The safety behavior of agricultural reservoirs due to raising the embankment

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate safety evaluation of agricultural reservoirs due to raising the embankment. The seepage analysis and large-scale model test were performed to compare and analyze the pore water pressure(PWP), leakage quantity, settlement and piping phenomenon in the inclined core type and the vertical core type embankments. The PWP after raising the embankment showed smaller than before raising the embankment and the stability for piping after raising the embankment. The allowable seepage quantity and the allowable leakage for the steady state and transient conditions is within the range of safe management standard. After raising the embankment in the inclined core, there was no infiltration by leakage. For the vertical core, the PWP showed a large change by faster infiltration of pore water than in the inclined core. In a rapid drawdown, inclined core was remained stable but the vertical core showed a large change in PWP. Settlement after raising the embankment showed larger amounts of settlement than before raising the embankment. The leakage quantity before raising the embankment and the inclined core type showed no leakage. From the result, an instrument system that can accurately estimate a change of PWP shall be established for the rational maintenance and stabilization of raising the embankment for agricultural reservoirs.