The joint influence of cavities presence and rapid drawdown condition on discharge rate through earth dams

Al-Ateya, H; Ahangar Asr, A

Abstract

Seepage measurement and control is one of the most significant considerations in designing and safety of earth
dams. This numerical study aims to simulate the influence of cavities presence on seepage through earth dams
taking into account rapid drawdown conditions. A series of two-dimensional finite element models were analysed
using PLAXIS 2D software to examine the influence of various factors related to cavities which included (cavity
shape and cavity position in horizontal and vertical directions). Hardening Soil and Mohr-Coulomb were adopted
for modelling the behaviour of embankment and sub-soil. A single cavity in various position and depths in the
subsoil of upstream and downstream slopes was considered in these simulations. The results of the analyses
showed that the existence of cavities beneath the upstream side considerably increases the discharge rate through
earth dam compared to their existence beneath downstream. The results of the numerical simulation also indicated
that variation of the location of the cavities in the horizontal direction is more effective than the changes in position
in the vertical direction, as well the cavity shape has an insignificant effect on flow rates through the dam.

Citation

Al-Ateya, H., & Ahangar Asr, A. (2019, April). The joint influence of cavities presence and rapid drawdown condition on discharge rate through earth dams. Presented at 26th Annual Conference of the UK Association for Computational Mechanics (UKACM), City University London, UK

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: 26th Annual Conference of the UK Association for Computational Mechanics (UKACM)
• Conference Location: City University London, UK
• Start Date: Apr 10, 2019
• End Date: Apr 12, 2019
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 13, 2019
• Related Public URLs: https://ukacm.org/
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference