Abstract
Seepage flux is very important in many hydraulic projects such as in the upper reservoir of a pumped storage power station because of its effect on economic benefits. However, upper reservoirs with a relatively high altitude are generally located above the groundwater level; thus, their leakage is difficult to estimate accurately. Here, using steady seepage theory and Darcy’s law, we propose a simplified calculation method to estimate the leakage of slope-wall rock-fill dams with a horizontal blanket. Using a one-dimensional governing equation for unsaturated seepage flows with the assumption of porous continuous media, formulas are derived for calculating the seepage flux of the dam in a steady state with different groundwater levels, which are mainly divided into two situations: those that are lower or higher than the bottom of the horizontal blanket. Then, two engineering examples are developed to assess the proposed method; the relative errors between the analytical results and numerical results are less than 10%. The results obtained from other analytical methods introduced by other researchers are also compared with our numerical results. The comparison results show that the proposed method is reliable and can be used for the estimation of reservoir leakage in situations where rapid results are needed, such as benefit assessments and safety evaluations.
Highlights
Rock-fill dams account for a large proportion of dams, due to their convenient supply of materials and few geological condition requirements
This study proposed a simplified calculation method for estimating the leakage of a slope-wall rock-fill dam with a horizontal blanket in a steady state, mainly based on Darcy’s law and the assumption of porous continuous media
The shapes of the slope wall and blanket, dam height, and dam slope ratios are considered in the proposed method
Summary
Rock-fill dams account for a large proportion of dams, due to their convenient supply of materials and few geological condition requirements. Speaking, the seepage calculation of a rock-fill dam involves solving a basic seepage equation with known definite conditions (initial conditions and boundary conditions) to obtain the seepage elements of dams, such as seepage flux, which is an important indicator for the state of dams during their operating period. Based on the generalized equivalent continuum model, Chen, et al [16] established a finite element model of a high face rock-fill dam under complex hydraulic conditions and analyzed the seepage characteristics in the dam area, including the seepage flux, seepage gradient, etc. In this study, based on Darcy’s law and the assumption of porous continuous media, a simplified calculation method is proposed to estimate the seepage flux of slope-wall rock-fill dams with a horizontal blanket in a steady state. Two engineering examples are used to validate the proposed method by comparing the results of the proposed method with those of other analytical methods and a numerical method
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