Geomaterial Characterization and Stability Assessment of Hydraulic Fill Dams
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 2
Abstract
In this research study, the stability of a hydraulic fill dam located in a newly declared seismically hazardous zone in north Texas was evaluated, incorporating the effect of geomaterial variability existing in the dam. Hydraulic fill dams exhibit highly variable geomaterial conditions due to the method of construction and are prone to stability issues during earthquakes. Hence, a comprehensive study was needed to account for such variations in geomaterial properties and assess the stability of the dam rather than performing routine analysis using representative geomaterial properties for the shell, core, and foundation of the dam. Cone penetration tests were performed on the dam to study geomaterial properties and their variabilities. These results were used to develop three-dimensional (3D) visualization models using kriging analysis. The geomaterial properties obtained from the visualization models were subsequently used in the slope stability analyses. The developed visualization models depicted the variation of geomaterial properties within the dam. The use of the visualization models has led to the development of an innovative approach for performing stability analyses of earthen dams with high geomaterial variability.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research was conducted as part of an ongoing research project (Grant No. GCS # 2015-779) with the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD). The authors would like to acknowledge Mr. Louie Verreault, Mr. Jason Gehrig, Ms. Dorota Koterba, and Mr. David Marshall of TRWD for their assistance with various research activities related to testing and for their assistance in coordinating various groups. The software support provided by GeoStudio for the slope stability studies is acknowledged. The authors would like to acknowledge the NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) program funded “Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI)” site at Texas A&M University, College Station Award No. 1464489 (Phase I) and Award No. 2017796 (Phase III), Program Director: Dr. Gregory Reed, Dr. Prakash Balan, and Dr. Andre Marshall.
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Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 2 • February 2021
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 31, 2020
Accepted: Jul 14, 2020
Published online: Nov 20, 2020
Published in print: Feb 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Apr 20, 2021
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