Contents

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 3

1.1 Objective.................................................................................................................................. 3

1.2 Location ................................................................................................................................... 4

1.3 Project methodology ................................................................................................................ 4

1.4 Summary.................................................................................................................................. 4

1.5 Hydrology of the Site................................................................................................................ 5

2 RESERVOIR PLANNING ..................................................................................................................... 5

2.1 General .................................................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Evaporation.............................................................................................................................. 7

2.3 Sedimentation.......................................................................................................................... 8

2.4 Dam Type selection .................................................................................................................. 8

2.5 Determination of useful life...................................................................................................... 8

2.6 Intake level fixation .................................................................................................................. 9

3 Dam design...................................................................................................................................... 9

3.1 Geology of the Dam Area ......................................................................................................... 9

3.2 Abutments ............................................................................................................................. 11

3.3 Core Material and its availability ............................................................................................ 11

3.4 Filter material and its availability ............................................................................................ 11

3.5 Dam height (H) ....................................................................................................................... 11

4.5.1. Normal pool level /NPL/ above the river bed............................................................................ 12

3.5.1 Free board: ..................................................................................................................... 13

3.6 Top width ............................................................................................................................... 17

3.7 Embankment slopes and berms.............................................................................................. 18

3.8 Impervious core ..................................................................................................................... 18

 3.9 Shell materials and slope protections ..................................................................................... 19

3.10 Transition ............................................................................................................................... 19

3.11 Slope protections ................................................................................................................... 19

3.12 . Seepage control Analysis and drainage of embankment ....................................................... 20

3.12.1 Seepage control through the embankment..................................................................... 20

4 Determination of phreatic line and Discharge through the Dam ..................................................... 32

4.1 Stability analyses .................................................................................................................... 33

5 Spillway Design .............................................................................................................................. 38

5.1 Location and Geology of the spillway site ............................................................................... 38

5.2 Spillway Type Selections......................................................................................................... 38

5.3 Spillway Component .............................................................................................................. 38

6 Outlet work ................................................................................................................................... 39

7 Dam Instrumentation .................................................................................................................... 39

8 Reference ...................................................................................................................................... 39
 1. INTRODUCTION
Now a day’s construction of earthen dams especially for irrigation purpose are common in
Ethiopia but experience on the design and construction of concrete dams are limited.
Embankment dams are constructed from natural materials excavated or obtained near by the
dam site. They are of relatively (compared with concrete dams) soft and elastic structures. So
the foundation requirements are lower compared to other dam types.
An embankment dam has the following advantages, suitability to wide valley and relatively steep
sided gorges, adaptability to abroad range of foundation condition, their design is extremely
flexible in its ability to accommodate different fill materials earth fill homogenous or zoned
internally, the unit cost of an earth dam material have risen much more slowly in real terms than
those of concrete dams.

Some of the relative disadvantages of embankment dam are:

- Great susceptibility to damage by over topping,
- Vulnerability to concealed leakage and internal erosion in dam body or foundation.

Considering the above advantage and disadvantages, the proposed type of dam is an
embankment dam. In semi-arid part of Ethiopia, there is a significant water scarcity problem
particularly during dry season and excess runoff (flood) in rainy season. This may be due to poor
watershed management practice and an ever growing of communities’ water demand for
irrigation and other consumption use.

Moreover, in Ethiopia the farming practice is merely rainfall dependent agriculture. To modify
such practice and to ensure food-self sufficiency of community the government is striving to
expand irrigation projects.

This irrigation scheme can be addressed by constructing zoned embankment dam from local
available materials so as to make the project cost minimal.

1.1 Objective
In analyzing of this earth dam, we are going to achieve the following objectives.
 Fixing the preliminary section of the dam,
 Designing of filters
 analyzing the slope stability of the dam body
  seepage analysis

1.2 Location
This Micro earth dam is located in Afar National Regional State

1.3 Project methodology

Different methodology were used for dam section investigation and slope & seepage stability
analysis. Throughout the design we use different slope and seepage stability analysis and
different equation were used to determine dam section (freeboard, filter, slope protection work
etc.)

Our earth dam has main features like an embankment dam body, reservoir and others terminal
structures.
- Planning the reservoir for balancing the total water demand, dead and live storage
allocation,
- Designing the dam body with checking for seepage and stability analysis,

1.4 Summary
1. Free board:-The free board is calculated to be 1.20m
2. Dam height: - The dam height is calculated to be 23 m.
3. Crest length of the dam: - we have taken the crest length of the dam to be
354m, but may vary on site Condition, probably there is an increase in the
crest length due to Abutment conditions.
4. Top Width:-The top width is calculated to be 4.5 m.

5. Embankment and cutoff slope: - We have provided a slope of 3:1 for U/s
and 2.5:1 for D/s side of the Embankment. We have Provided 1:1 slope for
Cut off.

6. Berm: - we have provided 11.5 m height and 3 m width berm on the D/s side
of the embankment.

7. Impervious core: - we have provided an impervious core of 20.5m and side

slope 1:1 with top width of 6m.

8. Chimney Filter: - We have provided 18.25m height vertical Chimney drain

and 1.5 m Height horizontal Filter.
 9. Rock Toe: - We have provided 6m Height Rock toe.

10. Drainage Trench:-We have provided trench of 1m Depth and 0.5 m bottom
Width.

1.5 Hydrology of the Site

Hydrological analysis of the respective watershed is a standing point for design of the dam. This
is important not only to decide whether the watershed gives sufficient yield to refill the reservoir
annually, but also to develop the inflow flood hydrograph to the reservoir and quantifying the
magnitude of peak flood for the selected recurrence interval. It can possibly be developed from
either the recorded stream flood data or the rain fall data by the nearest metrological station to
the selected dam site of watershed.

The Size of command area to be irrigated is 150 ha with a peak duty of 2l/s/ha. And the irrigation
is required for the three dry months. The source of water is fully from the reservoir storage and
the river flow is completely dry in these months.

The average demand for the crop to be irrigated in this three month period is calculated 1.1l/s/ha
Irrigation demand =1.1l/s/ha *150 ha =165l/s
Irrigation water demand for 3 months is 128.3 ha.m

The use full volume of the reservoir and thus the full supply level (FSL) equivalent to the normal
water level (NWL) should be determined in order to enable the water supply of irrigation
demand of the command areas.

2 RESERVOIR PLANNING

2.1 General
Reservoirs are created in order to maintain a dependable flow over a length of time. Fluctuation
in monthly catchment yield can be evened out by a reservoir that is generally created by building
physical barrier, dam, across the river.

Construction of a dam across the river obstructs the flow and water heads up behind the dam,
creating a reservoir. Surplus water from the reservoir is allowed to spill over a spillway, suitably
placed to the side of embankment dam type so as to avoid overtopping danger of flood.
Reservoir storage is generally made up of dead storage, live storage and flood storage. The dead
storage is provided to absorb the sediment inflow to the reservoir. Water of this space is not
usually utilized because this only allowed absorbing the incoming sediment volume over the
economic life span of a reservoir.

The live storage is a water pounding space provided to meet the total water demand that the
reservoir supposed to serve in its economic life. The purpose of this storage is to even out or
balance the fluctuations in the inflow and total maximum water demand.

The live storage is provided above the dead storage level and to the normal pool level. Outlets
are provided at the bottom suitable level of live storage. The reservoir live storage capacity is
determined by either excess deficit method or mass curve method after the water demand is
quantified. The Elevation –area capacity method is used to calculate as below.
V= h/2(Ao+A1)
Where Ao, A1, A3... An = the area enclosing each contour
h= vertical distance between contours
V= Storage capacity

Table 1: Area – capacity Relationship computation

Partial Cum. Partial Cumm.
Partial Cumulative Area Area Volume Volume
Area Elevation Area Area (ha) (ha) (ha.m) (ha.m)
A0 2522 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
A1 2523 39.47 39.47 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
A2 2524 202.16 241.63 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01
A3 2525 220.34 461.97 0.02 0.05 0.02 0.04
A4 2526 960.95 1422.92 0.10 0.14 0.07 0.11
A5 2527 3212.96 4635.88 0.32 0.46 0.23 0.34
A6 2528 4025.16 8661.04 0.40 0.87 0.43 0.77
A7 2529 14901.81 23562.85 1.49 2.36 1.18 1.95
A8 2530 23469.44 47032.29 2.35 4.70 2.35 4.30
A9 2531 31142.16 78174.45 3.11 7.82 3.91 8.21
A10 2532 39505.56 117680.01 3.95 11.77 5.88 14.10
A11 2533 49095.88 166775.89 4.91 16.68 8.34 22.43
A12 2534 86521.63 253297.52 8.65 25.33 12.66 35.10
A13 2535 74012.56 327310.08 7.40 32.73 16.37 51.46
A14 2536 86963.28 414273.36 8.70 41.43 20.71 72.18
A15 2537 100894.52 515167.88 10.09 51.52 25.76 97.94
A16 2538 115679.16 630847.04 11.57 63.08 31.54 129.48
A17 2539 133899.89 764746.93 13.39 76.47 38.24 167.72
A18 2540 152195.22 916942.15 15.22 91.69 45.85 213.56
A19 2541 172386.79 1089328.94 17.24 108.93 54.47 268.03
A20 2542 192325 1281654.08 19.23 128.17 64.08 332.11
A21 2543 213488.58 1495142.66 21.35 149.51 74.76 406.87
A22 2544 198776.25 1693918.91 19.88 169.39 84.70 491.57
A23 2545 219212.6 1913131.51 21.92 191.31 95.66 587.22
A24 2546 224501.19 2137632.70 22.45 213.76 106.88 694.10
A25 2547 237034.83 2374667.53 23.70 237.47 118.73 812.84
A26 2548 144766.98 2519434.51 14.48 251.94 125.97 938.81
A27 2549 342222.24 2861656.75 34.22 286.17 143.08 1081.89
A28 2550 355115.16 3216771.91 35.51 321.68 160.84 1242.73
A29 2551 359650.86 3576422.77 35.97 357.64 178.82 1421.55
A30 2552 363091.62 3939514.39 36.31 393.95 196.98 1618.53
A31 2553 364605.96 4304120.35 36.46 430.41 215.21 1833.73
A32 2554 366014.68 4670135.03 36.60 467.01 233.51 2067.24
A33 2555 366424.62 5036559.65 36.64 503.66 251.83 2319.07
A34 2556 366892.93 5403452.58 36.69 540.35 270.17 2589.24
A35 2557 367498.96 5770951.54 36.75 577.10 288.55 2877.79
A36 2558 367498.96 6138450.50 36.75 613.85 306.92 3184.71
A37 2559 367688.19 6506138.69 36.77 650.61 325.31 3510.02
A38 2560 367766.67 6873905.36 36.78 687.39 343.70 3853.71
A39 2561 367740.6 7241645.96 36.77 724.16 362.08 4215.80

The normal pool level(NPL) above river bed level fixed by taking in to consideration the
demands ,yields , reservoir area-capacity elevation, sedimentation and evaporation etc. aspects
shows that the NPL is to be fixed at 2542.00m a.m.s.l, the calculation is as follow

Reservoir Capacity =2l/sec/day*3months*300Days/month*24*3600sec/day=2332800000lit

=233.28ha.m (without considering the evaporation and sedimentation)

2.2 Evaporation
Due lack of a complete set of metrological data in the given location, it would be very difficult to
estimate the actual evapotranspiration losses in an irrigation scheme. To allocate Evaporation we
consider 15% of the reservoir capacity.
Estimated Evaporation = 15% Reservoir capacity

=0.15*233.28ha.m= 34.99ha.m per year

Therefor the Total reservoir capacity including evaporation is

233.28+ (34.99) =268.27ha.m

2.3 Sedimentation
Sedimentation data are rarely available, so to determine the sediment load to the reservoir and
hence to allocate dead storage considering 15% sedimentation

Estimated sediment = 15% Reservoir capacity

=0.15*268.27ha.m= 40.24ha.m

From the reservoir capacity curve the elevation of the dead storage can be taken as 2535m

Therefor the Total reservoir capacity including dead storage is

268.27+40.24 =308.52ha.m

From the reservoir capacity curve the elevation of the dead storage can be taken as 2542m

2.4 Dam Type selection

Dam type selection can be undertaken different consideration. That is
 Topography,
 Constriction
 Availability of construction Material,
 Geology etc. . . .
As per the given data and top map the construction material Assessment for this dam ,the
reservoir area consists of impermeable soil that is clay soil which is good for central core
of the dam. On the other hand there are sufficient quantity of shell material which helps
to improve the stability of the dam if use as shell for the dam. Therefore for minimum
cost, the dam must be designed for utilization of the available material. Hence
considering these those Embankment zoned type dam is selected.

2.5 Determination of useful life

The life of the dam depends on:

  The return interval of flood to design the spillway
 Allocated dead storage
 The incoming sediment per year
 Workman ship quality of the dam and related structures and etc.

In this case the last three factors are considered to fix the useful life of the dam, since those
factors are the critical factors to determine the life of the dam. The dam is filled by the sediment
after 25 and 50 yrs., if the catchment is untreated. But if the catchment is treated, the expected
filling time of the dam by the sediment may be longer.
Hence, considering quality of workmanship during catchment treatment and risk due to the
incoming sediment useful life of the project which is taken here as 30 years of the project.

2.6 Intake level fixation

The sill level sees from two considerations

1 Sedimentation analysis
2. Existing Topography condition
By analyzing the above factors the initial intake level is fixed at 2535.00m a.s.l for 25 years
sediment load and its distribution and considering the experience of the economic life the dam, to
increase the service life of the dam, the silt level rises to the full supply level. That is
2542.00ma.s.l hence to use the reservoir water effectively 7 meter height front entrance intake
structure is Provided.

3 Dam design

3.1 Geology of the Dam Area

Stream Bed/Valley floor area
The streambed is characterized by Sand mixed with gravel soil. It indicates that the sound rock is
under laid by 15m thick pervious material (a mixture of sand and gravel).
This depth of foundation is under the category of shallow foundations (15m)
depth<50feet=15.24m).

But different literatures dictate that foundation depths greater than 10m are not economical.
Therefore, the following alternatives have been over viewed to decide the type of cut off (partial
or positive).

 Partial cut off with sheet piles

Advantage:
 It reduces the cost of deep excavation and impervious material fill and
compaction.
 Decreases construction period.
 Reduce failure risks on excavation of deep cut off
Disadvantages:
 The cost of sheet metal is currently high
 It requires precision in driving sheet metals
 It has less efficiency in seepage controlling relative to positive cut off
 It requires concrete work in between sheet piles
 It has poor work man ship efficiency.
 Sheet metals will be misaligned is confront cobbles large size gravels.
 Risk of piping through the dam foundation relative to positive cut off.
 Partial cut off with u/s blanketing
The second option of such foundation is providing u/s impervious material blanketing with
partial cut off .In this project the extent of the pervious area of the reservoir is not clearly stated
.The only thing known is the geological condition of the foundation material. There for, it is
difficult to predict the permeable area of the reservoir and the possible amount of blanketing
work required.

 Positive cut off

Advantage:

 It reduces the seepage loss through the dam foundation.

 Reduce failure risks in piping through the dam foundation.
  Relatively high efficiency of workman ship.
Disadvantages:

 There may be collapsing problems in excavating such depth; hence it requires

berms during excavation for safety which leads cost increment.

Decision: Considering advantages and disadvantages among the above mentioned alternatives

Provision of positive cut off with impervious material is recommended.

A bottom width of the trench is provided to satisfy requirement of piping that is 10% to 30% of
hydraulic head .so we take an average 20%

Width = 0.2*20m = 4m and with side slope of 1:1 on both side.

3.2 Abutments
Left Abutment: - The left abutment of this dam project has relatively gentle to moderate slope
Right Abutment:-The right abutment has relatively steep slope that it forms cliff at some
portion

3.3 Core Material and its availability

According to the given information there is abundant material for impervious core (silt clay soil)
and sand mixed with gravel which can be used for shell material. Hence, the dam section can be
zoned earth dam.

3.4 Filter material and its availability

In order to prevent internal erosion of the embankment or foundations of the dam, chimney drain
with horizontal drainage filter is provided.

3.5 Dam height (H)

Dam height = Normal pool level (NPL) above river bed + water head over the spill way crest

+ Free board + settlement allowance.

 4.5.1. Normal pool level /NPL/ above the river bed
Height of normal pool above the lowest river bed = (NPL)-(Lower river bed)
Where: NPL =2542.00 masl
Lowest river bed level = 2522.00 masl
Height of normal pool = 2542.00 masl – 2522.00 masl =20m
4.5.2. Water head over the spill way crest
A simple broad crest weir is adopted. The spillage of water at 0.2m head intervals. The general
equation of the discharge over the broad crested weir is

Q=CLH3/2 Where Q= Discharge over the spill way=30m3/s

C= coefficient of discharge=1.67-1.84
L= crest length

We have done two trials to gate the safest economical depth and length

Crest Length L 12
Discharge C 1.7
Q=CLH3/2 30
Reservoir flood Routing For CL=12m
Capacity, Outflow,
S.No Elevation S(m3) Q(m3/s)
1 2542.0 0.00 0.00
2 2542.2 149514.27 1.82
3 2542.4 299028.53 5.16
4 2542.6 448542.80 9.48
5 2542.8 598057.06 14.60
6 2543.0 747571.33 20.40
7 2543.2 1066477.49 26.82
8 2543.4 1385383.64 33.79
9 2543.6 1704289.80 41.29
10 2543.8 2023195.96 49.27
11 2544.0 1594530.79 57.70
12 2544.2 2104750.09 66.57
13 2544.4 2614969.40 75.85

Table1 trial 1 spill way crest length 12meter

 Crest Length L 14
Discharge C 1.7
Q=CLH3/2 30

S.No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Table 3 trial 2 spill way crest length 14meter

Considering safety on one hand and economical construction of the spill way on the other side
adapt spillway crest length of 12m and the depth is 1.4m with free board.

3.5.1 Free board:

Free board is the margin above the estimated reservoir level at high flood, to be provided against
wave splash, spray and wind setup etc. and to give margin of safety over and above these factors.
The free board is calculated based on Steven Son formula, which is modified by Monitor as
shown below.

Dam height = Normal pool level (NPL) above river bed + water head over the spill way crest +
Free board + settlement allow

Fb=Hs+R+S (Steven Son formula)

Fb: Free board (m)

Hs: wave height = 0.032 √(VF) +0.76 – 0.24 F1/4,for F<32km(lecture slide of
embankement dam design and Analysis)
 V: wind velocity (km/hr)

F: Effective Fetch distance,

S: wind setup
R: Wave Run up=50%Hs
Calculation of the Fetch distance:

The fetch distance is calculated based on the given Topo map of the reservoir area. First the
central radial is selected by trial and error to achieve the maximum fetch length. This length is
lined relatively normal to the axis of the dam body and to reach the top most distance /contour
that will have water from the impoundment of the dam. Next to fixation of the central radial
other fetch lines are drawn up to 45 for both sides from the central radial spacing 5 among each
fetch line and their corresponding lengths are measured from the horizontal projection on the
central radial line. The calculations to obtain the effective fetch are summarized below:

Xi αi cosαi cos^2αi xi*cos^2αi Remark

746.37 0 1 1 746.37 central radial

407.61 5 0.996 0.9924 404.15 Left

323.50 10 0.985 0.9698 313.73 “

296.44 15 0.966 0.9330 276.58 “

266.01 20 0.940 0.8830 234.88 “

237.49 25 0.906 0.8214 195.07 “

216.65 30 0.866 0.7500 162.48 “

160.85 35 0.819 0.6710 88.24 “

140.85 40 0.766 0.5868 82.65 “

131.39 45 0.707 0.50 65.69 “

 603.50 5 0.996 0.9924 598.91 Right

538.49 10 0.985 0.9698 522.23 “

479.88 15 0.966 0.9330 477.73 “

483.15 20 0.940 0.8830 426.62 “

419.10 25 0.906 0.8214 344.23 “

380.20 30 0.866 0.7500 285.15 “

354.51 35 0.819 0.6710 237.88 “

329.61 40 0.766 0.5868 193.41 “

297.19 45 0.707 0.50 148.59 “

Sum 16.902 5804.59

Fetch 343.426

Table 3. Calculation of Fetch Distance.

Calculated effective fetch=0.34km, but adopt the minimum effective fetch to be 0.8km to have
reasonable wind velocity ratio.
 From USBR a wind velocity for design of small dams is 80km/hr is recommended. So Use wind
velocity V=80km/hr for wave height calculation.

Hs=

Hs = 0.032*√80*0.8+0.76-0.24*(0.8)0.25

Hs = 0.789m
So R = 0.5*789 = 0.3945m

Wind Setup (S) =

But the angle between the fetch and wind direction (α) not given, we assume zero angle and the
average reservoir depth over the fetch distance (D) is calculating from maximum and minimum
river bed level data.

So D = (2543.4-2522)/2=10.7m

Therefore S = = 0.0077m

Fb = Hs + R + S
= 0.789+0.3945+0.0077 = 1.19m, Take Freeboard of 1.2m

Hence, Total Dam Height =20+1.4+1.2=22.6m

Settlement allowance (st)
All embankment dams settle over a period of time after compaction. This is to be taken

Into account by keeping the construction crest level above the design crest level by the

Estimated settlement. Since the height is less than 30 m we consider 2% of the dam height is
taken as an allowance for settlement.

St = 0.02 x 22.6m =0.452m

Hence, total dam height = 22.6+ 0.42m ≈23m
Dam top level =2522.00+23=2545 masl and the crest length of the dam is 354.00m

3.6 Top width

The width (W) of the crest is governed by height of dam, importance of structure, width of
highway, construction procedure, access required either during construction or as a permanent
feature.

There are different recommendations by different literatures for top width of small dams

I.Determination of top width:

 By using USBR formula
W  0.2 * H  10, feet

 0.2 * 23  10
=14.6 feet =4.44m
  Japanes’ code
W (m)  3.6 * H 1 / 3  3

W (m)  3.6 * (23)1 / 3  3

=7.24m

 Empirical formula,(lewis,2002)
W (m)  H 0.5  1

W (m)  230.5  1

=5.79m

Since the most commonly method used is the USBR, the result obtained from this method is
adopted for the design purpose i. e 4.44m≈4.5m (take)

3.7 Embankment slopes and berms

The preliminary slopes have been decided from standard literatures and previously designed
dams. For the u/s the slope is fixed 3:1 and for the d/s the slope is fixed to be 2.5:1.(Garg)

Berms are provided to protect the d/s face from since the level increase the water pressure
decreases, provided that the sections meet the stability requirement. In addition to this for the u/s
slope Rip-raps is provided. Berms are provided at d/s side 11.5m height above the bottom and
3m width with 0.46m layer thickness (sherard et.al 1963). So we have 1 berms.

3.8 Impervious core

The dam is a zoned embankment dam with impervious central core composed of silt and clay
material. A central core has the advantage of providing of higher pressure at the contact b/n the
core and foundation thus reducing the possibility of the linkage and piping. The top level of the
core has been fixed to be 0.5m above the maximum water level. The core is fixed to have top
width of 3m and 23m bottom width with 1:1 (V; H) u/s and d/s.

Core height = 20+0.5=20.5

Sherard et al. (1963) suggested the following criteria. Core width of 30% to 50% of the water
head have proved satisfactory for any soil type and dam height. We take 30%

W= 0.3*20=6m
 3.9 Shell materials and slope protections
Relatively pervious materials are used as u/s and d/s shell zones of the embankment for
increment of stability and protect the core.

3.10 Transition
So to avoid the migration of core materials to the coarser zone (shell material), 0.5m
thickness transition which satisfy the filter criteria is provided b/n the core and shell
material in the upstream side of the dam.

3.11 Slope protections

Rock rip-raps are provided for u/s dam face. This protects the U/s face from erosion during
draw dawn and wave actions

a. / U/S Slope

The upstream slope has to be protected against the erosive actions of waves by dumped
Rock, rip-rap hand pack which is large enough to dissipate energy and strong resistance for
abrasion and durable enough to with stand for long period. The riprap is extended from the
crest of the dam to bottom level. Laid by hand in a more or less definite pattern with
minimum amount of voids and with top surface relatively smooth. In addition to u/s of the
dam, riprap is provided at the top of the dam. The thickness of the riprap should be 0.3m
for wave height of 0.789m and below the riprap gravels for transition is not required,
because the shell material acts as the transition material, since the shell consists of gravel
material also.

b. D/S Slope

Downstream slope governed by the fill material. The zoned dams with downstream shell of
rock or cobble fill do not need additional slop protection. Slope protection is required for
all conditions against erosion by wind and rainfall. If not protected, gully can develop. A
simple way to provide protection for soil slopes like this is to plant grasses.
 3.12 . Seepage control Analysis and drainage of embankment
Seepage occurs through the body of earthen dam and also through their pervious
foundation. The amount of seepage has to be controlled in all conservation dams and the
effect of seepage (that is position of phreatic line) has to be controlled for all dams, in order
to avoid their failures

3.12.1 Seepage control through the embankment

Control of seepage through the embankment that is accomplished using the preventive and
curative approaches. In the first approaches impervious central core has been provided so
as to reduce the quantity of seepage through the dam. In the second approach drainage
system is provided such that seepage forces will not be able to cause soil migration. This is
taken by the provision of filter.
A.Filter Design and downstream drainage arrangement
Before providing the filter material b/n the core material and shell material let as check the
requirement of filter material using the following criteria
D15 (shell)/5≤D85 (core). If this criteria is true filter is not required.
From the gradation curve D15 (shell) =1.5mm
D85 (core) =0.045
1.5/5≥0.045
0.3mm≥0.045
It show that there is core material migration towards the shell and hence to prevent
internal erosion or piping of soil in embankment or foundations of the dam, chimney drain
with horizontal drainage filters, the rock toe and drainage or trench are provided.
B. Gradation Design of filters
The gradation of filters is design based on national engineering hand book united state
departments of agriculture (USDA), natural resource conservation service procedures. And
hence determine filter gradation limits using the following steps.
Step -1: plot the gradation curve of the base soil, by using the given sieve size and
percentage finer.

Table: 4 given sample data.

Sieve No Sieve Size Percentage finer

4 4.75 95

10 2 90

20 0.84 85

40 0.42 75

60 0.25 60

140 0.105 45

200 0.075 30

Fig: 1 sample gradation before regarding

Step-2: check if base soil contains no gravel (>No 4sieve size)
As shown in the gradation curve above the base soil contains gravel i.e >No 4.Therefore, the
sample is re-graded as follows: This is done by multiplying with conversion factor, (1.05)
taking 95 to be 100 for the case of re-grading.
Table: 5 Regarded sample
Sieve No Sieve Size Percentage finer

4 4.75 100

10 2 94.73684

20 0.84 89.47368

40 0.42 78.94737

60 0.25 63.15789

140 0.105 47.36842

200 0.075 31.57895

Step-3: prepare adjusted gradation curves for base soils that have particles larger than
the No 4 sieve

Fig: 2 sample gradation after regarding

 Fig: 3 Comparison of the two curves
Step-4: place the base soil in the category determined by the percentage passing the No-200
sieve from the re-graded gradation curve data according to (Table 26-1)
Since the corresponding % passing=31.58 is in the range of 15-39, the category is 3rd category

Step-5: Determine the max allowable D15 for the filter (Table 26–2).

 40  A 
For the third category, MaxD15   4 * D85  0.7   0.7
 40  15 

By interpolation from the regarded sample table (From Table: 2

D85=0.66mm

A=31.58 (From Table: 2)

 40  31.58 
MaxD15   4 * 0.66  0.7   0.7  1.355mm Say this control point-1
 40  15 

Step-6: Determine the minimum allowable D15 in accordance with (Table-3)

Since we don’t have significant D15 passing, take the minimum possible value=0.1mm from the
table above. Control point 2.
Step 7 : Preventing the use of gap graded filter materials by narrowing the width of the allowable
filter design band by determining the ratio of max.D15 to min D15 sizes use table 26-4 i.e. (
max.D15/min.D15 less than or equal to 5 )

=maxD15/minD15<=5

= 1.355/0.1=13.55 which needs adjustment

Since the main purpose of the filter is to serve as a filter material the minimum D15 is
kept the same but some modification for the maximum D15 value.
Max D15/0.1=5

 Max D15=0.5

Step 8: To prevent gap-graded filters both sides of the design filter band will have a coefficient
of
Uniformity (CU), defined as:

D60
CU  6
D10

max .D15 0.5

   0.42
First calculate a max. D10 by using 1.2 1.2

D 60
 6  D 60  0.42  6  2.5mm
Second calculate A Max. Allowable D60 by using 0.42
This is control point 3
 Determine the min. allowable D60 size by using
Max.D 60 max .D60 2.5
 5  Min.D 60    0.5mm
Min.D 60 5 5

This is control point 4

Step 9: Determine the Min D5 & Max. D100 sizes of the filter according to table 26-5

Min. D5 value = 0.075mm (Table 26.5)

This is control point 5
Max. D100 value = 3 inch or 75mm
This is again control point 6

Step 10: Determine Max. D90 & Min. D10 to minimize segregation during
construction.
 min .D15 0. 1
First calculate Min. D10 by using Min.D10    0.083 , which is less than 0.5
1.2 1.2
then the Max.D90 = 20mm.

This is control point 7

Step 11: connect control points4,2 &5 to form a partial design for the fine side of the filter band
.Connect control point 6,7,3 & 1for the coarse side of the filter band.
Connect control points 4, 2 & 5 to form partial design of the fine side of the filter band. &
connect control points 6, 7, 3 & 1 to form design of the coarse side of the filter band.

Table: 6 Filter act as filter

Finer limit Remark

Control points size percent finer

4 0.5 60 Minimum

2 0.1 15 Minimum

5 0.075 5 Minimum

coarser limit

size percent finer

6 75 100 Max

7 20 90 max

3 2.5 60 Max

1 0.5 15 Max
 Design filter
band

Fig: 4 Gradation curve for filter material acting as filter

It is between the two curves that the filter sand should be laid to be selected as filter material for
this site.
Design of filter to act as drainage
The same tables and procedures are followed with the exception of adjusting the minimum D15
by keeping the maximum D15 size for the case of filter to act as drainage. Accordingly some
steps will have different magnitude for those below step seven. Hence further calculation is to
continue from step 7.
Step 7: Preventing the use of gap graded filter materials by narrowing the width of the allowable
filter

Design band by determining the ratio of max.D15 to min D15 sizes use table 26-4 i.e.
(Max.D15/min.D15 less than or equal to 5)
Maximum D15=1.355 (look for step-6 above)
=maxD15/minD15<=5
= 1.355/0.1=13.55 which needs adjustment
Since the main purpose of the filter is to serve as a drainage material the minimum D15 is to be
changed by keeping the maximum D15 value the same.
 1.355/ Min D15=5
Min D15=0.27mm, Say control point 2
Step 8: To prevent gap-graded filters both sides of the design filter band will have a coefficient
of
Uniformity (CU), defined as:

D60
CU  6
D10
max .D15 1.355
   1.13mm
First calculate a max. D10 by using 1. 2 1. 2

Second calculate A Max. Allowable D60 by using;

D 60
 6  MaxD60  1.13  6  6.78mm
1.13
This is control point 3.
Determine the min. allowable D60 size by using;
Max . D 60 max .D 60 6 .78
 5  Min .D 60    1 . 355 mm
Min .D 60 5 5

This is control point 4

Step 9: Determine the Min D5 & Max. D100 sizes of the filter according to table 26-5
Min. D5 value = 0.075mm (Table 26.5).This is control point 5
Max. D100 value = 3 inch or 75mm .This is again control point 6
Step 10: Determine Max. D90 & Min. D10 to minimize segregation during construction.
First calculate Min. D10 by using

min .D15 0.27

Min.D10    0.23mm
1.2 1.2 ,

Which is less than 0.5 then the Max.D90 = 20mm. This is control point 7

Step 11: connect control points 4,2 & 5 to form a partial design for the fine side of the filter band
.Connect control point 6,7,3 & 1for the coarse side of the drainage filter band.
 Table: 7 Filter act as drainage
Finer limit Remark

Control points size percent finer

4 1.355 60 Min

2 0.27 15 Min

5 0.075 5 Min

coarser limit

size percent finer

6 75 100 Max

7 20 90 max

3 6.78 60 Max

1 1.355 15 Max

Design
filter band

Fig: 5 Gradation curve for filter material acting as drainage

The horizontal filter material is expected to be between the two curves (the finer and coarser
limits of figure 5 above) to be used as a drainage material.
  Thickness and top level of the chimney drain
Consider safety and economy we adopted 1m chimney drain thickness and chimney drain extend
from the horizontal filter to 75% of the head difference b/n full reservoir level and maximum
draw down level

Top level of chimney drain= 0.75(FRL-MDDL) +MDDL

Where FRL=2542.00masl

MDDL= 2535masl

Top level of chimney drain=0.75(2542-2535) +2535

=2540.25masl or 18.25m

 Horizontal drainage filter

The horizontal drainage filter is providing b/n foundation and the dam body so as to safely
remove the seepage from chimney drain and from the foundation to the drainage trench.
Considering the head of reservoir water and pervious foundation nominal 1.5m (Hs in b/n 0
& 1.2m (sherard et.al 1963)) thickness is provided.

 Rock toe
In order to improve the drainage in the dam body and to minimize the effect of tail water on
d/s side of the dam 25% of reservoir head rock toe is provided.
Rock toe height at maximum dam height
=25%*H H=23 0.25*23 = 5.75m = 6m
 Drainage trench
To collect through horizontal filter foundation and runoff from d/s side of the dam and
discharge it away from the dam,0.3m thickness dry stone pitching (that is bedding on 0.2m
gravel thickness drainage) trench of depth 1m with bottom width of 0.5m and side slope of
1:1 provided at d/s toe of the dam. Both side of the drain join to the stream and its bed slope
varies with OGL.
 B) Seepage Control through foundation (Cut off Trench)
The amount of water entering in to the foundation is controlled by adapting positive impervious
cutoff made of silt and clay material (i.e. the same property with core material).
A bottom width of the trench is provided to satisfy the requirement of piping that is 10% to 30% of
hydraulic head .so we take an average 20% of water hydraulic head

Width = 0.2*20m =4m and with side slope of 1:1 on both side.

4 Determination of phreatic line and Discharge through the Dam

Line of seepage or phreatic line or saturation line is defined as the line with in the dam section
which there are positive hydrostatic pressures in the dam. The hydrostatic pressures on the
phreatic line are equal to the atmospheric pressure and hence equal to zero.

It is therefore absolutely essential to determine the position of phreatic line as its position will
enable as to determine following things.

 It gives as a divide line b/n the dry(moisture) and submerged

 The seepage line determination helps as to insure that it does not cut stream face of the
dam. This is extremely necessary for preventing softening or sloughing of the dam.
Determination of floe line and seepage quantity have been estimated using A.Casgrabde for
drawing Parabola to determine the upper line seepage can be cause because our dam is earth
dam with inclined and horizontal drains on impervious foundation.
 Fig. 6 Embankment Dam Section with Phreatic Line.

4.1 Stability analyses

Earth dams are less rigid and hence more susceptible to failure. Earthen dams may fail, like other
engineering structures due to improper design, faulty constructions, lack of maintenance, etc. The various
causes leading to the failure of earth dams can be grouped in to the following three classes.
 Hydraulic failure i.e over topping of dams
 Seepage failure i.e piping through foundation and dam body
 Structure failure i.e slide in embankment and foundations
There are various methods for computing the stability of earth fill dams. In general, these methods are
based on the shear strength of the soil and certain assumptions with respect to the character of an
embankment failure.
The proposed section of the main dam will be analyzed for stability for the different loading conditions.
a) Tentative sections of the dams:
The preliminary section of the dam as determined in the previous sections is used as tentative section of
the dam. The cross section considered at river bed location where there will be maximum height of dam
as shown on below;

b) Design shear strength parameters and densities for various zones:

The determination of engineering properties if the soil samples are shown below for different
zones materials
Table 7. Materials parameters to be used for different zones of dam

 Conditions of Analysis/Loading conditions:

The stability analysis is carried out for the following conditions with the suggested
minimum factor of safety (USACE).

 Methods of stability analysis

The slope stability investigation of the proposed dam should have been carried out using
the Slopes/W computer program based on the limit equilibrium methods. The limit
equilibrium method, which satisfy both force and moment equilibrium conditions has
been used in the analysis. Both Spencer and Morgenstern-Price methods satisfy both
force and moment equilibrium conditions and shall be used to obtain the factors of safety.
The pore pressure that would develop within the body of the dam and in the foundation
under steady state seepage has been estimated with the help of the SEEP/W software
.These pore pressure in terms of head shall then be incorporated in the slope stability
analysis using Slope/W. In our case we did not get this software.
There are other methods of stability analysis. One of the analyses is Bishop Methods. It
illustrated in the table below
 Material properties of both the embankment and the foundation
γ fou = 17.9KN/ m3 Cemb = 17.8KN/m3

Cfound = 8KN/m3 γ emb = 10KN/m3

øfound = 330 ø emb = 260

Embankment slope of (3:1)

 We Assume 10 slices with their corresponding width, height share both in the
embankment and in foundation ,base inclination  (the magnitudes are written in the
computation table)
 Use simplified bishop method
 Analysis is about to be performed at the end of construction case.
The shear strength of both soil are characterized by total friction angle greater than zero. For this
specific question all water pressure are zero, because it is assumed that there is no external water.
We compute the stability of the slope (Factor of safety) for the assume slice for end of
construction case.

Slices 6 through 10 contain both embankment and foundation soils, and these slices were divided
into two portions for calculating the slice weights. The average height in each soil was
determined and used to compute the area and weight for that portion of the slice. The weights of
two parts of the slices were then added to compute the total slice weight. The bottoms of slices 1
through 5 are located in the embankment soil and were assigned the shear strength properties of
the embankment. The bottoms of slices 6 through 10 are located in the foundation, and these
slices were assigned the shear strength properties of the foundation soil.
 Computations for the final value of the factor of safety (F = 1.81) are shown in the table. The
magnitude of the factor of safety can be directly read from the following picture attached next to
this page.

Computations were also performed for three trial values for the factor of safety: 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0.
The computed values for each trial value are plotted versus the assumed values in Figure. As can
be seen in the figure, the computed value of F varied only slightly with changes in the assumed
value.The final value of the factor of safety is read at the point where the line drawn with trial
value and 450 line drawn from the origin

Figure shows Slope used for calculations for end-of-construction stability condition

F=1.223

45o line

Figure shows Slope used for calculations for end-of-construction stability condition

An embankment dam under construction or at the end of construction should have to have a
factor of safety 1.5 or greater [both for the upstream and for the down stream slope] (P. Novak,
pp71) hence some adjustment should be taken in order to better the factor of safety.
Properties of thee embankment Properties of the foundation
emn KN
=  18 m3/ g foun= 17.8 KN/m3
Cem KN/
ban= 8 m3 Cfound= 10 KN/m3
emb degre
an= 33 e

Slope of
slip
Weight surface
() MFor different [CL+Wtan]/MFor different
Heig degree factor of safety ,F factor of safety ,F
Sliding Slic ht Slice Total C, 
2
surfac e Width (Hav area(M Emb/Fou Weight(w L=B/cos KN/M Degr
3
e in No (B),m g)m ) nd ) W sin   ee 1 1.21 1.22186 F=1 F=1.5 F=2
1 5 7 35.00 626.50 626.50 48 465.40 7.47 8 33 0.0000 0.7231 0.7226 3182.30054 3231.91358 3234.2442
embankment

2 2.25 13 29.25 523.58 523.58 43 356.93 3.08 8 33 0.7912 0.7809 0.7804 2309.71844 2340.32013 2341.75421
3 2.25 17 38.25 684.68 684.68 37 411.87 2.82 8 33 0.8514 0.8423 0.8419 1766.13794 1785.28022 1786.17504
4 12 20 240.00 4296.00 4296.00 31 2211.59 14.00 8 33 0.9023 0.8945 0.8942 1696.97868 1711.80029 1712.49163
5 9 22 198.00 3544.20 3544.20 24 1440.87 9.85 8 33 0.9492 0.9430 0.9427 1178.47224 1186.18256 1186.54138
16.71 167.10 2991.09 790.900864 792.442248 792.513638
6 10 1.29 12.90 230.91 3222.00 18 995.16 10.51 10 26 0.9619 0.9600 0.9599
12 108.00 1933.20 827.072361 828.040283 828.085077
7 9 3 27.00 483.30 2416.50 11 460.86 9.17 10 26 0.9883 0.9871 0.9871
Foundation

9 90.00 1611.00 602.794529 603.049221 603.060998

8 10 4 40.00 716.00 2327.00 4 162.24 10.02 10 26 1.0000 0.9996 0.9996
4.8 43.20 773.28 584.987317 584.676667 584.662316
9 9 3.2 28.80 515.52 1288.80 -5 -112.27 9.03 10 26 0.9932 0.9937 0.9937
2.78 27.80 497.62 454.218596 453.476001 453.441736
10 10 2.22 22.20 397.38 895.00 -15 -231.53 10.35 10 26 0.9569 0.9585 0.9586
6161.13 SUM 10851.44 11174.6381 11190.39

1.76138 1.81383958 1.816396

Table 8-stablity analysis.
Stability analysis for seismic
Use of the pseudostatic methods of analysis is recommended for reasonable well-built dam on
stable soil and rock foundation, if estimated peak ground acceleration are less than 0.2g.so there
is no given estimated peak ground Acceleration data. So we cannot do analysis.
Summary of stability
 Stability under seepage , under draw drawn and during and end of construction
The phreatic line show that the seepage is drain in Chimney drain as show in the above Figure.

 Stability three condition

Loading Condition FOS minimum Result for u/s

Three conditions 1.5 1.813

The above results are taken as Acceptable for the dam X-section at deepest point

5 Spillway Design
The spillway is used to dispose the routed flood to downstream from the dam. Spillway is constructed as a
safety measure against overtopping and the consequent damages and failures.

5.1 Location and Geology of the spillway site

The spillway is proposed to locate on the right side of the dam. There is a gully on this side and the
spillover flood will join this river.

5.2 Spillway Type Selections

The type of spillway selection depends on
-Type of dam
-Topographical condition
-Simplicity for construction
-Adaptability for foundation
Considering the above factors, chute spillway is selected for this site as the topographic nature is steeper,
and also chute spillway is simple for construction.

5.3 Spillway Component

The Spillway components are
1. Entrance channel (Approach channel);
2. Control Structure;
3. Chute channel (Waterway);
4. Energy dissipation work (Terminal structure); and
5. Exit channel
 6 Outlet work
Outlet helps regulate or release water impounded by the dam. In our case the out late is
proposed the left side of stream. Because we get an appropriate command area in the left of
stream.
Component
1 intake structure of out let
2 Access foot bridge
3 water way(conveyance structure)
4 control
5 Energy dissipating

7 Dam Instrumentation
The primary purpose of dam instrumentation is to provide data useful for determining whether or
not an embankment or foundation is behaving in accordance with engineering predictions.
The number and type of instrumentation differ widely from dam to dam. In this particular case
,staff gauge and monuments are provided.
1. Staff gauge
 Used to measure reservoir water level and spillway discharge level
 To measure the level of the out flows in the spillway 3.8m height staff gauge constructed
from the reinforced concrete is installed on the spill way wall at the co
 ntrol structure.
 Similarly to measure the reservoir water , staff gages, constructed from reinforced
concrete at 1m vertical interval between full reservoir level and minimum draw down
level shall be installed on the u/s slope of the dam.

2. Monuments
 To monitor the movement of the dam a total (4) monuments are to be provide along the
crest of the dam

8 Reference
 Amhara National Regional state Water Resource Development Bureau, Small scale
Irrigation project design report.
 Irrigation Engineering and Hydraulic structure Text Books,Garg
 USBR design small of dams
 Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (Dr. Arora,2004)
 Lecture Slide.