upto 20 mm. Second layer of transition zone i.e. coarse filter (Zone-4) has been provided above El.738 m (2m below the MDDL of 740m) on u/s side and in the full height of the dam on d/s side. It comprises of well graded mixture of coarse sand and gravel with max. size of particle upto 80 mm. Transition zones have been compacted to achieve a relative density of 80%. Rip-Rap (Zone- 5)

d)

For the protection of the dam slopes and increasing stability of slopes during seismic activity a well graded hard blasted rock i.e. riprap (5 mm-1200 mm) has been provided in a thickness of 10m on both the slopes of the dam.

7.8 Foundation Treatment:

To overcome various likely problems of the Tehri dam foundation, extensive treatment involving surface as well as sub-surface grouting has been carried out. Surface treatment involved removal of overburden and weathered rock, while subsurface treatment involved shallow consolidation grouting and deep curtain grouting. Major part of subsurface treatment has been done through underground galleries, so as to carry out this activity independent of dam construction. These underground galleries shall also provide access for post construction treatment of the foundation, if the need arise for the same during operation period. Subsurface treatment consisted of shallow consolidation grouting and deep grout curtain. (a) Consolidation Grouting: In order to fill voids, fractures and cracks in and adjacent to the core foundation contact area, consolidation grouting, at low pressures of about 2 to 4 kg/cm, has been done in the core trench area upto a uniform depth of 10 m (normal to surface). (b) Curtain Grouting: In order to impede the flow of water under and around the dam, a grout curtain has also been provided. Grout curtain has been extended into the rock upto the levels where the pre-grout permeability of rock mass was about 1 Lugeon. (Lugeon value) is defined as the loss of water in litres per minute and per metre borehole at an over-pressure of 1 MPa. A 60 m deep, two row grout curtain (rows spaced 1.5 m apart) with u/s row 30 m deep and d/s row 60 m deep has been provided at the centre line of core trench.

7.9 Instrumentation:
For monitoring the performance of Tehri dam during construction and operation period, a very comprehensive instrumentation scheme has been provided. Total 353 nos. of instruments, besides Seepage measuring devices & Surface settlement points have been installed in the body of dam and its foundation with arrangements for automatic data acquisition and retrieval. The instruments have been installed mainly to gather the information of horizontal and vertical stresses, strains and movements, pore water pressures within the body of dam and foundation, continuous record of seepage through the core, foundation and abutments etc.

7.10. INSPECTION GALLERIES:

A unique feature of the dam is the provision of two galleries inside its core, which shall provide access for physical inspection of dam behavior during the construction and operation period of the project. One gallery is located at middle height of the dam (El. 725 m +/-) and the other near the crest.

7.11 Spillway Arrangement at Tehri Dam:

The following spillway arrangement has been made for discharging the high flood water from the Tehri reservoir: i) ii) Gated chute spillway on right bank (5480 cumecs).(chute or open channel or
trough .if for some reason it is not possible to provide overflow spillway ,then spillway is provided which is isolated from main dam, this is chute spillway)

Two ungated shaft spillways connected to both right bank diversion tunnels T-3 & T-4 (2x1950 cumecs).(shaft also termed as mourning glory spillway.it consist of a
vertical flaring funnel with its top(circular in shape)as the crest of spillway and its lower end connected to a vertical or inclined shaft which in turn is connected at its lower end to a horizontal conduit or tunnel. Thus water flowing over the crest of spillway enters the shaft from which it is delivered to the conduit or tunnel to river below the dam)

iii) iv)

Two gated shaft spillways connected to both left bank diversions tunnels T-1 & T-2 (2x1900 cumecs). An intermediate level outlet at El. 700m connected to right bank shaft of tunnel T-3. It will function as emergency outlet also (1100 cumecs).

7.12 Slope Stability Analysis of Earth and Rockfill Dam by Numerical Modeling 1. Introduction
Slope stability analysis of high earth and Rockfill dam is very important to ascertain the stability of the structure. As the geotechnical and hydraulic properties of the material in different

zones of the earth and rockfill dam differ to a great extent, the stability of both upstream slope and downstream slope under static and pseudo static conditions under different conditions are to be analyzed. The developments in geotechnical engineering and the advancement in the earth moving machineries enabled the construction of high earth and rockfill dams to store huge quantities of water for irrigation, power generation and other public uses. The constructions of earth and rockfill dams are preferred mostly for many construction sites in comparison with the concrete or masonry dams because of its economic considerations as it is constructed using the cheap locally available materials. But the lack of appropriate construction methodology such as compaction equipment, maintenance of appropriate density, moisture content etc. may lead to the construction of unstable structure. Therefore, the construction with the natural materials needs good quality control. Zoned dams, specifically earth and rockfill dams have become more popular as they allow the use of available soils of different gradations in appropriate zones of the dam cross section. Moreover the flexibility of the materials provides excellent seismic stability to the structure. An earth and rockfill dam should be stable under various conditions. The stability of an earth slope subjected to changing water levels depends on many factors. The dams located in active seismic prone areas need to be analyzed extensively for the safety of the structure

2. Limit- Equilibrium Method

Limit-equilibrium method provides a general theory whereas other methods can be viewed as special cases. The 4192 elements of statics used in the limit- equilibrium method for deriving the factor of safety are the summation of forces in two directions and the summation of moments about a common point. These elements of statics, along with the failure criteria, are insufficient to make the slope stability problem determinate. Either additional elements of physics or assumptions regarding the direction or magnitude of some of the forces are required to render the problem determinate. Limit- equilibrium method utilizes the assumption regarding the direction of the inters lice forces. This approach has been widely adopted in limit- equilibrium method. Limit- equilibrium methods are the most commonly used approaches for analyzing the slopes. The data required for the analysis is the basic engineering parameters and thus require minimum data for the analysis. The popularity of the limit equilibrium method that it is relatively simple, ready ability to evaluate the sensitivity of stability of various input parameters, and the experience geotechnical engineer have acquired over the years in interpreting the factor of safety. The evaluated factor of safety help engineer to guard against uncertainties such as ignorance about the reliability of input parameters and loading, and the possibility that identified failure mechanisms may differ from the actual behavior. As well, recommended factor of safety values of slopes and excavations generally ensure that the deformations are within limit. Despite all the benefits limit- equilibrium methods have some important deficiencies. Most problems associated with the non converging solutions can be traced to one of the three possible conditions. First, an unrealistic assumption regarding the shape of the slip circle can produce mathematical instability. Second, high cohesive value may result in a negative force and produce mathematical instability. Third the assumption used to render the analysis determinate may impose unrealistic conditions and prevent convergence.

3. Stability Analysis
The purpose of slope stability analysis is to provide a quantitative measure of the stability of the slope or a part of the slope. Traditionally it is expressed as a factor of safety against

failure of that slope, where the factor of safety is defined as the ratio of the restoring force to the disturbing force, such that factor of safety greater than one shows stability and the factor of safety less than one denotes failure. It may be valuable to have a measure of the probability of failure and the traditional analysis does not provide this. Earth dam, in general, should have seepage control measures, such as interior drainage trenches, downstream pervious zones or drainage blankets in order to keep the line of seepage from emerging on the downstream slope. In zoned embankments, consideration should be given to the relative permeability and gradation of the embankment materials. An example showing procedure for pseudo-static stability analysis of a gravity dam is appended at Annexure-5.

4. Conclusion
The present study shows hat the dam section is safe as per BIS: 7894 even under a high seismic coefficient of 0.25. The stability of slopes is highly influenced by the soil strength used in the analysis. Spatial variation in the strength parameters such as cohesion and angle of internal friction need special attention. For a zoned dam where the hydraulic parameters of materials varies considerably, seepage analysis can easily be done after the construction of the heretic line using SLIDE software, also stability of the dam can be investigated using a combination of random field simulation. Although pseudo static analysis gives the status of the slope under seismic loading, but for the earthquake loading, a realistic approach using the dynamic properties of the materials need to be carried out.

Figure 1 types of embankment dam

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5. Analysis
The critical section at 300 m away from the left abutment, 227 m high from deepest foundation level has been analyzed for the stability under static and pseudo static conditions. The upstream slope is 2.5 H: 1 V and the downstream slope is 2.0 H:1 V. The dam is provided with a riprap of 10 m. R.L. at top of dam, max. water level, tail water level and draw down level is 839.5 m, 827 m, 719 m and 751 m respectively. The Tehri dam is located in a highly seismic prone area; a high seismic coefficient of 0.25 has been used for the analysis. In order to study the effect of seismic coefficient on the stability of the dam different seismic coefficient of 0.1, 0.15 and 0.25 have been considered for the analysis. The slopes have been analyzed for their stability under three different conditions such as end of construction, steady state seepage and rapid drawdown. The entire analysis has been carried out using SLIDE 5.0 software.

6. Material Properties
Extensive geotechnical investigations were carried out by CSMRS for different material characterization such as clay core, filter and foundation. The geotechnical properties have been evaluated from these investigations have been used for the analysis. The material properties used for the analysis has been tabulated in Table 1

Table 1. Material Properties

Material Clay Core Rip Rap Shell Coarse Filter Fine Filter kN/m 19.5 18 23.8 20 20 c' kPa 50 5 70 0 0 28 42 42 42 38