Abstract
In the current research, the mechanical behavior of plastic concrete in cut-off walls of embankment dams has been investigated. To do so, several triaxial compression tests have been carried out on the specimens with various mix designs under different confining pressures. It has been observed that the compressive strength of such a material increases dramatically with the confining pressures applied on the samples. Moreover, the material behavior is substantially dependent on the confining pressure values; so that, as the confining pressure increases, the material behavior intends to be more ductile. Furthermore, a parametric study has been done to investigate the influence of mix design on these materials. The results showed that the strength and elasticity modulus of plastic concrete increase with the increase of cement factor and decrease of bentonite content. However, the rate of increase is apparently dependent on the mix design changes.
Highlights
The seepage of water through the earth body of rock-fill and embankment dams as well as their foundations has been one of the most significant issues being regarded as an important factor involved in designing these huge constructions
It can be observed that the increase of confining pressure causes an increase in the compressive strength and increases the elastic modulus of plastic concrete specimens
The effect of mix design, confining pressure, and age of the plastic concrete specimens on the strength and deformability parameters as well as the failure modes of this type of material was investigated
Summary
The seepage of water through the earth body of rock-fill and embankment dams as well as their foundations has been one of the most significant issues being regarded as an important factor involved in designing these huge constructions. One of the most common methods utilized to control and minimize the seepage is making use of a plastic concrete cut-off wall constructed in weak foundations of earth dams. Using such a material for construction of cut-off walls is vital especially for those located on weak foundations in seismic regions as assessed by Pashang Pisheh et al.[1]. Plastic concrete comprises of sandgravel aggregates, cement, Na-bentonite and water This type of concrete has widespread applications in the structure of cut-off walls of the earth dams. ICOLD recommends that the elastic modulus of plastic concrete should be between 4 to 5 times of the elastic modulus of the surrounding soil [3]
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