Seismic Stability of Impoundments
Seismic Stability of Impoundments
Seismic Stability of Impoundments
Introduction
A number of impoundment type earth structures have failed
or suffered large displacements during past earthquakes. In
most cases the damage has occurred as a result of a large
drop in the stiffness and strength of soil referred to as
liquefaction. Classic examples of liquefaction damage are
the behaviour of the San Fernando dams during the 1971
San Fernando earthquake, California. The crest of the
upper dam moved downstream about 2m, while a flow slide
on the upstream side of the lower dam some moments
after the severe shaking, removed the crest of the lower
dam as shown in Fig 1.
A number of mine tailings impoundment dams have
also suffered severe damage during past earthquakes. The
best examples here are the Mochikoshi dams in Japan
which failed during the 1978 Izu-Ohshim-Kinkai earthquake
due to liquefaction induced flow slides resulting in release
of the tailings as shown in Fig 2. One dam failed during the
shaking, while a second failed 24 hours later.
Our understanding of the seismic behaviour of earth
structures has increased dramatically in the past 30 years
due to:
Observations from field case histories,
Extensive laboratory testing of soil elements under
cyclic loading,
Model testing of earth structures under simulated
earthquake loading, and
Development of numerical modeling procedures.
In this paper a dynamic analysis procedure, which
captures the element data observed in cyclic tests and
verified by comparison with model tests and field
experience, is applied to Mochikoshi dam. Based on such
analyses, implications for design of impoundment
structures to resist seismic loading are examined.
Soil liquefaction
Seismic liquefaction refers to a sudden loss in stiffness and
strength of soil due to cyclic loading effects of an
earthquake. The loss arises from a tendency for soil to
contract under cyclic loading, and if such contraction is
Assessment of liquefaction
Liquefaction assessment involves addressing the following
concerns:
Will liquefaction be triggered in significant zones of the
soil structure for the design earthquake, and
If so, could a flow slide occur, and if not,
Are the displacements tolerable?
These effects can be assessed from state-of-practice total
W. T
Starter Dam
Numerical modeling
Dynamic analysis of the Mochikoshi dam No.1 was carried
out using the UBCSAND constitutive model for the tailings
materials. It is based on the elasic-plastic stress strain
model proposed by Byrne et al. (1995), and has been
further developed and extended by Puebla et al. (1997),
and Beaty and Byrne (1998). It is an incremental elastic
plastic model in which the yield loci are lines of constant
stress ratio. The flow rule relating the plastic strain
increment directions is non-associated and leads to a
plastic potential defined in terms of dilation angle. The
model is implemented in the commercial computer code
FLAC (Fast Lagrangian analysis of Continua, ITASCA,
2000).
The appropriate parameters for the model can be
obtained directly from cyclic testing of undisturbed samples
from the site, or indirectly from field experience with similar
soils during past earthquakes. The common practice is the
indirect approach with liquefaction response expressed in
terms of penetration resistance, and this approach was
used here. The UBCSAND model has been calibrated to
reproduce the Youd et al. (2001) triggering chart which in
turn is based on field experience during past earthquakes
and is expressed in terms of Standard Penetration Test
resistance value, N1(60). The model properties to obtain
such agreement are therefore expressed in terms of N1(60).
It has also been calibrated with cyclic simple shear test
data for Nevada sand as well as Fraser river sand and
predicts both triggering as well as post triggering response
in close agreement with the data as shown in Fig. 4. The
agreement is obtained by selecting an N1(60) to give the
best fit to data. In this way an N1(60) value equivalent to the
known relative density, Dr, of the laboratory test sample is
obtained.
The model grid together with material types
representing different parts of the dam in the analysis is
illustrated in Fig.5.
In the first stage static analysis the Mohr-Coulomb
model with stress-dependent materials properties was
utilized for all parts. The soil was treated as equivalent
elastic and isotropic using secant shear (G) and bulk (B)
moduli that vary with stress level as follows:
n
[1]
'
G = kg . Pa . m
Pa
[2]
'
B = kb . Pa . m
Pa
0.2
Acceleration (a/g)
0.15
Liquefaction
a)
0.1
0.05
0
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15
-0.2
0
10
12
Time (sec)
b)
This earthquake has a shallow focal depth similar to IzuOhshim-Kinkai earthquake, but a lower magnitude, M6.5
vs. M7, and is thought be reasonably appropriate.
CSR
CSR
NUBCSAND = 10.5
c)
NUBCSAND = 8.3
10
100
b)
0.5
(o)
35.0
C
(kPa)
25.0
t
3
(kN/m )
15.7
Perm.
(cm/sec)
1e-4
378
0.5
35.0
25.0
15.7
1e-4
450
450
289
0.5
0.5
0.5
45.0
35.0
34.0
0.0
25.0
0.0
19.0
15.7
18.4
1e-2
1e-3
kx = 7.1e-4
ky = 7.1e-7
Soil
kg
kb
Front
wall
Starter
Dam
Drain
Found.
Slime
110
0.5
330
126
0.5
150
150
96
0.5
0.5
0.5
) UBCSAND model was applied to this material with N1(60) cs = 6 and cv = 33.0.
A3
Top surface
0.1
Ue (18,19)
U3
20
0.05
Ue (kPa)
25
A(18,21)
0.15
-0.05
-0.1
15
10
5
-0.15
-0.2
0
Tim e (s e c)
12
6
Tim e (sec)
10
12
6
Tim e (s e c)
10
12
6
T im e (s e c)
10
12
0.2
A(18,12)
A2
100
0.1
-0.05
-0.1
U2
60
40
20
-0.15
-0.2
0
0
Tim e (s e c)
12
0.2
200
A(18,6)
A1
0.15
Ue (18,4)
U1
150
0.1
0.05
Ue (k Pa)
Ue (18,12)
80
0.05
Ue (k Pa)
0.15
0
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15
100
50
0
-0.2
0
T im e (s e c)
12
Fig. 9. Relative positions of locations for acceleration and excess pore pressure recording in analysis.
A3
U3
A2
U2
A1
U1
U6
U5
U4
0.5
1.2
Ru at U3
0.3
Ru
Ru
0.6
0.2
0.4
0.1
0.2
0
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
6
Time (sec)
10
12
Ru at U2
6
Time (sec)
10
12
6
Time (sec)
10
12
6
Time (sec)
0.5
Ru at U5
0.4
0.3
Ru
Ru
Ru at U6
0.4
0.8
0.2
0.1
0
0.9
0.8
6
Time (sec)
10
12
0.9
0.8
0.7
Ru at U1
0.7
0.6
0.5
Ru
Ru
0.4
0.3
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
Ru at U4
0
0
6
Time (sec)
10
12
10
12
Lessons learned
Lessons learned from field experience, laboratory tests,
and analyses are:
The seismic failure of dam No.1 at the Mochikoshi
impoundment likely occurred due to liquefaction of the
tailings. The presence of layers of plastic silt having a
natural water content in excess of the liquid limit likely
caused a further strength loss resulting in flow of the
tailings once significant displacements occurred.
The Mochikoshi dam could have been stabilized by a
free draining buttress fill or by a stabilized column as
shown in Figs. 14a and 14b.
Horizontal layers of low permeability, barrier layers,
impede vertical drainage of excess porewater pressure
and can greatly reduce stability as they may cause a
water bubble to form at the base of the layer during or
after the shaking as observed by Kokusku et al. (2000)
in shaking table tests and shown in Fig. 15. Such layers
may have caused the delayed failures at the Lower San
Fernando dam and at the Mochikoshi No. 2 Dike.
The bubble effect can be prevented by vertical drains
that penetrate the barrier layers as illustrated in Fig. 16.
The design of these drains can be assessed from
dynamic coupled flow effective stress analyses.
Liquefaction induced displacements can be curtailed by
a stabilizing soil column having a width at least equal to
the depth of liquefaction as shown schematically in Fig.
17.
The dimensions and location of remediation measures
can be optimized from dynamic analyses. Stabilization
can be achieved by densification, drainage or bonding
of soil particles to prevent liquefaction.
Buttress fill
b)
Stabilizing column
Conclusion
A number of impoundment dams have failed during past
earthquakes as a result of soil liquefaction. Plastic sandy
silt layers may have water contents greater than their liquid
limit, in which case they may lose more strength when
significant displacements are induced by seismic loading.
The failure of dam No. 1 at the Mochikoshi impoundment
likely occurred in this manner.
Laboratory model testing suggests that clean loose
sands are unlikely to suffer a flow slide, because, although
they can be triggered to liquefy, their undrained strengths
are generally adequate for stability unless they are very
loose. However, if the sands contain low permeability silt
layers that impede drainage, water bubbles and complete
loss of strength can occur. The delayed failure of dyke No.2
at the Mochikoshi impoundment as well as the delayed
failure of the Lower San Fernando dam may well have
occurred in this manner.
Drain
Barrier layer
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