Abstract
Several factors affect the stability of earth dam during sudden drawdowns such as permeability and mechanical properties of soil, upstream side slope, drawdown ratio, and drawdown rate. This paper investigates the influence of shell permeability on earth dam upstream slope stability and its role in the change of pore water pressure at different locations of the embankment during the sudden drawdown, using different limit equilibrium methods. To accomplish the objective of this study, (Geo Studio 2012 Software) as one of the powerful geotechnical programs was used for the modeling and numerical analysis. The study shows that decreasing in the shell permeability resulted in the reduction of pore water pressure dissipation and variation of shell hydraulic conductivity plays a vital role in the overall stability of the upstream slope under rapid drawdown conditions.
Highlights
Slope stability analysis of an earth dam is always focused on in the construction stages and design to ensure safe operation during its life
Et al, (2013) studied rapid drawdown condition under the effect of horizontal drains on the stability of the upstream slope, the results revealed that the horizontal drains in the upstream shell of the dam has a positive impact on the stability of the dam and is cost-effective
This study deals with the effect of shell permeability on the stability of the upstream slope during sudden drawdown
Summary
Slope stability analysis of an earth dam is always focused on in the construction stages and design to ensure safe operation during its life. Sudden drawdown is the worst case for upstream slope. The upstream slope may be destabilized as a result of the fast reduction of water level in the reservoir and slow dissipation of water. Berilgen, (2017) emphasized that the stability of the submerged slopes during sudden drawdown depends on how fast the water dissipates. Mishal and Khayyum (2018) derived an empirical equation to find earth dam safety factors for similar geometries and soil properties without slope stability analysis, they assumed different soil parameters to derive the formula and compared the results of the formula with the results of GeoStudio, there was a good agreement between the results and the standard error was 0.0714 Berilgen, (2017) emphasized that the stability of the submerged slopes during sudden drawdown depends on how fast the water dissipates. Mishal and Khayyum (2018) derived an empirical equation to find earth dam safety factors for similar geometries and soil properties without slope stability analysis, they assumed different soil parameters to derive the formula and compared the results of the formula with the results of GeoStudio, there was a good agreement between the results and the standard error was 0.0714
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