Operation and maintenance of Hydro tunnels

13th December 2018

Kathmandu, Nepal

Waterproofing membrane under high

hydraulic head
Marco Bacchelli

CARPI TECH – info@carpitech.com

 INTRODUCTION
Pressure tunnels and shafts are often
excavated in mountain areas with unfavorable
geological conditions. They are usually lined,
to provide:

• Stability and watertightness to the natural

excavation line
• Avoid water infiltration into the ground
• Minimize head losses

CARPI TECH 2
 AGING AND DETERIORATION
With the exception of old tunnels excavated in rocks,
new tunnels and shafts are commonly lined with
steel, reinforced or un-reinforced concrete, and
shotcrete.
Construction of steel and concrete linings may be
expensive and time consuming, and it can be difficult
in remote areas with difficult access.
Over time, especially in presence of geological issues,
concrete and steel linings may deteriorate and water
may leak through fissures, cracks, failing joints, and
increased permeability of the concrete.
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 DAMAGE AND LEAKAGE

Weld failure, severe oxidation,

pitting and panel detachment
in steel lining

Severe concrete spalling,

cracking and fissuring
due to excess of
compression and
thermal stresses in Leakage flow spilling out
concrete lining from the valley flank

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 HYDRO-FRACTURING AND
SPALLING

Typical longitudinal crack due Severe spalling on the

to hydro-fracturing and lining walls and invert for excess
deformation of compressive forces.

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 PRESENCE OF EXTERNAL
PRESSURE AFTER DEWATERING
 AN EFFECTIVE SOLUTION

In response to the need of rehabilitating pressure tunnels and shafts, use of

geomembrane lining started more than 40 years ago.

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 COVERED SOLUTION
The first installations of synthetic geomembrane in pressure tunnels were
realized in the 70’s/80’s. The waterproofing system was installed between two
layers of concrete. The first structural and the second as ballast and protection
of the plastic membrane. In other cases the membrane was used as a
secondary protection line behind the structural inner concrete ring.

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 COVERED INSTALLATION
• Water pressure applied on the inner
surface
• Intimate contact between concrete support
and surrounding rock
• Inner concrete ring as ballast and
protection of the waterproofing system
• Inner concrete to be dimensioned in order
to withstand external water pressure

Geomembrane
Structural lining
Concrete Ballast/protection
Concrete

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PROs vs CONs COVERED SOLUTION
• High durability • High risks of damaging
• Easy installation the membrane during
construction of inner
• Effective mechanical concrete ring
protection
• Higher cost
• Adapt in case of
transport of heavy • Longer construction
sediments and rocks time
• No limit of water speed • Necessity of careful
management of
• Esay maintenance external negative
procedures pressure
 GEOMEMBRANE LINING SYSTEM

The innovative concept

introduced by Carpi
consists in installing the
geomembrane in EXPOSED
POSITION, therefore in
direct contact with the
flowing water, fully
accessible (for inspection
and maintenance).

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 EXPOSED INSTALLATION

• Water pressure applied on the inner

surface
• Intimate contact between concrete support
and surrounding rock
• Cracks and fissure in the concrete support
do not affect watertightness (less
reinforcement and less quality control)
• Concrete support and surrounding rock
Shotcrete Geomembrane
work together to provide stability
Concrete lining

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 BENEFITS OF THE SYSTEM

The scope of the waterproofing liner is not necessarily only watertightness.

An exposed geomembrane can allow:

• Decrease the surface roughness (reduce head losses)

• Reduce the quantity of construction material and excavation
• Avoid the need of treatment works (grout injection)
• Contract the installation time
• Conform to deformation and cracks of the surrounding rock
• Protect the subgrade from deterioration

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 SURFACE ROUGHNESS
Circular tunnel 4.5 m dia. for 1000 m length
Manning’s
Type of material Head loss % Increase
coefficient

Geomembrane 0.011÷0.012 1.37 m -

Cast-in-place concrete 0.012÷0.015 2.06 m + 50 %

Deteriorated concrete 0.014÷0.020 3.65 m + 166 %

Shotcrete (good finishing) 0.016÷0.023 4.83 m + 253 %

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 SURFACE
ROUGHNESS

CONCRETE

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 WATERPROOFING LINER

The waterproofing liner provides

the impervious barrier capable to
resist, better than other
traditional liners, the settlements
and deformation of the structure.

A correct combination of
tensile strength and strain is
paramount to ensure
adequate behavior.

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 WATERPROOFING LINER

Geocomposite liners, type SIBELON® CNT, made of a flexible thermoplastic

geomembrane heat-bonded during fabrication to a non-woven geotextile, provide
adequate characteristics:

• Monotone stress-strain curve (no yield point, elastic behavior)

• High flexibility, break elongation > 250% (geomembrane)
• High strength, excellent bridging capacity over cracks
• Outstanding durability > 100 years (accelerated aging tests)
• Excellent puncture resistance (geotextile moduli contribution)
• No routine maintenance

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WATERPROOFING LINER
 CRACKS BRIDGING CAPACITY
Geocomposite liners, type SIBELON® CNT, were tested extensively to prove
the capacity of bridging large cracks of subgrade under high loads
1. 30 mm open space to
simulate open joint or crack

2. Geocomposite placed above

the subgrade

3. Vessel loaded with 30 bars

water pressure

4. Geocomposite bridging the

open space maintaining
watertightness

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 FASTENING SYSTEM
The waterproofing liner must be fastened
to the subgrade in order to:

• Withstand drag forces and uplift

generated by the water flow
• Withstand sub-pressure (especially in
case of dewatering)
• Facilitate installation, according to the
cross-section
• Avoid formation of folds and wrinkles

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 TENSIONING PROFILES

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 FLAT PROFILES

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 DRAINAGE SYSTEM

In exposed installations, the

waterproofing liner must be
efficiently drained to avoid back-
pressure due to high water table
and water trapped behind the
liner, which could cause uplift and
excessive stresses.
Drainage geonets installed behind
the waterproofing liner are widely
used and are proven effective.

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 DRAINAGE GEONET

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 DISCHARGE DEVICES
One-way relief valves and fuse valves
are adopted when no gravity
discharge point is available and as a
backup/safety devices

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 DISCHARGE DEVICES

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 PERIMETER SEAL
The waterproofing liner is sealed at the peripheries by
means of watertight fixations designed to resist water in
pressure.
The seal consists of batten strips + rubber gaskets,
fastened with anchor bolts and compressing the
geocomposite on the subgrade regularized with epoxy
resin.
A double perimeter seal can be recommended (especially
in deteriorated concrete subgrade) to enlengthen the
gradient and reduce risk of by-pass.

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 PERIMETER SEAL

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 RELEVANT EXAMPLES

The following hand-made video illustrates recent successful applications of a

Carpi geomembrane system in pressure tunnels and shaft for pumped
storage and hydropower plants.

• REHABILITATION OF BELDEN TUNNEL – USA - 2008

• REHABILITATION OF CHOJLLA TUNNEL – BOLIVIA – 2013
• REHABILITATION OF TUNJITA SHAFT AND TUNNEL – COLOMBIA – 2017
• REHABILITATION OF HELMS HP TUNNEL – USA – 2017

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BELDEN TUNNEL
REHABILITATION OF THE WATERTIGHTNESS
CHOJLLA TUNNEL
REHABILITATION OF THE WATERTIGHTNESS
 CHOJLLA TUNNEL
• Country: Bolivia
• Client: Hidroelectrica Boliviana
• Excavated in rock, total length of 3627m
• Lined with reinforced concrete
• Constant diameter of 2m, except for the last 3m
where the diameter decreases to 1.6m to connect to
the steel lined section
• Normal static pressure inside the tunnel : 5.2bar
• Exceptional maximum internal pressure 6.7bar due
to maximum surge
• Maximum water velocity 2.45 m/s
• Surface lined: 1.372,76 sq. meters
•Installation time: 20 days (Nov. 8 to Nov. 28 2011)
 CHOJLLA TUNNEL
• Country: Bolivia
• Support layer (geogrid type Tenax LBO 440)
• Drainage layer (geonet type Tenax CE 750)
• PVC geocomposite waterproofing liner type
Sibelon CNT 3750 ( 2,5 mm PVC backing 500 g/m2
geotextile)
• On the last 50 m of the waterproofed section, in
the most cracked area, a forth layer of anti-
puncturing geotextile 1000 g/m2 has been placed
on the concrete ring before the supporting geogrid
• Watertight sealing upstream and downstream
• 3 drainage discharge pipes long the invert,
connected with an existing drainage pipe
• 3 relieve valves on the invert
 CHALLENGES

• Chojlla tunnel is located on a very remote area in the middle of

the Andes
• Hidroelectrica Boliviana took care to organize all the logistic,
including transport of materials from La Paz to the site and to the
staging area, diversion of water inside the tunnel, ventilation,
lighting and distribution system inside the tunnel, all civil works,
food, lodging and transport of Carpi crew
• Cooperation with Hidroelectrica Boliviana allowed our crew to
concentrate only on the execution of waterproofing system
• The works were completed one week before the deadline
 CHOJLLA TUNNEL

Before waterproofing works: existing

cracks, water coming from the ground
 CHOJLLA TUNNEL

Entrance of tunnel with ventilation to extract smoke

 CHOJLLA TUNNEL

Placement of support geogrid, drainage

geonet and tensioning profile
 CHOJLLA TUNNEL

Placement of extra layer of anti-puncture

1000 g/m2 geotextile on most cracked areas
 CHOJLLA TUNNEL

Placement and anchorage of geocomposite panels

 CHOJLLA TUNNEL

Upstream and downstream perimeter seals

 CHOJLLA TUNNEL

Completed works – Survey monitoring prism

TUNJITA SHAFT AND
TUNNEL
REHABILITATION OF THE WATERTIGHTNESS
 FOREWORD
• OWNER - AES CHIVOR
• MAIN CONTRACTOR (EPC) - CONINSA & RAMON SA
• DESIGNER – INTEGRAL
• LOCATION – CHIVOR COLOMBIA 100Km North of
Bogotà
 ZONE OF INTERVENTION
• 61 m height surge shaft, from elevation 1601 masl
to elevation 1540 masl;
• 114 m height connection shaft, from elevation
1540 masl to elevation 1426 masl;
• Connection tunnel (137 m lenght), from the lower
elbow until the intersection with the main tunnel
 61 m height surge shaft, from elevation
1601 masl to elevation 1540 masl

114 m height connection shaft, from

elevation 1540 masl to elevation 1426
masl

Connection tunnel (137 m lenght), from the

lower elbow until the intersection with the
main tunnel
 WATER SPEED
• In the calculation of the fastening system of the
geomembrane sheet, Carpi has considered a
maximum water speed in the beacon of 2.4 m / s
and in the driving tunnel of 0.85 m / s, in
accordance with the indications provided by
Integral S.A.
THE INSPECTION
THE INSPECTION
CRACKS
PATTERN
THE PROBLEM
CARPI SOLUTION
CARPI SOLUTION
CARPI SOLUTION
INSTALLATION OF GEONET
INSTALACION EN TUNEL
GEOCOMPOSITE INSTALLATION
INSTALACION POZO VERTICAL
TUNNEL COMPLETED
TUNNEL COMPLETED
SHAFT COMPLETED
 HELMS PENSTOCK ACCESS TUNNEL
•Country: United States (California)
•Tunnel diameter : 25 feet
•Hydraulic head: 1,900 feet static - >2,500 feet dynamic
•Speed of water: 16 ft/sec ~ 3 times the pressure of any other
installation worldwide
•Type of face: concrete
•Geocomposite installation - 2017
•Surface of geomembrane installation: 20,279 sq. feet
•Installation time: 1.5 months
 Helms PAT Geomembrane Design Criteria
 Spacing around tunnel circumference between profiles dictated
by geomembrane failure
– Very conservative criteria
– Dictated that the closest profile spacing was on the bottom where water could
build up and burst geomembrane
– At crown – profiles spaced closer together to insure geomembrane was
tensioned and could not sag
 Drainage capacity was defined as 60 gpm
– Essentially 1 drain valve could discharge this amount of water- 9 were installed
– ~ 1 foot of free space longitudinally between profiles for drainage
 4 states of tunnel operations analyzed – defined valve functions
– Regular operations – 99.999+% of time – want valves closed
– Dewatered/ tunnel empty – a few weeks / decade – if valves fail then
geomembrane fails but easily repaired
– Dewatering – few days / decade - if valves fail then geomembrane fails but easily
repaired
– Rewatering – few days / decade – Critical – the drains must work to insure the
geomembrane system integrity into regular operations
Installation Area 2017
Testing at former US Navy lab for Deep Submergence Vehicles
to 800+ meters
Drain valve and drain plate testing
(withstands pressure and flows at gpm)
Wood mock-ups of the tunnel circumference were made for
the crew to practice and prevent wrinkles developing at
tapered end pieces
Tensioning and anchoring lower part of profiles being
installed
Chemical anchors and stainless
steel rods
Geocomposite
installation
Water seepage - before ~500 gpm after ~5 gpm

कोट� स एटे शन को लािग ध�वाद

 Operation and maintenance of Hyrdo tunnels
13 December 2018
Kathmandu, Nepal

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