Behavior of Concrete-Faced Rockfill Dams during Initial Impoundment
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 8
Abstract
Centrifuge tests to investigate the behavior during initial reservoir filling of a concrete faced rockfill dam (CFRD) with face slab stiffnesses that vary by a factor of about two are described. The two centrifuge models exhibited similar deformations at the crest and along the face slab, with crest settlements averaging (%) and maximum face slab deformations averaging (%). The centrifuge test results suggest that the face slab stiffness had little effect on deformations, at least for the range of stiffnesses examined here. A parametric study of transition (supporting) zone stiffness was performed using a numerical model calibrated using the centrifuge results. The numerical results indicated that face slab deformation is more influenced by transition zone stiffness than face slab stiffness, supporting the centrifuge results. Deformation measurements for 25 in-service CFRDs (including six Korean CFRDs—one of which was used as the basis for the centrifuge model dam) are presented and compared with the experimental and numerical results. The centrifuge experiments exhibited crest settlements similar to the Korean CFRDs; however, the centrifuge models exhibited considerably larger maximum face slab deflections. The larger values measured in the centrifuge tests likely resulted from some experimental limitations. These limitations, as well as suggestions for improving future centrifuge studies of CFRDs, are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank the editor, Dr. Camilo Marulanda, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism of the manuscript. Their efforts improved the quality of the paper.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 8 • August 2009
Pages: 1070 - 1081
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 1, 2008
Accepted: Dec 22, 2008
Published online: Jul 15, 2009
Published in print: Aug 2009
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