Investigation of the stress state in the clay core of an earth dam

Abstract

1. Consolidation of a vertical clay core in an earth dam located in a narrow canyon under unfavorable conditions causes a considerable change of the stress state of the dam during the initial period of operation, which can lead to the appearance of a weakened zone in the lower part of the core and to the development of cracks at the dam crest. 2. In view of the complexity of evaluating the stress state of the core of a high earth dam it seems reasonable to conduct large-scale model investigations.