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Engineering 2 (2016) 332–339

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Engineering
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / e n g

Research
Hydro Projects—Article

Technical Progress on Researches for the Safety of

High Concrete-Faced Rockfill Dams
Hongqi Ma, Fudong Chi*
Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower, Inc., Kunming 650214, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The concrete-faced rockfill dam (CFRD) is an important dam type in the selection of high dams to be
Received 18 March 2016 constructed in Western China, owing to its direct utilization of local materials, good adaptability, and
Revised form 29 June 2016 distinct economic advantages. Over the past decades, China has gained successful experience in the
Accepted 24 August 2016
construction of 200 m CFRDs, providing the necessary technical accumulation for the development
Available online 20 September 2016
of 250–300 m ultra-high CFRDs. This paper summarizes these successful experiences and analyzes
the problems of a number of major 200 m CFRDs around the world. In addition, it discusses the key
Keywords: technologies and latest research progress regarding safety in the construction of 250–300 m ultra-high
High concrete-faced rockfill dam CFRDs, and suggests focuses and general ideas for future research.
Safety
© 2016 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier LTD on behalf of Chinese Academy of Engineering and
Technical progress
Higher Education Press Limited Company. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction including constructed, under-construction, and proposed dams.

China possesses the largest number of CFRDs. According to the
Western China has abundant hydropower resources and great Technical Committee on CFRDs of the China Society for Hydro-
potential for hydropower development. However, these resourc- power Engineering [1–3], at the end of 2013, there were 325
es are difficult to exploit due to the high altitude, harsh natural CFRDs with heights greater than 30 m in China and 16 CFRDs with
environment, complex topographical and geological conditions, heights greater than 200 m around the world—10 of which were
inconvenient transportation routes, and high seismic intensity of in China. The Shuibuya Dam in China, which is 233 m high and
potential dam sites. Under these circumstances, dams construct- was completed in 2008, is currently the world’s highest CFRD.
ed with local materials have better adaptability. In particular, the Since the 1980s, China’s CFRD construction technologies have
concrete-faced rockfill dam (CFRD) is one of the most promising made significant progress through the introduction, digestion,
dam types for this region, since it can make full use of local ma- absorption, and re-innovation of advanced technologies, as well
terials to reduce the transportation of construction materials out as through the construction of many CFRDs, including Tiansheng-
to the dam site, and has high adaptability, distinct economic ad- qiao-1 (dam height 178 m, built in 2000), Hongjiadu (dam height
vantages, and an excellent capability for earthquake resistance. A 179.5 m, built in 2005), Sanbanxi (dam height 185.5 m, built in
number of ultra-high dams that are 250–300 m in height, includ- 2006), and Shuibuya (dam height 233 m, built in 2008). These
ing the Gushui (dam height 240 m), Rumei (dam height 315 m), efforts have provided the necessary technical reserves for the de-
Maji (dam height 277.5 m), and Cihaxia (dam height 257.5 m) velopment of 250–300 m ultra-high CFRDs.
dams, are planned for construction in Western China. If the situa- This paper summarizes China’s successful experiences and
tion permits, the CFRD will be the preferred dam type. analyzes the problems of a number of major 200 m CFRDs around
At present, there are more than 600 CFRDs around the world, the world. In addition, it systematically discusses the key tech-

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: fudch@163.com

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/J.ENG.2016.03.010
2095-8099/© 2016 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier LTD on behalf of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Higher Education Press Limited Company.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 H. Ma, F. Chi / Engineering 2 (2016) 332–339 333

nologies and latest research progress regarding safety for the con- sive differential settlement between upstream and downstream
struction of 250–300 m ultra-high CFRDs, and suggests focuses caused by the incorrect filling sequence of upstream and down-
and general ideas for future research. stream rockfill was considered to be the main reason.
Secondly, there was separation of the face slab from the cush-
2. Primary issues and successful experiences of 200 m ion layer, and horizontal cracks formed on the face slab. Due to
concrete-faced rockfill dams (CFRDs) excessive settlement of the rockfill, a total of 104 face slabs sep-
arated from the underlying cushion layer, with a maximum gap
2.1. Primary issues length of 10 m and a maximum gap depth of 15 cm. Influenced
by both excessive deformation of the rockfill and separation from
Cooke and Sherard [4–7] considered the design of CFRDs to be the cushion layer, the face slabs lost effective support, thus result-
empirical, and many 200 m CFRDs that were built before 2000 ing in horizontal cracks. The number of cracks on face slabs in the
were designed and constructed using the empirical approach. area above 748.6 m reached 4537 [9].
During the operation of these dams, many problems have oc- Thirdly, face slab rupture damage occurred. The concrete on
curred, such as cracks in the face slab and cushion layer, sepa- both sides of the vertical joint between the longest face slabs,
ration of the face slab from the cushion layer, concrete rupture L3 and L4, was damaged in July 2003 due to the excessive com-
along the vertical joints between face slabs, and excessive leak- pression stresses. The damage zone extended from an elevation
age. of 787.3 m to an elevation of 748.2 m, with a maximum width
of 4 m, average width of 1 m, maximum depth of 30 cm, and av-
2.1.1. Aguamilpa Dam erage depth of 24 cm. Later, this damage zone between L3 and
The Aguamilpa Dam in Mexico was built in 1995, with a dam L4 was repaired and the joint was filled with embedded rubber
height of 187 m, crest elevation of 235 m, crest length of 660 m, plate, which showed good performance during the subsequent
and normal water level of 220 m. The main rockfill zone, located operation.
upstream of the dam axis, was filled with natural sandy gravels, Finally, the leakage rate was large. It reached 80–140 L·s–1 and
while the downstream dam body was filled with excavated gran- fluctuated with changes in the reservoir water level [10].
ite rockfill materials. A modulus transitional zone was set in the
middle. 2.1.3. Campos Novos CFRD
The leakage rate reached 257.7 L·s–1 when the reservoir water The Campos Novos CFRD [11] is located in Brazil, and has a
level rose to an elevation of 218.8 m. At the same time, dense maximum dam height of 202 m, crest length of 590 m, and nor-
horizontal and curved fine cracks appeared on the face slab about mal water level of 660 m. When the water level reached above
30 m from the top, and a horizontal tensile crack, 160 m long and 642 m at the end of 2005, face slab rupture occurred at the mid-
15 mm wide, was found 50 m from the top. dle of the vertical joint between face slabs 17 and 18, rapidly
Cooke [7] suggested that the horizontal structural tensile extending both upward and downward. The gap between the
cracks were caused by excessive differential settlement between face slab and the cushion layer reached 4 cm and the leakage
the upstream and downstream rockfill zones. The compressive rate reached 1300 L·s–1. Slab rupture was later found along the
moduli of the rockfill in the upstream and transitional zones were vertical joints between face slabs 22 and 23, as well as between
260 MPa and 136 MPa, respectively, while that of the rockfill in 25 and 26. When the reservoir was emptied in 2006, a horizontal
the downstream zone was only 47 MPa. Thus, the moduli of the crack that was 300 m long was found between the second-stage
upstream and downstream rockfill had a more than 5-fold dif- and third-stage slabs, where concrete extrusion and exfoliation
ference, which led to excessive differential settlement. Based on was severe and the steel-bar cage was deformed and exposed.
the experiences from the Aguamilpa Dam and the Salvajina Dam, Research indicated that the horizontal cracks were mainly caused
Cooke [7] proposed that the width of the upstream gravel zone of by the large compression stress along the slope and were related
gravel and rockfill mixed dams should be at least 2/3 of the dam to the separation of the face slab.
width.
Some Chinese experts believed that the curved cracks on 2.1.4. Barra Grande CFRD
the face slab of the Aguamilpa Dam were related to insufficient The Barra Grande CFRD in Brazil [11] has a maximum dam
pre-settlement time for the rockfill. If the face slab had been height of 185 m, crest length of 665 m, and normal water level of
cast after the settlement rate decreased to 6 mm per month, the 647 m. When the water level reached 634 m in September 2005,
deflection on the top of the face slab would have decreased to the leakage rate reached 428 L·s–1, face slab rupture occurred in
15 mm, thus greatly reducing the possibility of horizontal curved the middle of the vertical joint between slabs 19 and 20, and the
cracks on the face slab [8]. damage zone extended to about 100 m underwater. A gap be-
tween the face slab and cushion layer was found in the damage
2.1.2. Tianshengqiao-1 CFRD zone, with a maximum depth of 12 cm. The leakage rate was as
The Tianshengqiao-1 CFRD is located in Guizhou, China. Its high as 1284 L·s–1 in November 2005. Through underwater inspec-
maximum dam height, crest length, crest elevation, and normal tion, face slab rupture along the horizontal direction was found in
water level are 178 m, 1104 m, 791 m, and 780 m, respectively. the middle of the dam height.
The main rockfill zone upstream of the dam axis was filled with The four 200 m CFRDs mentioned above all suffered from
limestone materials obtained from spillway excavation, while the problems, including face slab separation, cracks, face slab rupture,
downstream rockfill zone was filled with excavated sandstone waterstop failure, and excessive leakage. The direct cause was ex-
and mudstone materials. Their compressive moduli were 45 MPa cessive settlement and uneven deformation of the rockfill. A deep
and 22 MPa, respectively. The following problems occurred dur- analysis revealed the following three main reasons:
ing the construction and initial operation of the dam. (1) Low compaction density of the rockfill: Regarding the com-
Firstly, cracks formed in the cushion layer. During the sixth fill- paction requirements of the Tianshengqiao-1 Dam, the porosities
ing stage, 37 cracks were found in the cushion layer at elevations of the upstream and downstream rockfill were controlled at 22%
from 748 m to 768 m; among these cracks, the largest length, and 24%, respectively. The lift thickness of the upstream rockfill
width, and depth were 79 m, 5 cm, and 1.5 m, respectively. Exces- was 80 cm, with six passes of a 10-ton self-propelled vibratory
334 H. Ma, F. Chi / Engineering 2 (2016) 332–339

roller, while that of the downstream rockfill was 160 cm, with six stream rockfill of the Sanbanxi, Hongjiadu, and Shuibuya CFRDs
passes of an 18-ton traction vibratory roller. Both the weight of reached 17.62%, 19.6%, and 19.6%, respectively, and that those of
the vibratory rollers and the number of passes were low, which the downstream rockfill reached 19.48%, 20.02%, and 20.7%, re-
led to the low compaction density of the rockfill. spectively. In general, these were 2%–4% lower than those of the
(2) Large modulus difference between the upstream and down- Tianshengqiao-1 CFRD [12].
stream rockfill: For the Tianshengqiao-1 Dam, the modulus of the
downstream rockfill was only half that of the upstream rockfill, 2.2.3. Rockfill filling procedure
and for the Aguamilpa Dam, the moduli of the upstream and Based on the lessons learned from the Tianshengqiao-1 CFRD,
downstream rockfill had a 5-fold difference, which aggravated the attention was paid to combining the filling stages with the con-
differential settlement between the upstream and downstream trol of embankment deformation. The rise of the rockfill up-
rockfill zones. stream and downstream, as well as on the left and right banks,
(3) Unreasonable filling sequence of the section: To retain wa- was required to be as balanced as possible. “Upstream side high
ter in flood season, the priority section of the dam required the and downstream side low” was not allowed, and if the situation
filling progress of the upstream rockfill zone to be quicker than permitted, “downstream side high and upstream side low” might
that of the downstream rockfill zone. For the Tianshengqiao-1 be adopted in order to mitigate adverse influence on the tensile
Dam, the upstream water-retaining section was 123 m higher deformation of the concrete face slab by taking advantage of the
than the downstream rockfill zone for flood control during the rules of embankment settlement development.
construction period. After the flood season, the downstream
rockfill zone was required to rise and level up at a rate of 1 m per 2.2.4. Timing of concrete face slab construction
day, which caused excessive differential settlement between the A pre-settlement measure was taken to avoid the peak of rock-
upstream and downstream rockfill zones. fill settlement development so that the deformation of the rockfill
would not cause structural cracks on the concrete face slabs after
2.2. Major successful experiences its construction. Before face slab construction, a pre-settlement
period of about 6 months was generally arranged. The construc-
The four case studies of high CFRDs with problems indicated tion of the face slab commenced when the settlement rate was
that 200 m CFRDs have exceeded the scope of empirical design less than 5 mm per month and the top elevation of the first-stage
and should be designed and constructed according to the princi- face slab was 20 m lower than that of the rockfill body.
ple of deformation control. In high CFRDs built after 2000, such
as Sanbanxi, Hongjiadu, and Shuibuya, the issues described above 2.2.5. Compression joints between concrete face slabs and waterstop
have been reduced significantly. The overall operation of these structure
dams is satisfactory, as engineering measures were adopted to In order to prevent face slab rupture, wide joints that were
control the deformation of the embankment. The major success- filled with elastic materials with good deformation absorption
ful deformation control measures are listed below. capability were set in order to allow deformation between face
slabs under compression. In addition to increasing the strength of
2.2.1. Rockfill zoning the concrete, anti-spalling reinforcement was installed in a cer-
For a 200 m CFRD, part of the water load can be transmitted tain range on both sides of the joint. The height of the copper wa-
across the dam axis to the downstream rockfill zone. The zoning terstop at the bottom was also reduced in order to maintain the
boundaries between the upstream and downstream rockfill zones sufficient effective area of the face slab that bears compressive
of the three dams mentioned above inclined toward the down- stress.
stream (with slope gradients ranging from 1: 0.2 to 1: 0.5), which The waterstop structure of the joints was evolved into a com-
expanded the area of the upstream rockfill zone and reduced the bination of sealing and self-healing types. In most of the Chinese
impacts of downstream rockfill deformation on the concrete face projects, central sealing could be cancelled on the premise of
slab. It was also necessary to reduce the modulus difference and strengthening surface sealing to improve the reliability of the
uneven deformation between the upstream and downstream sealing structure. The bottom waterstop plate was usually made
rockfill as much as possible. Special rolling zones (also known as of soft copper; two main kinds of products, GB and SR, were de-
increased modulus zones) were arranged at the upper part of the veloped for use as self-healing plastic filler.
embankment and in the area near the abutments where the slope
was steep. In addition, vertical and horizontal drainage zones 2.3. Problems exposed
were required to keep the dam body above the downstream wa-
ter level in dry condition. The three typical 200 m CFRDs that were built after 2000 pro-
vided successful experience in the engineering technologies of
2.2.2. Compaction of rockfill deformation control and, to a certain extent, resulted in a solution
Rockfill materials with medium strength and good gradation for the cracking problem of the face slab. However, regarding the
were required, and the degree of compaction was increased. For core of deformation control—that is, deformation prediction—a
the above three dams, the porosity of the upstream rockfill was number of key scientific problems in the following aspects have
controlled at 19%–20%. For most projects, 25-ton vibratory roll- not yet been well resolved.
ers were used, with 32-ton vibratory rollers being used for some (1) There is an urgent need for a breakthrough in the theory of
projects. Impact compaction rollers (with an impact force of 200– numerical analysis and method of dam deformation. Rockfill is a
250 t) were employed in the Hongjiadu project, and the number granular material and has complicated mechanical properties. It
of rolling passes was increased. Thus, the degree of compaction of shows evident nonlinearity, stress-path dependency, dilatancy,
the rockfill was greatly increased. In addition, new technologies creep, and other more complex characteristics such as degrada-
such as global positioning system (GPS) real-time compaction tion due to wetting and particle breakage under high confining
quality monitoring and the additional mass method were applied pressure. At present, the commonly used constitutive models,
to ensure that the designed compaction requirements were sat- such as the Duncan-Chang E-B model, the Tsinghua nonlinear un-
isfied. The measured data showed that the porosities of the up- coupled K-G model, and the Nanshui double-yield surface elasto-
 H. Ma, F. Chi / Engineering 2 (2016) 332–339 335

plastic model, are all based on continuum mechanics, which gen- methods have been applied to the risk identification and analysis
eralize the granular nature of the rockfill material; thus, it is diffi- of typical high CFRDs. The probability characteristics of the varia-
cult to use these models to completely and accurately describe all bility of shear strength and Duncan-Chang E-B model parameters
the mechanical behaviors of the rockfill. have been analyzed. Using these parameters, the deformation re-
(2) The scale effects of rockfill material testing have not yet liability indices of typical CFRDs at completion and during water
been solved. In CFRD design, ordinary and large-scale laboratory storage are calculated to be 2.223 and 2.016, respectively, and the
triaxial tests are usually used to obtain the material parameters reliability index of face slab deflection during the impounding pe-
of the rockfill. However, there are significant differences between riod is 1.766 [14]. The study suggests that for 250–300 m rockfill
material parameters obtained in the laboratory and those of the dams, the reliability index of slope stability in normal operation
true rockfill material used in the dam, due to the limited size and conditions requires 4.7 (the corresponding failure probability is
loading capacity of the testing equipment. The scale effects often 10–6), which is roughly equivalent to a factor of safety of 1.7 [14].
result in a smaller calculated deformation than the measured
data for high dams but a larger calculated deformation than the 3.2. Material and section zoning
measured data for low dams; this is one of the main reasons for
inaccurate deformation prediction for high dams. The heights of the above-mentioned four typical dams (Gushui,
(3) The mechanism of face slab rupture has not yet been ex- Rumei, Cihaxia, and Maji) range from 240 m to 315 m. The design
plained well. According to the results of qualitative analyses, uses medium- to high-strength rock (or sand gravel) materials
the main reasons are that excessive rockfill deformation leads to with good gradation that are compacted with high density. The
closing and compression of the vertical joint; friction between recommended range of the dam slope is 1:1.4–1:1.7, which is
the face slab and underlying rockfill further increases the com- gentler than that of the 200 m CFRDs. Considering the specific
pressive stress; and the waterstop structure of the vertical joint construction conditions of each project, compaction requirements
reduces the effective bearing thickness of the face slab. However, of the rockfill for 300 m CFRDs are proposed. The porosity of the
the mechanism of face slab rupture has not been accurately stud- rockfill should be 17%–20%, and the relative density of the sand
ied, and no quantitative control indices are available. gravel materials should be 0.95–0.98. The porosities of upstream
and downstream rockfill will be controlled at 18% for the Gushui
3. Research advances in 250–300 m CFRDs CFRD, 19% for the Rumei CFRD, and 19%–20% for the Maji CFRD.
The relative density of the upstream sand gravel of the Cihaxia
Since 2010, due to the need for hydropower development in CFRD will be controlled at 0.95 and the porosity of the down-
Western China, further studies on the safety and key technical stream rockfill will be controlled at 17%. Compared to their 200 m
problems of 250–300 m CFRDs have been performed in the dam CFRD counterparts, the compaction requirements for these four
industry, especially regarding deformation prediction and control CFRDs are generally increased. Taking the Gushui CFRD as an ex-
technologies. Numerous innovative research results have been ample, the typical material zoning profile is shown in Fig. 1.
obtained. It is worth mentioning that the upper reservoir CFRD of Jiangsu
Liyang Pumped Storage Power Station used 25-ton vibratory
3.1. Safety control standards and evaluation methods rollers and had a rolling layer thickness of 60–80 cm. The porosi-
ties of the increased modulus zone and the upstream and down-
Based on summative research on 200 m CFRDs that have been stream rockfill zones reached 16.8%, 18%, and 18.6%, respectively.
built both in China and abroad, combined with research on four Therefore, the designed compaction requirements of the above
typical projects—Gushui and Rumei on the Lancang River, Cihaxia four CFRDs could be achieved with current construction technol-
on the Yellow River, and Maji on the Nujiang River—a summary ogies.
of safety control principles and standards is proposed, covering
flood control, seismic criterion, safety freeboard of dam crest, 3.3. Material testing technology
dam deformation, face slab deformation and stress, joint defor-
mation, slope stability, dam seepage, and so forth, in order to In order to focus on the scale effects of rockfill material test-
provide a reference for the safety evaluation and control of 250– ing, exploratory comparative studies have been performed using
300 m CFRDs [13]. various approaches, such as large-scale laboratory experiments,
In addition to deterministic assessment methods, risk analysis in-situ field tests, and numerical rockfill shear tests.

Fig. 1. Material zoning profile of the Gushui CFRD (unit: m).

336 H. Ma, F. Chi / Engineering 2 (2016) 332–339

(1) Large-scale laboratory experiments: The four hydropower increase with an increase of confining pressure and rock strength.
projects conducted large-scale indoor triaxial shear test (with a However, the laboratory triaxial tests (with a maximum diameter
specimen diameter of 300 mm). The mechanisms and deformation of 300 mm) show that the deformation parameters of rockfill in-
properties of the rockfill material were systematically analyzed, in- crease with an increase of specimen size.
cluding the stress-strain relationship, strength characteristics, scale Recent studies [15] presented two size-related mesoscopic
effect, grain breakage, creep deformation behavior, and so forth. mechanisms for particle breakage in rockfill. One is that large
To further reduce the scale effects of indoor test, the China In- particles are easily broken, resulting in the deformation modulus
stitute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR) and parameters of large specimens being smaller than those of small
some other research institutes are developing 1500-ton triaxial specimens; the other is that the interlocking of large particles is
testing equipment, which will increase the diameter of the test stronger than that of small particles, resulting in the deformation
specimen from 300 mm to 1000 mm, thereby laying a foundation modulus parameters of large specimens being larger than those
for future research on indoor scale effects. of small specimens.
(2) Field tests: The maximum rockfill particle size of a high We think that these two mechanisms coexist and act alter-
rockfill dam is 600–800 mm; therefore, it is necessary to perform natively. The rockfill structure is subjected to confining pressure
large-scale tests in the field. Combined with field compaction due to the influence of vibratory compaction, rockfill gravity, and
tests on dam construction materials, compression tests with the water load. When the confining pressure is relatively low, the in-
original grain size have been conducted in a tunnel (Fig. 2) for the terlocking of rockfill particles (the skeleton effect) maintains the
Cihaxia project. The maximum pressure is 6 MPa, with a bearing stability of the structure; when the confining pressure increases
plate area of 1.72 m2 and a maximum load of 10 320 kN [15]. beyond the bearing capacity of the rockfill structure, rockfill par-
(3) Numerical rockfill shear tests: Recently, many researchers ticles break and the structure changes and evolves into a new sta-
have used discrete element methods to simulate the mesoscopic ble state; these two actions repeat alternatively until the rockfill
structure of rockfill and perform numerical experiments (Fig. 3). structure reaches a stable equilibrium state. In the above process,
With numerical experiments, extensive sensitivity analyses can the contrast between the interlocking and breakage of rockfill
be performed and the mesoscopic structure evolution of rockfill particles determines the scale effects.
can be revealed, providing an effective means for the study of For modern high CFRDs, rockfill particle breakage will una-
mesoscopic mechanical behaviors of rockfill and scale effects. voidably occur during the compaction process due to the em-
(4) A new exploration of the mechanism of the scale effects of ployment of heavy rolling equipment. During the construction
rockfill: Factors of the scale effects of rockfill include the method and impounding periods, secondary particle breakage will occur
of grain size reduction, compaction requirements, particle prop- under the combined action of rockfill gravity and the water load,
erties, and so forth. and material degradation caused by wetting will further aggra-
Using mesoscopic numerical models, numerical shear tests vate rockfill particle breakage and then increase dam deforma-
were performed on the rockfill materials of the Gushui, Rumei, tion. Thus, the effect of rockfill particle breakage is stronger over-
and Cihaxia projects. The results show that, compared with lab- all than the skeleton effect. Currently, due to limited specimen
oratory test results, the deformation parameters of the Duncan- size, laboratory triaxial tests have difficulty reproducing the real
Chang E-B model, i.e., k, n, and kb, all decrease with an increase of working status of rockfill materials in high CFRDs. This explains
specimen size. For the rockfill of Gushui and Rumei, the values of why the monitored deformations of high dams are greater than
k and kb decreased by 10%–17% and 17%–19%, respectively, while the calculated predicted values, and why the actual deformation
for the downstream rockfill of Cihaxia, these values decreased parameters of rockfill materials in high dams are lower than
by 25% and 29%, respectively, indicating significant scale effects. those obtained from laboratory triaxial tests.
For the upstream sandy gravel material of Cihaxia, the values of k
and kb decreased by 4% and 10%, respectively, indicating relatively
small scale effects [15]. In addition, the scale effects of the rockfill

Fig. 2. Testing device for a tunnel compression test (Cihaxia). Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of a mesoscopic numerical shear test.
 H. Ma, F. Chi / Engineering 2 (2016) 332–339 337

3.4. Constitutive models of rockfill and numerical simulation neous, and anisotropic characteristics; therefore, their deforma-
methods tion should be divided into two parts: macroscopic deformation
and mesoscopic deformation. Macroscopic deformation—that
Based on studies of the engineering properties of rockfill ma- is, deformation on the dam scale—can be evaluated with con-
terials and the concept of crushing energy, a constitutive model stitutive models describing macroscopic mechanical behaviors.
that can reasonably describe the volumetric deformation of rock- Mesoscopic deformation—that is, deformation on the particle
fill was obtained by modifying the tangent volume ratio in the scale—requires mesoscopic mechanical models to describe it.
Nanshui double-yield surface elasto-plastic model. By analyzing The non-uniform contact force among the face slab, cushion, and
existing rockfill material testing data, a generalized plastic con- transitional zones is one of the factors in the local compressive
stitutive model of rockfill was established with directly defined damage of the face slab, while the particle size distribution and
plastic flow direction, loading direction, and plastic modulus. the thickness of the cushion and transitional zones affect the lo-
Based on large-scale laboratory tests, a nonlinear model for the cal state of stress in the face slab. The mesoscopic process of force
interface between rockfill and the concrete face slab, along with transmission from the face slab through the cushion to the tran-
a corresponding computation method, was developed. A refined sitional zone was simulated using the particle discrete element
modeling method was proposed to simulate the construction pro- method, and it was found that the inhomogeneity of the contact
cess and the detailed structure of the face slab, and a refined sim- force decreases with an increase in thicknesses of the cushion
ulation of the deformation and stress of high CFRDs was achieved and transitional zones. Taking the Gushui CFRD as an example, as
through large-scale parallel computing [16]. the minimum thicknesses of the cushion and transitional zones
increase above 2 m and 4 m, respectively, the non-uniform coeffi-
3.5. Exploration of the stress deformation laws of ultra-high CFRDs cient of the contact force between the face slab and cushion tends
to converge.
Using computational models of standard CFRDs, the stress and
deformation characteristics of typical 200–300 m high CFRDs 3.7. Seepage stability and control standards
were systematically analyzed. The results show that the deforma-
tion of the embankment and face slab will be roughly doubled as As the second defensive line of the seepage control system of
the dam height increases from 200 m to 300 m, and the stresses the dam, the design principle of the cushion is that seepage failure
in the rockfill and face slab will also increase significantly [16]. shall not occur, even if the face slab is completely destroyed. A per-
Through refined simulation, it was found that the stress and meability coefficient that has an order of magnitude of 10–4 cm·s–1
deformation distributions of the four high CFRDs, that is, Gushui, is recommended for the cushion materials used in 300 m high
Cihaxia, Rumei, and Maji, comply with the general laws of high CFRDs. Based on experimental studies, the particle size distri-
CFRDs. For the Gushui and Cihaxia CFRDs, due to their slightly bution of cushion materials is suggested as follows, as shown in
lower dam heights, the total dam deformation can be controlled Fig. 5: dmax = 40–100 mm, the content of fine grains with d < 5 mm
at a level that is roughly equivalent to that of a 200 m CFRD, should be between 35% and 50%, the content of fine grains with
provided that certain deformation control measures are taken to d < 1 mm should be between 20% and 32%, and d20 = 0.35–1 mm.
ensure dam safety. However, for the Rumei and Maji CFRDs, due Considering construction quality uniformity, dam deformation,
to their relatively large dam heights, stresses in the concrete face and allowable hydraulic gradient, the horizontal width of the
slab will be larger after reservoir impounding, and measures to cushion in a 300 m high CFRD should be no less than 5 m [16].
improve stresses in the face slab should be further studied. The transitional zone shall function as a filter zone to the cushion
and shall be designed according to the filter criteria.
3.6. Exploration of the mechanism of concrete face slab rupture
3.8. Anti-seismic engineering measures
Recent studies have shown that the macroscopic factor of
face slab rupture along vertical joints in high CFRDs is excessive A number of comprehensive strengthening measures for
rockfill deformation, and that the direct cause is the translational earthquake resistance have been proposed, such as designing a
compression and rotational extrusion of face slabs along the ver- reasonably complex layout, selecting a solid dam foundation and
tical joint [16], as shown in Fig. 4. In addition to excessive defor- stiff dam construction materials, reserving the dam crest free-
mation of the rockfill, local bending deflection of the face slab is a
reason for the rupture of the face slab near horizontal joints [17].
The latest research results indicate that, since materials of the
cushion, transitional, and rockfill zones are all granular materials,
their mechanical behavior has distinct discontinuous, inhomoge-

Fig. 5. Recommended particle size distribution of cushion materials used in

Fig. 4. Translational compression and rotational extrusion. 300 m CFRDs.
338 H. Ma, F. Chi / Engineering 2 (2016) 332–339

board, decreasing the dam slope on the top, reinforcing the upper
dam slope, using concrete frame beams, and strengthening the
face slab and sealing structure. Plans for the Gushui Dam take
measures such as using a gentle slope at the upper part of the
downstream slope and reinforcing the dam crest with steel bars
(Fig. 1). Recently, the Dalian University of Technology proposed a
measure for the release of dynamic stresses of the face slab dur-
ing an earthquake: the placement of local, permanent horizontal
joints shown in Fig. 6. A reasonable and effective region for the
placement of horizontal joints was determined through a dynam-
ic stress response analysis of the face slab [18]. The suggested
area is 0.75H–0.85H (where H is the maximum dam height) in
elevation, with an allowed extension of 0.05H and a horizontal
length of 0.3L (where L is the length of the dam axis). In addition, Fig. 6. Schematic diagram of placement of horizontal joints.
it is suggested that concrete with added steel fiber should be used
in high dynamic stress zones of the face slab in order to improve a breakthrough from 230 m to 250 m. We believe that, with a
its crack-resistance capacity during an earthquake. combination of practice, study, and research, along with stepwise
advancement, China will achieve successive breakthroughs from
3.9. New safety monitoring techniques 230 m to 250 m, then from 250 m to 270 m, and will finally con-
struct and operate 300 m ultra-high CFRDs safely.
Because of their inherent drawbacks and limited installation
techniques, it is difficult to use the inner deformation monitoring Compliance with ethics guidelines
techniques and apparatus for 200 m CFRDs to meet the require-
ments of 300 m high CFRDs. A number of new technologies have Hongqi Ma and Fudong Chi declare that they have no conflict
been studied for the safety monitoring of 300 m high CFRDs, such of interest or financial conflicts to disclose.
as interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) deformation
monitoring technology, pipeline robots, flexible inclinometers, References
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