Laboratory Investigation on the Effect of Horizontal Drain Length and Thickness on Steady Seepage Flow Through Homogeneous Earth Dam

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Abstract

Homogeneous earth dam is constructed with the optimized use of local materials, to control and store runoffs. One of the most important destructive factors, in this structure, is the seepage through dam body and below its foundation. There are some methods to prevent the internal erosion, among which the horizontal toe drain is the most common alternative. In this research, the effect of applying various thicknesses of horizontal drain in laboratory model and within the proposed range of lengths derived from the analytical relationships was investigated. Results showed that the increase in thickness and length led to significant increase in downstream slope cover while the effect of thickness has not been considered in similar analytical relationships. In addition, the seepage rate would increase dramatically with the increase in drain thickness but the rate of this increase would decline if the thickness exceeded the proposed maximum limit of this research.        

Keywords

References

Anonymus, 2003. United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). Design of Small Dams. Oxford and IBH, New Delhi.
Belkacem M and Abderrahmane B, 2008. A design chart for positioning a drainage blanket in an earth dam. EJGE, Technical Note, Vol. 13.
 
Chahar BR, 2004. Determination of length of horizontal drain in homogeneous earth dams. ASCE, J Irrig & Drain Eng 130(6): 530-536.
 
Fell R, Wan CF, Cyganiewicz J and Foster M, 2003. Time for development of internal erosion and piping in embankment dams. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 129(4): 307-314.
 
Foster M, Fell R and Spannagle M, 2000. The statistics of embankment dam failures and accidents. Can Geotech J 37(5): 1000-1024.
 
Hartono S, 2002. Prediction of transient head on seepage path using boundary fitted coordinate(BFC) system. MSc thesis, Dept of Civil and Envir Eng, Louisiana State University, Louisiana.
 
Mattsson H , Hellström JG I and Lundström TS, 2008. On internal erosion in embankment dams: a literature survey of the phenomenon and the prospect to model it numerically. Research Report, Luleå  University of Technology, Sweden.
 
Middlebrooks TA, 1953. Earth dam practice in the United States. Trans Am Soc Civ Eng 118: 697-722.
 
Mishra GC and Parida BP, 2006. Earth dam with toe drain on an impervious base. ASCE Pp: 379-388. Int Y Geomechanics, November/September.
 
 
 

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics