CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.0: Background
Dams are constructed of earth and rock materials and are generally referred
to as embankment dams or fill-type dams. The history of construction of
embankment dams is much older than that of concrete dams. It is evident that some
earth dams were constructed about 3,000 years ago in the cradles of ancient
cultures such as east countries. Two major distinct features and advantages are
noticed for the construction of embankment dams. Rigorous conditions are not
required for the dam foundation, while hard and sound rock foundation is
necessary for concrete dams. Embankment dams can be constructed even on the
alluvial deposit and pervious foundations. Construction of embankment dams has
an economical advantage and construction materials are principally to be supplied
near the dam site (Chanson, 2009).
1.1: Geology of Embankment Dams
There are three main steps of working in a dam project: i.e., investigation,
design and construction. Individual works in these three steps are summarized as
listed below with key words associated with them.

 Investigation
Design
Construction
Investigation: This process involves checking of dam planning for appropriate
purposes and it involves various survey procedures such as; Metrological surveys,
Foundation survey and Fill materials.

CHAPTER TWO
DESIGN AND TYPES OF EMBANKMENT DAMS
2.0: Design of Embankment Dams
The design of an embankment dam involves the following; stabilizing dam
body against sliding and failure of embankment, seepage analysis so as to detect
leakage through foundation as well as pressure analysis of dam, foundation
treatment: This involves counterweight fill and inspection of gallery drainage
facilities (Seed, 1999).
2.1: Construction of an Embankment Dam
The steps involved in construction include planning for construction which
involves bulldozing of site and supply of equipment to site, foundation treatment
which involves the actual placement of dam structure and laboratory testing,
observation involves the actual process of pore-water to observe pressure or any
form of deformation in dam, maintenance and repair involves the correction of any
observed error in dam construction (Mansouri, et al., 2011).
2.2: Types of Embankment Dams
Embankment dams are made from compacted earth, and have two main types,
rock-fill and earth-fill dams. Embankment dams rely on their weight to hold back
3

the force of water, like gravity dams made from concrete. Embankment dams are
classified into two main categories which includes;
Rockfill Dams
Earthfill Dams
2.2.1: Rock-fill Dams
The Gathright Dam in Virginia is a rock-fill embankment dam. Rock-fill dams
are embankments of compacted free-draining granular earth with an impervious
zone. The earth utilized often contains a high percentage of large particles hence
the term rock-fill (Newmark, 2009). The impervious zone may be on the upstream
face and made of masonry, concrete, plastic membrane, steel sheet piles, timber or
other material. The impervious zone may also be within the embankment in which
case it is referred to as a core. In the instances where clay is utilized as the
impervious material the dam is referred to as a composite dam. To prevent internal
erosion of clay into the rock fill due to seepage forces, the core is separated using a
filter. Filters are specifically graded soil designed to prevent the migration of fine
grain soil particles. When suitable material is at hand, transportation is minimized
leading to cost savings during construction. Rock-fill dams are resistant to damage
from earthquakes. However, inadequate quality control during construction can
lead to poor compaction and sand in the embankment which can lead to
4

liquefaction of the rock-fill during an earthquake. Liquefaction potential can be

reduced by keeping susceptible material from being saturated, and by providing
adequate compaction during construction. An example of a rock-fill dam is New
Melones Dam in California.
A core that is growing in popularity is asphalt concrete. The majority of such
dams are built with rock and/or gravel as the main fill material. Almost 100 dams
of this design have now been built worldwide since the first such dam was
completed in 1962. All asphalt-concrete core dams built so far have an excellent
performance record. The type of asphalt used is a viscoelastic-plasticmaterial that
can adjust to the movements and deformations imposed on the embankment as a
whole, and to settlements in the foundation. The flexible properties of the asphalt
make such dams especially suited in earthquake regions (Poulos, et al., 2005).
2.2.1.1: Concrete-Face Rock-Fill dams
A concrete-face rock-fill dam (CFRD) is a rock-fill dam with concrete slabs on
its upstream face. This design offers the concrete slab as an impervious wall to
prevent leakage and also a structure without concern for uplift pressure. In
addition, the CFRD design is flexible for topography, faster to construct and less
costly than earth-fill dams (Moffat, and Fannin, 2011). The CFRD originated
during the California Gold Rush in the 1860s when miners constructed rock-fill
timber-face dams for sluice operations. The timber was later replaced by concrete
5

as the design was applied to irrigation and power schemes. As CFRD designs grew
in height during the 1960s, the fill was compacted and the slab's horizontal and
vertical joints were replaced with improved vertical joints. In the last few decades,
the design has become popular.[42] Currently, the tallest CFRD in the world is the
233 m (764 ft) tall Shuibuya Dam in China which was completed in 2008
(Einstein, 1997).

Fig. 1: Structural Features of a Rock-fill Embankment Dam

Source: Mansouri, et al., (2011).
2.2.2: Earth-Fill Dams
Earth-fill dams, also called earthen dams, rolled-earth dams or simply earth
dams, are constructed as a simple embankment of well compacted earth. A
homogeneous rolled-earth dam is entirely constructed of one type of material but
6

may contain a drain layer to collect seep water (Pelecanos, et al., 2013). A zonedearth dam has distinct parts or zones of dissimilar material, typically a locally
plentiful shell with a watertight clay core. Modern zoned-earth embankments
employ filter and drain zones to collect and remove seep water and preserve the
integrity of the downstream shell zone. An outdated method of zoned earth dam
construction utilized a hydraulic fill to produce a watertight core. Rolled-earth
dams may also employ a watertight facing or core in the manner of a rock-fill dam.
An interesting type of temporary earth dam occasionally used in high latitudes is
the frozen-core dam, in which a coolant is circulated through pipes inside the dam
to maintain a watertight region of permafrost within it (Noorzad and Taghavi,
2008).
Tarbela Dam is a large dam on the Indus River in Pakistan. It is located about
50 km (31 mi) northwest of Islamabad, and a height of 485 ft (148 m) above the
river bed and a reservoir size of 95 sq mi (250 km2) makes it the largest earth filled
dam in the world. The principal element of the project is an embankment 9,000
feet (2,700 metres) long with a maximum height of 465 feet (142 metres). The total
volume of earth and rock used for the project is approximately 200 million cubic
yards (152.8 million cu. Meters) which makes it one of the largest man made
structure in the world. Because earthen dams can be constructed from materials

found on-site or nearby, they can be very cost-effective in regions where the cost
of producing or bringing in concrete would be prohibitive.

Fig. 2: Structural Features of an Earth-fill Embankment Dam

Source: Mansouri, et al., (2011).

CHAPTER THREE
FAILURES AND DAMAGES OF EMBANKMENT DAMS
3.1: Preamble
Most of catastrophic failures of embankment dams causes by overtopping of
the reservoir water due to flooding or loss of free board (Seed, 1999). Despite
embankment dams should not be designed to withstand erosive action of water
flow over the crest, case histories reveal that inadequate capacity of spillway, that
is, insufficient estimation of the amount of flooding has often led to the failure of
the embankment due to overtopping (Sherard, 2003). Failures of this type,
however, cannot be a decisive defect of embankment dams, because the
accumulation of available accurate data of hydrology and the improvement of
design method can readily settle the problem.
Other main factors to cause embankment failures are hydraulic erosion, high
pore-water pressure, earthquake forces and so forth. More than 50 percent of
embankment failures are above all due to hydraulic erosion, and remaining each
several percent is caused by other respective factors. Several typical patterns of
failures and damages of embankment dams and their foundations are illustrated in
the table 2 below.

3.2: Seepage Failure (Hydraulic Fracture)

When water flows passing through soil in an embankment and foundation,
seepage forces act on soil particles due to its viscosity (Yousefi1, et al., 2013). If
seepage forces acting in the soil are large enough as compared to the resisting
forces based on the effective earth pressure, erosion by quick sand takes place by
washing soil particles away from the surface, and piping successively develops as
erosion gradually progresses(Vrymoed, and Calzascia, 1998).
One of the actions of seepage through pervious foundation is that which the
uplift pressure acting on the impervious foundation causes heaving near the toe of
the embankment. Hydraulic fracturing, quick sand and piping, can readily occur
around the downstream toe when the hydraulic gradient increases with the
concentration of flow lines, and the reduction in effective stresses is inevitable in
the ground due to the action of the upward seepage forces.
In an actual dam design, adequate drainage facilities such as filter zones and
drains are provided in the interior of the embankment, and piping failures as stated
above would not be expected to occur in ordinary situations. One of unusual
situations to be considered is the generation of interior cracks in the impervious
zone and foundation, which is mainly, caused by differential settlements during
and after construction.

10

Table.3.1: Failure Causes of Embankment Dams

During Construction
(a). Poor water pressure built-up during
construction
(b). Reduction of shear strength due to
thixotropical property
After construction
(a). Hydraulic fracture/internal
erosion/piping
(b). Excess hydrostatic pressure due to
rapid draw down.
(c) Reduction in shear
strength/Weathering, swelling of
compacted soil
(d) Settlement and cracking
(e) Earthquake forces

3.3: Correction of Failures in Dam Construction

Most of catastrophic failures of embankment dams are caused by
overtopping of the reservoir water due to flooding or loss of free board. Other main
factors to cause embankment failures are hydraulic erosion, high pore-water
pressure, earthquake forces and so forth.

11

CHAPTER FOUR
IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF EMBANKMENT DAMS
4.1: Impact Assessment
Impact is assessed in several ways: the benefits to human society arising
from the dam (agriculture, water, damage prevention and power), harm or benefit
to nature and wildlife, impact on the geology of an area whether the change to
water flow and levels will increase or decrease stability, and the disruption to
human lives (relocation, loss of archeological or cultural matters underwater).
4.2: Environmental Impact Embankment Dams
Reservoirs held behind dams affect many ecological aspects of a river.
Rivers topography and dynamics depend on a wide range of flows whilst rivers
below dams often experience long periods of very stable flow conditions or saw
tooth flow patterns caused by releases followed by no releases. Water releases
from a reservoir including that exiting a turbine usually contains very little
suspended sediment, and this in turn can lead to scouring of river beds and loss of
riverbanks; for example, the daily cyclic flow variation caused by the Glen Canyon
Dam was a contributor to sand bar erosion.
Older dams often lack a fish ladder, which keeps many fish from moving up
stream to their natural breeding grounds, causing failure of breeding cycles or
blocking of migration paths. Even the presence of a fish ladder does not always
12

prevent a reduction in fish reaching the spawning grounds upstream. In some areas,
young fish ("smolt") are transported downstream by barge during parts of the year.
Turbine and power-plant designs that have a lower impact upon aquatic life are an
active area of research. A large dam can cause the loss of entire ecospheres,
including endangered and undiscovered species in the area, and the replacement of
the original environment by a new inland lake. Large reservoirs formed behind
dams have been indicated in the contribution of seismic activity, due to changes in
water load and/or the height of the water table. Dams are also found to have a role
in the increase of global warming. The changing water levels in dams and in
reservoirs are one of the main sources for green house gas like methane.[56] While
dams and the water behind them cover only a small portion of earth's surface, they
harbour biological activity that can produce large amounts of greenhouse gases.
4.3: Human Social Impact
The impact on human society is also significant. Nick Cullather argues in
Hungry World: America's Cold War Battle against Poverty in Asia that dam
construction requires the state to displace individual people in the name of the
common good, and that it often leads to abuses of the masses by planners. He cites
Morarji Desai, Interior Minister of India, in 1960 speaking to villagers upset about

13

the Pong Dam, who threatened to "release the waters" and drown the villagers if
they did not cooperate (Newmark, 2009).
For example, the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China is more
than five times the size of the Hoover Dam (U.S.), and will create a reservoir
600 km long to be used for hydro-power generation. Its construction required the
loss of over a million people's homes and their mass relocation, the loss of many
valuable archaeological and cultural sites, as well as significant ecological change.
It is estimated that to date, 4080 million people worldwide have been physically
displaced from their homes as a result of dam construction ( Mohammed, 2006).
4.4: Economics
Construction of a hydroelectric plant requires a long lead-time for site
studies, hydrological studies, and environmental impact assessments, and are largescale projects by comparison to traditional power generation based upon fossil
fuels. The number of sites that can be economically developed for hydroelectric
production is limited; new sites tend to be far from population centers and usually
require extensive power transmission lines (Mohammed, 2006). Hydroelectric
generation can be vulnerable to major changes in the climate, including variations
in rainfall, ground and surface water levels, and glacial melt, causing additional

14

expenditure for the extra capacity to ensure sufficient power is available in lowwater years.
Once completed, if it is well designed and maintained, a hydroelectric power
source is usually comparatively cheap and reliable. It has no fuel and low escape
risk, and as an alternative energy source it is cheaper than both nuclear and wind
power (Arenillas and Castillo, 2009 ). It is more easily regulated to store water as
needed and generate high power levels on demand compared to wind power.
4.5: Conclusion
In order to achieve the construction of a stable embankment dam that will
pass the test of time, it is advised that all precautions discussed above be adhered
to.

15

References
Arenillas, M. and Castillo, J.C (2003). Dams from the Roman Era in Spain;
Analysis of Design Forms. A paper presented at the 1st International
Congress on Construction History (20th24th January) Madrid.
Chanson, H. (2009). Embankment Overtopping Protections System and Earth
Dam Spillways. in Dams: Impact, Stability and Design, Nova Science
Publishers, Hauppauge NY, USA, Ed. W.P. Hayes and M.C. Barnes,
Chapter 4, pp. 101-132
Einstein, H.H. (1997) Landslide risk - Systematic approaches to assessment and
management. Landslide Risk Assessment, (Ed. Cruden and Fell) Honolulu,
Hawaii. A.A.Balkema. pp. 25-50.
Mansouri, T.A., Nelson, J.D and E.G. Thompson (2011). Dynamic Response and
Liquefaction of Earth Dams. Journal of Geotechnical engineering 109(1):
89-100
Mohamed, Bazza (2006). Overview of the History of Water Resources and
Irrigation Management In The Near East Region. Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations
Moffat, R. and Fannin, J.R (2011). A hydromechanical relation governing internal
stability of cohesionless soil. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 11:413 424
Newmark, N.M (2009). Effects of earthquake on Dams and Embankments.
Geotechnique 15(2):139-159
Noorzad, A. and Taghavi, A (2008). Detection of internal erosion in embankment
dams using temperature measurements, Proceedings of the 4th National
Conference on Civil Engineering, University of Tehran.
Pelecanos, L., Kontoe, S. and Zdravkovic, L. (2012). Static and dynamic analysis
of La Villita Dam in Mexico. Proceedings of the 2nd International
Conference on Performance-Based Design in Earthquake Geotechnical
Engineering, 1045 1056

16

Pelecanos, L., Kontoe, S. and Zdravkovic, L. (2013) Numerical modelling of

hydrodynamic pressures on dams. Computers and Geotechnics 2(2):435-445
Poulos, S.J., Castro, G. and France, J.W. (2005). Liquefaction evaluation
procedure Journal of Geotechnical Engeneering 111(6):772-795
Seed, H.B (2000). Simplified procedure for evaluating soil Liquefaction potential.
Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundations 97(9):1249-1273
Seed, H.B. (1999). Design Problems in Soil Liquefication. Journal of Geotechnical
Engineering, (ASCE) 111(8):827-845
Sherard, J.L. (2003). Embankment Dam Cracking;Embankment Dam EngineeringCasagrande John wiley and Sons, New York, NY pp. 11-26
Terzaghi, K. and Peck, R.B (1987) Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice. John
Wiley and Sons, New York
Vrymoed, J.L and Calzascia (1998). Simplified determination of dynamic stresses
in Earth Dams. Proceedings of the Specialty conference onEarthquake
Engineering and Soil Dynamics. Geotechnical Engineering Division II
Pasadena, C.A
Yousefi1, S., Noorzad, A., Ghaemian, M., and Kharaghani, S. (2013). Seepage
Investigation of Embankment Dams using Numerical Modelling of
Temperature Field. Indian Journal of Science and Technology 6(8):50785082

17