Exam questions and answers

1. The design and analysis of embankment dams needs to fully understand & define the right
geological/ geotechnical questions. List out such questions and discuss in detail the effect of
failing to properly address these questions.
Answers
There are two types of geotechnical questions in embankment dam projects:
A. Engineering questions, which relate essentially to the design, construction and operation of
any structure of the proposed dam type.
B. Geological question, which arise from understanding of the site geological environment and
its likely influence on the design, construction and operation of the project.

• Checklist of geotechnical questions for dam project

1. Source of materials?
Sources of material for the following purposes should be assessed

• Earth fill for the cores and other zones

• Filters
• Rock-fill
• Rip-rap
• Concrete aggregates
• Road pavements
Hence for each material: location of alternative sources, qualities/suitability’s, quantities method
for winning and processing. Overburden and waste materials and quantities. Possible use of
materials from required excavation, e.g. spillway, outlet works and dam foundation
2. Reservoir?

• Water tightness
• Effect on regional groundwater- level and quality
• Stability of slopes inside and outside reservoir rim
• Erodibility of soils- possibility turbidity problems
• Siltation rates and likely location of deposition
3. Dam ?

• Location- to suit topographic and geological situations

• Alternative sites, for comparison of costs and of geotechnical and other issues
• Types of dam suited to sites
• Depths to suitable foundations for: concrete dam, earth-fill, core, filters, rock-fill, plinth or
grout cap

• Nature of material to be excavated, method of excavation and possible uses of materials

• Stability of excavation, support and dewatering requirements
• Permeability, compressibility, and erodibility of foundation
• Foundation treatments required: grouting, drainage, slurry concrete, dental treatment ; filter;
blanket and others

• Embankment zones, method of placement and of control of quality, moisture and compaction
• Stability of dams and dam plus foundation in all situations
4. Appurtenant structures?

• Location and type

• Excavation methods, possible use of excavated materials
• Stability of excavation, need for temporary or permanent support
• Channel, need for lining and drainage
• Need for protection of the discharge area, or excavation of a stilling basin
5. Seismicity of the region?

• Design of earthquake, annual exceedance probability versus ground motion

• Maximum credible earth quake

2. Weathered rock profile is considered as one of the weak geological features in dam
geological/geotechnical investigations. In relation to this, zone IIA of the weathered rock profile
is particularly considered as the most difficult zone from the context of dam geology. Why?
Discuss the possible remedial solutions you can suggest if you encounter this type of problem.
 Answers
• It is transition zone from the high weathered zone to hard weathered zone and it is the upper
part of the weathered zone (zone II) and it contains defects like rock fragments, high cracks
and faults.

• If weathered rock profile is encountered during geotechnical investigation the following

remedial measures are recommended
Foundation grouting: Grouting consists of drilling a line or lines of holes from the cutoff level of
the dam into the dam foundation, and forcing cement slurry or chemicals under pressure into
the rock defects especially curtain grouting is preferred narrow barrier (or curtain) through an
area of high permeability. It usually consists of a single row of grout holes which are drilled and
grouted to the base of the impermeable rock, or to such depths that acceptable hydraulic gradient
are achieved.

3. Consider that you are assigned as a design engineer for a grouting scheme of a dam project.
Explain in detail how you carry out the design of the grouting for this dam project.
Answers
If I am a grouting design engineer, I have to follow the grouting scheme design procedure
A. Grouting material

• Most foundation grouting uses cement grout: Portland cement mixed with water in a high
speed mixer to a water-cement ratio (mass water/mass cement) of between 0.5 and 5 to form
slurry.

• If cement is not possible I recommend chemicals. Because, Chemicals tend to be more

expensive so are only used where cement grout would not be successful. If the cement is
recommended for grouting material the following water cement ratio is recommended as
follow
- Starting mix
⁻ 2:1 for most sites
⁻ 3:1 for rock< 5 lugeons
⁻ 1:1 for rock > 30 lugeons
⁻ 0.8:1for very high losses
- Thicken the mix
⁻ To deal with severe leaks
⁻ After 1.5 hours on the one mix with continued take except ( for 1:1 and thicker
mixes)
B. Depth
• According to ICOLD, a typical grout curtain varies in depth from 0.35 to 0.75H. (where
H is the height of the reservoir above the top of the grout curtain in a specific location)
• In addition to this recommendation, grouting should be carried up to the rock mass of
relatively low permeability
C. Grouting pattern and grout hole spacing
• To ensure a highly efficient cutoff, a multiple row approach should be used. A three-row
pattern seems to give generally good results (Janson, 1988).
• Drill all grout holes perpendicular to the average slope of the ground surface
• A primary spacing on the order of 6 to 12 m in each curtain row is selected. Grouting
specifications sometimes provide for drilling widely spaced, cored primary holes for
exploration and commonly provide for a maximum spacing of grout holes of about 3m.

• Washing of the grout hole before grouting to remove cuttings which have clogged the
fractures.
D. Staging of grouting
- I recommend the grout stages will be 5m to 8m but may be increased in length lower in the
foundation
 E. Distance grout will penetrate
- The distance to which the grout will penetrate is dependent on the fracture width, grout
pressure and viscosity and the time taken in grouting. If grouting continues for sufficient
time, the limit of penetration is determined by the yield point stress. The maximum radius of
penetration can be designed as follows according to Lombardi (1985)
⁻

Where;
Rmax = maximum radius of penetration (m)
Pmax = Grouting pressure (kpa) C
= yield point stress (kpa) a = half
width of the fracture (m)
F. Grout pressures
• The maximum pressures at the base of the stage being grouted are
given by:

PB = αd
Where;
PB = pressure at base of hole (kpa) α =
factor depending on rock condition
• ≈ 70 for sound rock

• ≈ 50 for average rock • ≈ 25 to 35 for weak rock

d = depth of bottom of stage below ground surface (m)

4. Discuss, with the help of sketches, the effects of variation of water content on strength and
permeability of compacted soils. Why is dry side compaction not recommended during
construction of embankment dams?
Answers
General over view of compaction
• Soil compaction is the process of pressing the soil particles and packed closely together by
mechanical methods. During compaction air is expelled from void space but it is impossible to
eliminate air voids completely and the amount of water in the soil has great role in achieving
tighter arrangement of soil particles. But further increase in the compaction water content
 beyond optimum water content has a determinant effect and the compaction unit weight
decreases. Optimum compaction water is the amount of water content at which the final
compaction dry unit weight reaches maximum with a given compactive effort (the amount of
mechanical energy that is applied to the soil mass). Soil compaction is required for the
construction of earth dams, canal embankments highways and for foundation preparation for
any civil work structures by improving its engineering properties of the soil like shear strength,
stability and its bearing capacity and. In addition to that it used to reduce the permeability and
compressibility properties of the soil.
• Amount of water: At water content lower than O. M. C, the soil is stiff and is not workable
offering resistance to compaction. As the water content increases, the particles become
lubricated and are easier to expel air from the voids. Thus the dry density increases till the
optimum amount of water is applied. With further increase in moisture content the water starts
to occupy more pore spaces and results in an increase of the total voids (air and water). This
results in an increase in the total volume of the soil. Hence this in turn will bring about reduction
in the dry density of soil.
• The compaction curve has two parts
- Wet side compaction ( the addition of amount of water for facilitate compaction above
optimum moisture content)
- Dry side compaction (the addition of water content to the soil to do compaction is less than
the optimum moisture content): it not recommended during construction of embankment dams
because the soil become stiff and not workable and it is difficult to pack the soil particles
together.
 5. Filter materials are some of the costliest materials used in an embankment dam. Hence,
effort is placed in minimizing the amount of material used. Discuss the basic construction
procedures commonly employed to construct sand filters.
Answers
Procedures of constructing and placing of filter materials
a. Filters upstream or downstream of an earth core, when constructed by end-dumping off a truck
should be at least 2.5 and preferably 3m wide.
b. If a spreader box is used, a minimum width of 1.5 m is practicable.
c. If filter materials are very scarce or high cost, formwork can be used to contain bands of filters
as narrow as one meter. But this is very unusual and would only be contemplated in exceptional
circumstance.
- To save the recommended filter materials the following construction methods are recommended
and common:
⁻ Placing the earth-fill for up to 2m over the filter layer, and then excavating through
the earth-fill with a backhoe or excavator to expose the filter and then dumping the
filter on the trimmed downstream slope of the earth-fill core.
Filters generally should be placed ahead of the adjacent earth-fill or rock-fill zones. This is
desirable because it allows good control of the width of the filter zone compared to the specified
width, and reduces the risk of contamination of the filter zone with materials from the adjacent
zones, and from water eroding off adjacent areas generally
6. Answer the following questions.
a) Explain with a neat sketch the essential components of a rock-fill dam, indicating their
functions.
b) What is meant by sluicing and why was it necessary in a rock-fill dam construction during
earlier times?
Answers
a) Explain with a neat sketch the essential components of a rock-fill dam, indicating their
functions.

- Section A and E: Rock-fill that used to construct rock-fill dams are type of embankment
dams where more than 50% rock mass of varying size and quality is used for construction
of the embankment.
- Section B and D: graded filter/ transition zone is used to Prevent erosion of soil particles from
the soil they are protecting and it allow drainage of seepage water.
- Section C: Vertical internal seepage control membrane (earth core) is a seepage control
membrane is used to minimize seepage through the embankment and to prevent piping of
the upstream and downstream shells.
b) What is meant by sluicing and why was it necessary in a rock-fill dam construction during earlier
times?
- In some situations during site investigation the bulk removal of soil by sluicing using high
pressure water jets can expose the rock surface in the dam foundation and thus extend the
information obtained from natural exposures on rock condition and structure. Sluicing is an
 effective option on steep, rocky slopes where the soil is relatively thin and sandy. Stiff to hard
clay is difficult to sluice. Sluicing requires a powerful pump and careful control of the
operation to limit environmental effects. The movement of the mud slurry produced by the
sluicing has to be controlled and contained using sedimentation basins.

7. What is dam instrumentation? It is advisable to inspect embankment dams within a specified time
interval. Explain what must be watched out for during the inspection. How is water quality test
related to dam safety?
Answers
- "Instrumentation of a dam furnishes data to determine if the completed structure
is functioning as intended and to provide a continuing surveillance of the structure to warn
of any developments which endanger its safety" (ICOLD, 1969).
- The purpose of instrumentation and monitoring is to maintain and improve dam safety by
providing information:
To evaluate whether a dam is performing as expected and
To warn of changes that could endanger the safety of a dam
- Seepage comes into contact with various minerals in the soil and rock in and around
the dam. This can cause two problems: the chemical dissolution of a natural rock such
as limestone, or the internal erosion of soil. Dissolution of minerals can often be detected
by comparing chemical analyses of reservoir water and seepage water. Such tests are
site specific; for example, in a limestone area, one would look for calcium and carbonates,
in a gypsum area, calcium and sulfates. Other tests, such as pH can also sometimes provide
useful information on chemical dissolution. Internal erosion can be detected by comparing
turbidity of reservoir water with that of seepage water. A large increase in turbidity indicates
erosion.
Mid exam questions and answers
1. Draw a possible sketch of an earth dam cross section showing sufficient details
of the dam section for the condition of pervious foundation to a large depth
when both pervious and impervious materials are available in the field. Explain
why you choose this type of earth dam section. (7 points)
Answers

- When it is an economical to replace the pervious foundation by impervious

materials.
- Impervious materials are available on the site to construct horizontal
blanket
- Pervious materials are available for construct filters, horizontal blanket
drainage system and toe drain.
2. Explain the method of plotting phreatic line for an earth dam with horizontal
filter at downstream. Also sketch the phreatic line if there is no filter at the
downstream.(7 points)

2. What are the criteria for safe design of an earth dam? Explain the
consequences of each criterion if not properly addressed in the design.(6
points)
Stability

Maximum Flood Evacuation (removal)

4. What are the different slop stability analysis methods? Discuss in detail the
merits and demerits of each method and your preference among the methods
with plausible (believable) reasons.
(6 points)
  First method of slices developed
 All interslice forces are ignored
 The normal force on the base of the slice is calculated by summing
forces in a direction perpendicular to the bottom of the slice.
 Once the normal force is calculated, moments are summed about the
center of the circle to compute the factor of safety
 The factor of safety is computed from the equation

Limitations
 Neglecting the forces on the sides of the slice
 Does not satisfy equilibrium of forces in either the vertical or horizontal
directions
 Moment equilibrium is satisfied for the entire soil mass above the slip
surface, but not for individual slices

The Simplified Bishop Method

 is based on the assumption that the interslice forces are horizontal, as shown
in Figure below (i.e also ignores the interslice shear forces).
 The normal force on the base of the slice is perpendicular to the bottom of
the slice (similar to the ordinary method)
 A circular slip surface is also assumed in the Simplified Bishop Method.
 A simple form of the Bishop’s Simplified factor of safety equation in the
absence of any pore-water pressure is

In summary, the Bishop’s Simplified method,

  considers horizontal interslice forces, but ignores interslice shear forces,
and
 satisfies over all moment equilibrium, but not overall horizontal force
equilibrium

Morgenstern-Price method
The Morgenstern-Price method:
• Considers both shear and normal interslice forces,
• Satisfies both moment and force equilibrium, and
• Allows for a variety of user-selected interslice force function

5. Write a note on ‘filter criteria ‘for an earth dam.(7 points)