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4.1 Introduction
• Embankment dam is a water impounding structure
constructed from fragmental natural materials. The
natural fill materials are placed and compacted without
the addition of any binding agent, using high capacity
mechanical plant. They rely on their weight to resist
Hydraulic structures I the flow of water, just like concrete gravity dams.
• Embankment dam derive its strength from position,
internal friction and mutual attraction of particles.
Chapter 4
• Disadvantages of the embankment dam:
Embankment Dam – Inherently susceptible to damage or destruction by
overtopping
– Necessity of separate spillway structure
– Vulnerability to concealed leakage and internal erosion in
dam or foundation
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• Merits of Embankment dam: 4.2 Types of Embankment Dams

– Suitability of the type to different site conditions • Depending upon the material of construction,
such as wide valleys, steep sided gorges, etc. embankment dams are classified in to two:
– Earth fill: If compacted soils, i.e. clays/silts & sands, account
– Adaptability to a broad range of foundation
for over 50% of the placed volume of material
condition such as rock and pervious soil
– Rock fill: If compacted rock particles larger than a man can
formation, easily lift, i.e. coarse grained frictional material, accounts for
– use of natural materials, over 50% of the placed volume of materials.
– Extreme flexibility to accommodate different fill • Based on construction procedure earth dam is classified:
materials, – Rolled filled dam: the soil materials are placed in layers of 15
– Highly mechanized and effectively continuous to 45 cm and then compacted by heavy roller at optimum
moisture content (OMC).
construction process,
– Hydraulic fill dam: The earth is mixed pipe
– Appreciable accommodation of settlement- with sufficient water and pumped to
deformation without risk of serious cracking and the site. The pipes will be at the ends
away from the central core. The soil
possible failure. and water will flow towards the core.
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• Where both rock and earth materials are available • Modified homogeneous dam: This is homogeneous
abundantly, rock and earth fill dam is the best choice. dam with drainage. The phreatic line must always be
• Earth dam needs flatter side slope than the rock fill within the body of the dam. This can be achieved by
dam. Thus earth dam need larger quantities of providing horizontal drainage blanket or rock toe.
materials.
• Types of embankment dam: Phreatic
– Homogeneous, Modified homogeneous line
– Zoned dam
– Diaphragm type Horizontal drainage blanket Rock toe
• Homogeneous dam: The whole • Zoned dam is constructed from two or more
dam is constructed using sand, types of soil. It consists of:
silt, clay, sandy loam or silt loam. Stone riprap
– A central core (impervious: clay and silt)
– A riprap of stone is usually
– Transition filter at u/s and d/s
provided on the u/s side to take
care of the stability of the slope – Shell at u/s and d/s
during sudden drawdown. • The core could also be slopping
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• Diaphragm type dam: Zoned • Core or membrane: The primary purpose of the core is
dam with thin central core. If the to hold back free water. Depending on the structural
thickness of the core at a certain requirements of the dam, the core may be placed at
section is less than the height of the center or upstream from the center, or on the
the dam above that height the
dam is called diaphragm type. upstream face (in the case of certain rock fill dams)
• When the foundation is incapable of resisting under
• Basic components and appurtenances of Embankment seepage the core is extended down into the foundation
dam to impervious layer. Such an extension of the core is
Top width
Sod termed cutoff.
Free board
Wave protection
Transfer filter • Earth, concrete, masonry, steel sheeting, etc. are used
Internal drain
D/s shell
as core material. Lack of flexibility of concrete and
U/s shell Core
Toe drain masonry make them undesirable. An earth core is
Heel
Toe usually cheaper and more water tight than any other
U/s blanket Cutoff Foundation
type.
Impervious stratum
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• Shell: The purpose of shell is to provide structural • Slopes: Shell slopes are based on stability analysis.
support for the core and to distribute the loads over When the stability is insufficient, improvements are
the foundation. The shell also acts as foundation for possible by adopting: Flatter slopes, Increasing strength
most of the appurtenances. Sometimes the core and through high density, Treatment for weak foundation,
shell of a dam are constructed of the same material and/or Drainage of the foundation and embankment.
(homogenous dam). • In case of large dams composite slopes are used for the
• Shell (embankment) materials: Availability and shell by either constructing a series of straight slopes
strength are the requirements for selection. or a constant slope with berms.
– Strength: - the strength for the upstream side is that at the • A berm is a level surface on the slope that can serve:
inundated condition the material should resist – Increases slope stability by increasing dam width;
destabilization. The same strength should be used for the
downstream face which is below the maximum phreatic – Breaks the continuous downstream slope to reduce
line. surface erosion
– Permeability: - high permeability is desirable from the – Provides level surface for maintenance operations, roads,
standpoint of pressure buildup during construction and etc.
stability during sudden drawdown. – Berm is also used at the bottom of a zone of riprap to
provide supporting shoulder.

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• Height of dam: Required height of an embankment dam is • Transition filter: - it is provided between core and shell to
the vertical distance from the foundation to the water prevent migration of the core material into the pores of the
surface in the reservoir, when the spillway is discharging at shell material. It is particularly needed between clay cores
design capacity, plus a free board allowance. and rock and gravel shells. The objective of transition filter
• Free Board = maximum wave run-up height + allowance for is to carry away seepage that has passed through the core
settlement + allowance for splash and cut-off and to prevent stratum of the upper part of the
– Maximum wave run-up height = 4hw/3 downstream shell.
– Where: hw = effective wave height (with expectancy of 1%) • Toe drain: Helps to prevent sloughing of the downstream
• Maximum vertical height of run-up = Expected wave height face as a result of rain water or seepage saturation. Drains
* appropriate factor from the Table below need protective filter (inverted filter) to prevent clogging of
the drain.
• Settlement allowance: For foundation: 1% of height of dam;
For embankment: 1-2% of height of embankment • Internal drains: Are essential in large dams where the d/s
shell is not so pervious.
• Splash allowance could be taken 0.30 – 0.50m.
• Riprap: Required to cover the upstream/downstream face.
Ratio of Run-up : Maximum wave height Normally riprap extended from above the maximum water
Slope Smooth surface Riprap surface level to just below the minimum water level.
1.5H:1V 2.5 1.6 • Sod: Required on the downstream face to prevent rain
wash.
1H:1V 2.0 1.3
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• Foundation for Earth Dams: The essential requirements • Pervious soil foundation:
of a foundation for an earth dam are (i) that it provides – Coarse sand and gravel: Possesses high shear strength (+);
stable support for the embankment under all conditions Highly permeable (-); High consolidation rate (+)
of saturation and loading, and (ii) that it provides – Loose fine sand and silt: Possesses low shear strength (-);
Liquefaction may occur during earth quake (-)
sufficient resistance to seepage to prevent piping and
excessive loss of water. • Liquefaction is a processes in which a fully saturated soil
will behave as a heavy viscous liquid during shock (earth
• Rock foundation quake) as it loses all its shear strength. Such foundation
– Faults and fractures shall be grouted should be thoroughly compacted by pile driving.
– Shale foundations shall partly be removed and filled with • Impervious Foundations of silt and clay extending to large
concrete depths are sufficiently impermeable to preclude the
• Pervious soil foundation necessity of providing treatment for under seepage and
piping. However their law permeability lead to excessive
– Excessive seepage called under seepage and piping are the pore water pressure (-). They usually have low shear
main problem
strength (-)
– Piping is a phenomenon in which if the exit gradient is too
high the flowing water starts to carry the soil particle • The main problem with these foundations is of stability for
starting from at the d/s and the process advances towards which generally the slopes of the embankments are made
u/s in the form of a pipe. flatter or berms on either side are provided.
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4.4 Causes of Failures of Earth Dams • Seepage failures are generally caused by pervious
foundations, leakage through embankments, conduit
• Like most other damages to engineering structures, earth leakage or sloughing.
dam failures are caused by improper design frequently
based on insufficient investigations, and lack of care in • The following are the common causes of embankment
construction and maintenance. leaks which lead to piping:
– Poor construction control: which includes insufficient
• Failures of earth dams may be grouped into the following compaction adjacent to outlet conduits and poor bond
basic causes between embankment and the foundation or between the
– Hydraulic failures (35%) successive layers of the embankment.
– Seepage failures (38%) – Cracking in the embankment or in the conduits caused by
– Structural failures (20%) foundation settlement,
Overtopping
– Other failures comprises 7% – Animal burrows
• Hydraulic failure: are produced by surface erosion of the – Shrinkage and dry cracks
dam. They include: – Presence of roots, pockets of
– Overtopping (30%), gravel or boulders in the embankment.
– Wave erosion of upstream face, scour from the discharge of
the spillway etc. and Internal erosion and piping
– Erosion from rainfall. 15 16

• The process of sloughing begins when a small amount of

• Conduit leakage could be either be due to contact seepage material at the downstream toe is eroded and produces a
along the outside of the conduit and/or Seepage through leaks small slide. It leaves a relatively steep face which becomes
in the conduit which may develop into piping. saturated by seepage from the reservoir and slumps again,
• Contact seepage along the conduit wall is caused either by a forming a higher and more unstable face. This process is
zone of poorly compacted soil or small gap between the continued until the remaining portion of the dam is too
conduit and remainder of the embankment. Seepage through thin to withstand the water pressure and complete failure
poorly compacted zones soon develops into piping. occurs.
• Conduit cracking is caused by differential settlement or by • Structural failures may result in slides in foundation or
overloading from embankment. embankment. It may be due to:
• Failure due to sloughing takes place where downstream – Sliding of the dam
portion of the dam becomes saturated either due to choking of – Sliding of the foundation
filter toe drain, or due to the presence of highly pervious layer – Liquefaction
in the body of the dam. – Earth quake
• Embankment slides may occur when the slopes are too
Sloughing Failure steep for the shear strength of the embankment material
to resist the stresses imposed.

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• Embankment and 4.5 Design Criteria of Earth Dams

foundation settlement • No overtopping: the water must not be allowed to
overtop; thus:
(deformation and
– Design flood should not be under estimated
internal cracking); note – Adequate free board should be given
also cross-valley – Some allowance should be provided for settlement.
deformation modes: • No seepage failure:
• Upstream slope failure – The phreatic surface should be within the body of the dam
following rapid – Seepage should be controlled
drawdown of water • Proper slope protection: Stone pitching for u/s slope
level • No structural failure
– U/s slope should be stable during sudden drawdown
• Failure of downstream – D/s slope should be safe and stable during steady seepage.
foundation due to – Stresses at the foundation must be within the permissible limit
overstress of soft, weak – Safe during earth quake
horizons • Proper drainage: To take care of the seepage through the
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4.6 Preliminary section • A berm is provided to make the Berm

• Crest width (a): normally varies from 6-14 m. wider phreatic line within the body of
crest width might be necessary to bring the phreatic the dam.
line within the body of the dam. a • Settlement allowance: Settlement of an embankment will be
H  10m a  0.2 H  3 FB caused by consolidation in the foundation and in the fill. A
10m  H  30m a  0.55 H 1/ 2  0.2 H settlement allowance of 2% is considered adequate and is
H generally provided. However, in case of dams of more than
H  30m a  1.65H  1.5
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30m height, an extra 1% allowance is provided to account for
• Free board(FB): free board is given to take care of the wave the settlement due to earthquake.
height (hw). The free board shall at least be 1.5hw.
• Impervious core: Semi pervious
slope U/s D/s
– Essential to control
seepage through the body.
Pervious
Homogeneous dam H<15m 2.5:1 2:1
Homogeneous dam H>=15m 3:1 2.5:1 – Sometimes a diaphragm
wall (concrete or asphalt) Diaphragm
Zoned dam with sand and gravel shell and clay core 3:1 2.5:1 wall
may be provided
Zoned dam with sand and gravel shell and RCC core 2.5:1 2:1
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• If the pervious foundation • Upstream slope protection: Is provided to prevent the

U/s blanket is too deep to provide destructive wave action. Usually stone rip-raping is adopted.
cutoff, an u/s blanket can The stone rip-rap is either dry dumped or hand placed. When a
be provided thin layer is enough, hand placed rip-rap may be more
Cutoff in Foundation economical than dumped rip-rap.
• The thickness of the rip-rap to be provided depends on the
wave height, embankment slope, weight of average size rock
and its specific gravity.
sheet pile cutoff • Filter below rip-rap: A layer of filter material made of gravel or
Impervious crushed rock is always required under rip-rap to prevent waves
from eroding the underlying embankment material. Mostly
Horizontal filters are 20 cm to 75 cm thick. The following factors govern
Chimney the thickness:
Rock toe
blanket – Wave action: The less the wave action, the thinner the filter under
the rip-rap.
Horizontal blanket is suitable for moderate height dam. Its length – Gradation of rip-rap: If the rip-rap is well graded with plenty of
shall be 1/3 of the total base length or 3 times the height of the quarry fines to fill the larger voids there is less stress on the filter.
dam. Rock toe: rock size of 15-20 cm and a graded filter between – Plasticity and gradation of embankment materials: If the
the rock and dam material is necessary embankment material is well graded granular soil with enough clay,
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it needs less protection against erosion than if it is fine silt sand. 24