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DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR CONCRETE FACED ROCKFILL DAMS ON WEAK

ALLUVIUM

Conference Paper · November 2018

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DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR CONCRETE FACED ROCKFILL
DAMS ON WEAK ALLUVIUM
1 1
M Kamper , Geotechnical Engineer; S Shinde , Project Manager.
1. GIBB, Woodmead,

PRESENTER: M KAMPER

ABSTRACT

The settlement of CFRDs is not completely understood and is more complicated should a high
(150m+) CFRD be situated on weak alluvium. At many potential CFRD dam sites, thick and weak
alluvium are present and the removal thereof is not always economical, hence its presence can
eliminate CFRD as a dam of choice. The aim of this paper is to investigate the theoretical
deformations of an existing CFRD (Mohale) if placed on thick and weak alluvium using finite element
method. Secondly, to derive an empirical relation that can predict the behaviour of CFRDs on weak
alluvium.

It was found that slope instability is the major occurrence as it was found that the weaker the
sediment, the higher the likelihood for a large scale failure surface to develop. Consolidation increases
the safety factor which necessitates a longer construction period. Horizontal reinforcement within the
CFRD can also increase the stability.

Construction of CFRDs on weak alluvium is feasible and a safety factor can be easily predicted for
preliminary design if the alluvium’ geotechnical parameters are known.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1.1 Historical overview

Concrete Faced Rockfill Dams (CFRDs) have been a popular choice of dam type for the last 50 years
due to its favourable economics. The majority of CFRDs have been founded on solid bedrock. Some
CFRDs have, however, been built on alluvial alluvium of up to 113m thick, such as at the 80m high
Puclaro Dam (Massiera et al. 2005). The problem experienced with many CFRDs is the post
construction cracking of the concrete face and many studies have been undertaken to investigate and
possible remedy the cracking as related to the settlement of rockfill (Charles J.A. 1976, Parkin A. K.
1977, Hunter G. & Fell R. 2003, Oldecop L. A. & Alonso E. E. 2007; Szostak-Chrzanowski A. et al.
2008, WeiZhou, et al. 2011). Several formulae are at present available for estimating construction
settlement and face slab cracking. (ICOLD 141, 2010).

In all studies undertaken thus far regarding the settlement and associated cracking of the face slab,
only the contribution of the rockfill has been considered and it is rightly assumed that the bedrock’s
contribution to the settlement is zero.

1.1.2 CFRDs on soft alluvium

The few CFRDs that have been built on alluvial deposits, (Puclaro, Toulnustouc etc.), are situated on
strong granular alluvium (ICOLD 141, 2010). This CFRD-on-strong-alluvium scenario has been
investigated by Massiera et al. (2005), whereby theoretical, finite element analyses were undertaken
using the geotechnical parameters of the Toulnustouc CFRD situated on strong alluvium. The crest
settlements of different heights of CFRD founded on a fixed thickness of 60m, dense gravels were
determined and compared. The main finding was that, although some movement is indeed transferred
from the upper rockfill into the underlying “dense” alluvium, the “dense” consistency resulted in very
small soil movements and that the magnitude of the eventual crest settlements of the CFRDs are
similar to those of CFRDs on founded on bedrock. The Duncan and Chang (1970) hyperbolic model

1
used in the study used a Young’s modulus of about 90 MPa for the alluvium, which indicates that an
alluvial deposit of “dense” consistency has little effect on eventual crest settlements of CFRDs. The
behaviour of a CFRD on a weak i.e. “compressible” deposit (Young’s modulus smaller than 90MPa) is
not known.

2. CURRENT STUDY

For CFRDs founded on hard rock, the settlement of only the rockfill causes differential movements at
the plinth, perimeter joint and face slab. For a CFRD founded on compressible deposits, the crest
settlement and the differential movements at the plinth, perimeter joint and face slab is assumed to be
due to the sum of the settlement of the rockfill plus the settlement (ρ) of the foundation:

= + …………….(1)

Alluvium is normally comprised of intermixed clays, silts, sands and gravels, it can therefore be
assumed that clays and silts will only start to consolidate after construction, whilst the rockfill’s
settlement is largely completed soon after construction. Therefore to investigate the behaviour of a
CFRD on weak alluvium, an existing CFRD on bedrock with known or “completed” deformations, is
placed on thick, weak alluvium in a finite element model. The contribution of the compressible alluvium
to the total predicted deformations (post construction), could then be assessed. It is assumed that the
“valley shape factor” has already been accounted for in the measured settlements of the rockfill.

2.1 Mohale CFRD, Lesotho

3
The Mohale CFRD in Lesotho is a 145m high, 7.2M m basalt rockfill dam completed in 2002 (ICOLD
141, 2010). The bottom settlement cell recorded more than 3m of settlement (Johannesson P &
Tohlang S, 2007) and extensive cracking of the face slab has occurred. The geotechnical parameters
of the Mohale dam’s rockfill is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Parameters of the basalt rockfill

Parameter Value
φ’ (°) 42 to 47
Voids (%) 24
3
Rock density (kg/m ) 2900
3
Compaction density (kg/m ) 2200
Rockfill modulus (MPa) 24 to 32
Impoundment modulus (MPa) 60

In current study, the stiffness of the basalt bedrock was taken as 20 GPa.
2
The Mohale dam was then modelled in the Rocscience® RS FE program and the deformations were
similar to the measured deformations in the central cell (2.9 m versus the measured 2.8m). This
observation was then interpreted that the finite element model works correctly, subsequently the
bedrock was changed to weak alluvium. The models are shown in Figure 1.

2
 Figure 1. Mohale CFRD placed on basalt bedrock and then on weak alluvium.

The alluvium’s thickness was varied between 18m, 45m, 70m and 95m in order to assess the effect of
thickness on the model.

2.2 Geotechnical properties of the weak alluvium

The soft/loose alluvium’s geotechnical parameters are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Parameters of the weak alluvium

Parameter Value
φ’ (°) 25 to 30
Poisson’s ratio 0.3
Undrained cohesion, Su (kPa) 100
Drained cohesion, c’ (kPa) 0
eff
Effective cohesion c (kPa) 50
Young’s modulus (MPa) 15 to 30

The parameters of Table 2 is for an alluvium that is comprised of say 25% clay, 25% silt, 25% sand
and 25% gravel. Its behaviour is assumed to be in between the completely drained and undrained
states, hence the use of the “effective” cohesion of 50 kPa.

The analyses were carried out using a staged analysis with the first stage having the CFRD filled at
5m and the second stage as being at Full Supply Level (FSL).

3
3. RESULTS

3.1 Slope stability

The first observation of the analyses is that slope instability results: a shear surface develops within
the alluvium and progresses through the rockfill. This is thought to be a true representation of what
would happen in an actual rockfill-soft alluvium interface immediately after construction: as the shear
strength is still insufficient to prevent lateral movement of the soft alluvium. The output of the
deformations are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Deformations of CFRD, with lateral displacement of 7.2m and vertical displacement of
7.6m.

It is also indicated by Figure 2 that the deformations at the upstream side is remarkably uniform, i.e.
the deformation at the plinth and that at the face slab are of the same magnitude. This is significant as
this is the area where most of the past problems with CFRDs have been experienced. A sensitivity
analysis was subsequently carried out, where thickness and stiffness’ influence on the factor of safety
or in finite element terms, the Strength Reduction Factor (SRF), were investigated, the result is shown
in Figures 3 and 4.

SRF and Thickness 15 MPa

20 MPa
1.6 30 MPa

1.5 40 MPa

1.4
SRF

1.3

1.2

1.1

1
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Thickness of Soft Alluvium

Figure 3. Factor of safety (expressed as SRF), as influenced by the alluvium’s stiffness and
thickness.

4
 Shear Strength Reduction and Stiffness
1.6
18m
1.5 45m
70m
1.4 95m
SRF 1.3
1.2
1.1
1
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Stiffness (MPa)

Figure 4. Factor of safety (expressed as SRF), as influenced by the stiffness of the alluvium

Stiff (> 40MPa) alluvium’s thickness has clearly little effect on the SRF as shown by Figure 3, whilst
soft to firm (loose to medium dense) alluvium’s thickness has an observable effect. Notable is the
nonlinear relation obtained between stiffness, thickness and SRF. Stiffness’ effect is most pronounced
in thin deposits as shown by Figure 4.

3.2 Deformations
The influence of stiffness and thickness on the deformations (vertical settlement of the dam crest, ρ
vertical) is shown in Figure 5.

Settlement and thickness

14
15 MPa
12 20 MPa
30 MPa
10
ρ vertical (m)

40 MPa
8

2
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Thickness of Alluvium

Figure 5. Settlement of dam crest as a function of stiffness and thickness

As observed with the SRF, strong alluvium will likely result in fairly constant vertical settlements of the
crest across alluvium thicknesses ranging between 20 to 40m, as shown by Figure 5. It has to be
noted that crest settlements are usually of a smaller magnitude than settlement occurring within the
dam’s core, but in this case it is assumed that settlements within the dam core have already occurred.
It can be seen that the thinner the alluvium, the more load is transferred to the underlying bedrock.

5
3.3 Lateral ground movement
As mentioned under 3.1, slope instability and consequently vertical settlement are caused by
substantial lateral movement at the downstream face within the alluvium, shown in Figure 6.

Lateral Movement and thickness

10
9 15 MPa
8 20 MPa
7 30 MPa
ρ lateral (m)

6 40 MPa
5
4
3
2
1
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Thickness of Alluvium
Figure 6. Recorded lateral movement at the downstream face

Substantial lateral movement occurs on soft to firm / loose to medium dense alluvium whilst less
movement occurs within stiff / dense alluvium as shown by Figure 6. This shows that “sliding failure” of
the CFRD will occur on thick, weak alluvium.

3.4 Derived empirical relation

The data obtained from the finite element analyses were used to develop a theoretical but still an
empirical” relationship between the stiffness and thickness of the alluvium, and the corresponding
SRF, which is presented in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Relations between stiffness and thickness and the corresponding SRFs

The relations shown in Figure 7 can be used as a preliminary design tool: For a “target” SRF of say
1.3, a stiffness of at least 25 MPa is required with a maximum thickness of 60m according to the
relation:

= −3.84 × + 156…………….(2)

Where T = thickness (m); E = stiffness (MPa).

6
3.5 Long term stability
In the long term, clays within the alluvium will consolidate, especially with the enormous overburden
pressure exerted by the CFRD. The effect of the overburden on the shear strength (Su) can be
determined by the relation of Skempton and Henkel (1953). Using the Skempon and Henkel
relationship it can be determined that the undrained shear strength can increase to up to 650kPa in
the central zone. The zonation for a thickness of alluvium of 95m is presented in Figure 8.

Figure 8. Different zones with increased undrained shear strength due to long-term
consolidation

The SRF was found to be 1.48, and this for a 15MPa stiffness material. This is similar to the SRFs as
determined for a 40MPa stiffness material (Figure 4), which is expected as an already strong material
is unlikely to experience a further strength increase. The high confining stress will also result in an
increase in friction angle of the coarse grained component of the alluvium. The result indicates that
long-term consolidation will increase the SRF of a CFRD on weak material (15MPa) by about 40% in
the long term. It also implies that the softer the founding material of a CFRD, the longer the required
construction time to ensure increased strength and stability. This time can be shortened by installation
of band drains.

3.6 Use of reinforcement

The slope failures occur in the downstream face when the founding soils’ stiffness is low. If horizontal
reinforcement is employed, lateral deformations will then be limited. Analyses were undertaken using
geotextile reinforcement of the soft soils and a cut off wall to a depth of 60m. None of these
reinforcement options had any significant effect on the SRF and deformations. However, when steel
reinforcement is placed every 20m (in height) within the rockfill, shows a 22% improvement in the SRF
results. As shown in Figure 9, it is due to the fact that the shear surface is substantially lengthened.

Figure 9. Lengthening of the shear surface when steel reinforcement is used (left).

7
 However it was found that the deformations are similar to the unreinforced rockfill.

4. CONCLUSION AND FURTURE RESEARCH

The derived relation incorporating SRF, thickness of the compressible layer and stiffness, shows a
linear relation between stiffness and thickness of a compressible layer for a chosen SRF. If actual
parameters are available, the relationship may be nonlinear, however, the relation / model can be
used for carrying out estimation during preliminary design stage.

An observation made in this study is that there is similar movement between the plinth and the face
slab in the case of thick alluvium. In the case of a CFRD founded on hard rock the plinth is rigid whilst
the face slab is always experiencing movement, which has caused numerous cases of cracking in the
past and it is indicated that the propensity of cracking of the face slab may be less if the CFRD is
founded on weak alluvium. This is the subject of a future study.

5. REFERENCES

Massiéra M, Szostak-Chranzanowski A, Vatour J & Hammamji Y (2005). Deformations of Concrete

Face Rockfill Dams (CFRDs) Resting on Soil Foundation. Technical Sciences No 8. 2005.

Charles J. & K.Watts (1980). The influence of confining pressure on the shear strength of compacted
rockfill. Geotechnique, Volume 30, Issue 4, 353–367.

Parkin A. K. (1977). The compression of Rockfill. Australian Geomechanics Journal.

Oldecop L.A. & Alonso E. E. (2007). Theoretical investigation of the time-dependent behaviour of
rockfill. Geotechnique 57, Issue 3, 289–301.

Szostak-Chrzanowski A, Deng N, & Massiéra M. (2008). Monitoring and Deformation Aspects of Large
Concrete Face Rockfill Dams. 13th FIG International Symposium on Deformation Measurements and
Analysis and 4th IAG Symposium on Geodesy for Geotechnical and Structural Engineering. Lisbon.

Zhou W, Hua J, Chang X & Zhou C. (2011). Settlement analysis of the Shuibuya concrete-face rockfill
dam. Computers and Geotechnics, Volume 38, 269–280.

ICOLD (2010). Concrete Face Rockfill dams. Bulletin 141. International Commission on Large Dams.
Paris.

Duncan J.M. & Chang C.M. (1970). Nonlinear analysis of stress and strain in soils. Journal of Soil
Mechanics and Foundations Division, ASCE, Volume 96, 1629-1653

Johannesson P. & Tohlang S. (2007). Lessons learned from Mohale: Palmi Johannesson and Sixtus
L. Tohlang address the behaviour during and after reservoir filling of the 145m high Mohale CFRD in
Lesotho, with emphasis on cracking of the concrete slab. International Water Power & Dam
Construction, Volume 59, Issue 8, p.16.

Skempton A.W & Henkel D.J. (1953).The post Glacial clays of the Thames Estuary at Tilbury and
Shell haven, Proc. 3rd ICSMFF, Zurich, Vol. 1, 1953, 302-308

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