MODULE-2

Earthen Dam
An earthen dam is a structure built of natural material with the objective to retain water. It
consists mainly of an earth embankment (dike) constructed across a valley where there is a
seasonal or permanent flow of water.

3.1.1. Design criteria of earthen dam

An earth dam must be safe and stable during phases of construction and operation of the
reservoir. The practical criteria for the design of earth dams may be stated briefly as follows:1. The embankment must be safe against overtopping during occurrence of the inflow design
flood by the provision of sufficient spillway and out let works capacity.
2. The dam must have sufficient free board so that it is not overtopped by wave action.
3. The seepage line should be well within the downstream face so that no sloughing of the slope
takes place.
4. Seepage flow through the embankment, foundation and abutments must be controlled by
suitable design provisions so that no internal erosion takes place.
5. There should be no opportunity for the free passage of water from upstream to the downstream
either through the dam or through the foundation.
6. The portion of the dove stream of the impervious core should be properly drained.
7. The upstream and downstream slopes should be so design that they are safe during and
immediately after the construction.
8. The downstream slope should be so designed that it is safe during steady seepage case under
full reservoir condition.
9. The upstream slope should be stable during rapid drain down condition.
10. The upstream and downstream slopes of the dam should be flat enough so that shear stress
induced in the foundation is enough less than the shear strength of the material in the foundation
to ensure a suitable factor of safety.
11. The dam as a whole should be earth quake resistant.
12. The upstream slope must be protected against erosion by wave action and the crest and
downstream slope must be protected against erosion due to wind and rain.

3.1.2. Design of earthen dam components

1. Top-width The crest width of an earthen dam depends on:a. Nature of the embankment materials and minimum allowable percolation distance through the
embankment at the normal reservoir level.
b. Height of the structure.
c. Width of highway on the top of the dam.
d. Importance of the structure.
e. Practicability of construction.
f. Protective against earth quake forces.
Following formulas are some of the empirical expression for the top width (b) of an earth dam in
terms of the height Z of the dam:
b = Z + 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For very low dams.
5
b = 0.55Z1/2 + 0.2Z - - - - - - - - For dams lower than 30m height.
b = 1.65(Z + 1.5)1/3 - - - - - - - - For dams greater than 30m height.

2. Free board
Free board is the vertical distance between the horizontal crest of the embankment and the
reservoir level. Normal free board is the difference between the crest (top of the embankment)
and normal reservoir level. Minimum free board is the difference in the elevation between the
crest of the dam and the maximum reservoir water surface that would result should the inflow
design flood occur and should the out let works and spillway function as planned.
The U.S.B.R suggests the following free boards:Nature of spillway
Height of dam
Free board
Free
Any
Minimum of 2m and maximum of
3m over the maximum flood level.
Controlled
Less than 60m
2.5m above the top of gates.
Controlled
Over 60m
3m above the top of gates.
3. Side slope
The design slope of upstream and downstream embankments may vary widely, depending on the
character of the material available, foundation conditions and height of the dam well as type of
dam. The upstream slope may vary from 2:1 to 4:1 and the usual downstream slopes are around
2:1 where a downstream pervious zone is provided, 2:5:1 where embankment is impervious.
Refer the following table general guide line of small earthen dams:Table 3.1 Recommended side slopes for a dam
Fill material
Upstream slope(H:V)
Clay
3:1 to 4:1
Loams
3:1
Sands
2:1 to 2.5:1
Stones, rip or rap
1.75 to 2.1

Downstream slope(H:V)
2.5: to 3:1
2:1 to 2.5:1
2:1
1.75:1

1. Central impervious core:The minimum safe thickness of the central impervious core depends on the following
factors:a. Tolerate seepage loss.
b. Maximum width that will permit proper construction.
c. Types of the materials available for the core and the shells.
d. Design of the proposed filter layers.
e. Precedent on similar projects.
From the view point of stability thinner shell is preferable. However from point of piping thicker
core material is preferable. The governing criteria is that the thickness of the core at any
elevation is not less than the height of the embankment that elevation so that the average
hydraulic is less than unity. The width of the core at the crest of the dam should be a minimum of
less than 3m to permit compaction and economical placement. The top level of the core should
be at least one (1) meter above the maximum water level to prevent seepage by capillary
siphoning.
1. Cut-off trench
Cut-off is required to:a. Reduce loss of stored water through foundation and abutments.
b. Prevent subsurface erosion by piping.

The trench should extend if feasible to rock or to an impervious layer. The minimum bottom
width of the trench should be 3m and the sides should have a slope of 1:1. A cutoff wall made of
concrete or masonry can also be constructed if impervious material is not available around.

3.1.3. Design criteria of filter material

The dimension and permeability of filter drains must be chosen in such a way that the drainage
system can carry away the anticipated flow with an angle margin of safety. Generally multilayers filter is provided in dams, in which each subsequent layer becomes increasingly coarser
that the previous one. The soil to be protected (i.e. the embankment and foundation material
surrounding the filter) is known as the base material.
The four requirements to be satisfied by filter material are:1. The filter material should be sufficiently fine and properly graded so that voids of the filter are
small enough to prevent base material particles from penetrating and clogging the filter.
2. The filter material should be sufficiently coarse and pervious compared to the base material so
that the incoming water is rapidly removed without any appreciable built up of seepage forces
within the filter.
3. The filter material should be course enough not to be carried away through the drainage pipe
openings
4. The filter layer should be sufficiently thick to provide a good distribution of all particle size
throughout the filter and to be able to carry the seepage discharge.
Generally, the filter material should fulfill the following two design criteria:1. The D15 size of the filter material must not be more than 4 to 5 times D85 size of the base
material. This prevents the foundation material from passing through the pores of the filter
material.
2. The D15 size of the filter material must be at least 4 to 5 times the D15 size of the base
material. This keeps seepage forces within the filter to permissible small magnitude.
The above two criteria may be expressed as:D15 of filter < 4 to 5 < D15 filter
D85 based material
D15 of base material
These above requirements should be satisfied between any two adjacent filter layers. The
above criteria have been modified further as follows:a. D15 of filter
= 5 to 4, provided that the filter does not contain more than
D15 base material
5% of material filter than 0.074mm (no, 200 sieve).
b. D15 of filter
= 5 or less
D85 of base material
c. D85 of filter
= 2 or more
Maximum opening of pipe of drain
d. The grain size curve of the filter material should be roughly parallel to that of
material.

the base

3.1.4. Foundation design

The foundation of a dam is the area located under the embankment which includes the river bed
and the valley banks. It is possible to construct a safe earth fill dam on almost any foundation if
the foundation has been through investigated and the design and construction procedures are

adapted to site conditions. The most satisfactory foundation is one that consists of or is underlain
at a shallow depth by a thick layer of relatively impervious consolidated material(rocks) such
foundations cause no stability problems. Where the impervious layer is overlain by pervious
material a compacted clay cutoff extending from the surface of the ground in to the impervious
layer is required to prevent possible failure by piping and to prevent excessive seepage.
Where the foundation consists of highly pervious sand or sand gravel mixture and any
impervious clay layer is beyond economical reach with available equipment, a detailed
investigation should be made. On such occasions an upstream impervious blanket or partial
cutoff trench can be installed. Water impounded on bed rock foundation seldom gives cause for
concern unless the rock contains seams, fissures (fractures) or crevices through which water may
escape at an excessive rate. In such occasions foundation gravity should be done to these rocks in
order to clog the fissures and cracks if it is economically viable.

3.1.5. Seepage analysis

The quantity of water passing through the body and foundation of the earth dam as well as the
distribution of water pressures can be estimated by the theory of flow of fluids through porous
media. While computing these quantities with the help of theoretical analysis, the following
assumptions must be kept in mind:1. The rolled embankment and the natural soil foundation of the earth dam are incompressible
porous media.
2. The seeping water flows under a hydraulic gradient which is due only to gravity head loss or
Darcy law for flow for flow through porous medium is valid.
3. The hydraulic boundary conditions at entry and exit are known.
4. Water is incompressible.
5. There is no change in the degree of saturation in the zone of soil through which the water
seeps and the quantity flowing in to any element of volume is equal to quantity which flows out
in the same length of time.
Seepage through earthen dams can be generally computed through different methods, but the
most common ones are using the following formulas:Flow net method
A net work of equipotential lines and flow lines is known as a flow net. The portion between any
two successive flow lines is known as flow channel. The portion enclosed between two
successive equipotential lines and successive flow lines is known as fields.

q
q

field

Lets consider:
lb= width and length of the field
H=total head causing flow
= difference b/n upstream and
Downstream heads
h =head drop through the field

Then from Darcy law:q = k. h (b*l) (considering unit thickness)

l
If N d = total number of potential drops in the complete flow net

Then h = h
Nd
q = k. h (b/l)
Nb
Hence the total discharge through the complete flow net is given by:q = q = k h (b/l) N f
Nd
= k h N f. b/l
Nd
Where Nd = total number of flow channels in the net.
The field is square and hence b is equal to l:q=khNf
Nd
This formula is valid only for isotropic soils in which
kx = k y = k
For anisotropic flow medium k x k y (i.e. k x is not equal to k y).
Then the formula to calculate q is given by:q = k h N f
Nd
Where
k = k x. k y
Where
k x = Permeability coefficient in x- direction of an isotropic soil field.
k y = Permeability coefficient in y- direction of an isotropic soil field.
k = Equivalent permeability.
N. B. The flow lines and equipotential lines should be perpendiculars to each other and they
should form curve linear squares.
Dupuit solution for steady unconfined flow
This formula offers the simplest solution to calculate seepage quantities from the earthen dam
shown below. The equation represents a parabolic phreatic line. But one has to understand that
this equation does not take the boundary conditions in to account.
According this Dupuit solution:-

Where

i = h
x
q = k (H2 h e)
2L
k = Permeability coefficient.
q = Seepage discharge in m3/sec/m
H & h e = Refer the figure below.

When no tail water is present (i.e. h e = 0), Dupuit parabola intersects the impervious base of the
dam, which is consistent with discharge condition that the line of seepage must be tangential to
the discharge face. This solution is accurate to small angles of .
Solution by Schaffernak and Iterson (valid for < 300)

This equation accounts the exit condition of the line of seepage and the hydraulic gradient is
equal to the slope of the line of seepage. The line of seepage was considered to intersect the
discharge face at a downstream slope distance equal to a.
Accordingly:q = k h d h = k (a sin x) (tan x)
dx
i.e. q = k (a sin x)(tan x)
[i.e. d h = tan x] & [h = sin x.a]
dk
a = L - (L2 H2)
cos x
cos2x
sin2x

Where

h
H

x
Phreatic line
he

Fig. 3.1

L
Schematic Representation of Dupuit solution for steady unconfined flow
A
10.3
A

h
x

L
Fig. 3.2 Schematic Representation of Seepage Solution by Schaffernak and Iterson
Casagrande suggests that the start of the theoretical line of seepage should be moved to A
(figure) from A such that AA = 0.3.

Casagrande solution for > 300

Casagrande gives more accurate solution when > 300, considering the gradient along the line
of seepage as equal to sin x.
A 10.3

ds
Dh

C
dx
a

Fig. 3.3 Schematic Representation of Seepage Solution by Casagrande

That is q=khdh/ds
q=kasin2x

where a= so -so2-H2/sin2x

where so=-H2+L2 - - - - - -- - -- -- -- for x60 0(and if 25% deviations are allowed we can
use this formula up to =900)
Kozenys solution for = 1800 Applies in the case of horizontal discharge face such as that of
a drainage blanket commonly provided in the downstream section of earthen dams. Kozenys
published a rigorous solution for flow a horizontal impervious surface leading to a horizontal
discharge fact.
A1 A
Basic
Parabola
H
Yo
X=1800
L

Fig. 3.4 kozneys solution for x= 1800

According Kozneys, the equation for the line of seepage is that of a parabola, and expressed
as:X = y2 y20
2y0 equation of basic parabola.
Where: x & y are the coordinate defined with the focus O as the origin.
And, y0 is given by:-

yo = (L2 + H2) - L
From the basic properties of the parabola the focal distance ao can be calculated using:a0 = y0/2
And finally
q = ky0
Casagrande solution for 900 < < 1800
For discharge surfaces corresponding to 900 < < 1800, casagrande compared solutions from
hand-drawn flow nets with Kozenys solution for = 1800. After that he noticed that the seepage
face length a was consistently over predicted by the Kozenys parabola for the line of seepage.
The difference a was found to have a systematic variation with and correction factor(c) is
given below which can be used to modify the basic Kozeny parabola and obtain line of seepage.
For 900<<1800

0.4
0.3
0.2

C=/a+a

verticVE
0.1
300

600 900

120

1500

0.00
1800

Fig. 3.5 Relationship between a and slope () of the discharge face.

Note:- Determine the intersection of the basic parabola with discharge face, and reduce by a
using C-value from the chart.
Where tail water exists on the downstream side of dams, the seepage can be estimated by
partitioning the dam in to two sections at the tail water level. Seepage through the bottom section
can be obtained using Darcys law along an average flow length. Seepage through the upper
section can be obtained using the solution above and assuming the line of division between two
sections to be an impervious boundary. The total quantity of seepage is the sum of the quantities
flowing through the two sections.

3.1.7. Design to suit available material

The section of zoned earth dam should be selected such that the available materials are utilized to
the maximum and limited quantity of other required materials are imported to the site. The
available materials may be classified in to three heads:
1. Gravel or course sand is available along with clayey silt.
2. Only fine gravel or course sand is available.
3. Only silty clay is available.
In addition to these, three general foundation conditions may be there:a. Foundations impervious to a large depth.
b. Foundation pervious to moderate depth, after which impervious strata is available.
c. Foundation pervious to large depth
Case 1: Gravel or course sand available along with clayey silt

a. Foundation impervious to a large depth

In this case the outer shells are made of the pervious material available at the nearby site and
the central core is made up of clayey silt which is also available at nearby site and the central
core may have its axis either vertical or inclined.
b. Foundation pervious to a moderate depth, after which impervious stratum is available
In this case the construction is similar to the above (Impervious case) except that the central
core is taken up to impervious foundation level.
c. Foundation pervious to a great depth
In this case there is a possibility of large seepage through foundations. Hence some form of
cutoff is to be provided. If sufficient impervious material is available, an upstream clay
blanket can be suggested. Otherwise a sheet pile cutoff may be provided to some reasonable
depth. Complete cutoff through foundation is not possible.
Case 2: Only pervious material available
a. Foundation impervious to a great depth
Since the impervious material is to be imported, thin central core should be provided up to
the impervious layer.
b. Foundation pervious to moderate depth after which impervious stratum is available
In this case the central thin core is taken up to the impervious stratum.
c. Foundation pervious to a great depth
In this case, a thin central is provided along with an upstream blanket of clayey silt.
Case 3: Only silty clay is available
a. Foundation impervious to a great depth
In this, the whole dam will be homogenous made of silty clay. How ever, a horizontal drainage
filter will be provided up to a great distance inside the body of the dam.
b. Pervious foundation
If the foundation is pervious and impervious material is available, the whole dam may be made
homogenous, consisting of silty clay provision of sheet pile cutoff and a long horizontal filter.