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Erosion of Zoned Earthfill Dams by Internal Instability: Laboratory Testing for Model Development

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Internal Erosion in Earthdams, Dikes and Levees (EWG-IE 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering ((LNCE,volume 17))

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Abstract

The WAC Bennett Dam is one of the largest embankment dams in North America, and one of the most instrumented and studied dams in the world. Following the 1996 sinkhole incident, considerable effort has been made to characterise the zoned materials of the dam with reference to susceptibility to internal erosion. Informed by the findings of this experience, we reflect upon the state-of-practice in dam engineering, and discuss some of its inherent limitations with reference to internal erosion, dam safety, and the management of aging embankment dams. We then describe the state-of-the-art for erosion of zoned earthfill by internal instability, a phenomenon whereby seepage flow removes a finer fraction of the soil gradation. Our paper addresses laboratory testing for materials characterization at the University of British Columbia. In collaboration with our industry research partner BC Hydro, we are seeking to advance the state-of-the-art with reference to a mechanics-based understanding of the phenomenon. We report insights gained from (i) a recent study using a flexible-wall permeameter, and (ii) the status of a new investigation using an advanced triaxial permeameter.

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Acknowledgements

Research on internal erosion at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is supported by multi-year funding (2017–2022), provided by BC Hydro (BCH) and with matching support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), through its Collaborative Research Development (CRD) program. The design, fabrication and commissioning of the advanced triaxial permeameter test device has been completed in the UBC Civil Engineering workshop, for which the technical support of Harald Schrempp, Scott Jackson, and Bill Liu is specifically acknowledged with gratitude.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Jonathan Fannin, Sara Ataii & Vincent McClelland

  2. Geosyntec Consultants Inc., Columbia, USA

    Paul Slangen

  3. BC Hydro, Burnaby, Canada

    Des Hartford

Authors
  1. Jonathan Fannin
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  2. Paul Slangen
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  3. Sara Ataii
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  4. Vincent McClelland
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  5. Des Hartford
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan Fannin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. IRSTEA, National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture, Aix en Provence, France

    Stéphane Bonelli

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Cristina Jommi

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Donatella Sterpi

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Fannin, J., Slangen, P., Ataii, S., McClelland, V., Hartford, D. (2019). Erosion of Zoned Earthfill Dams by Internal Instability: Laboratory Testing for Model Development. In: Bonelli, S., Jommi, C., Sterpi, D. (eds) Internal Erosion in Earthdams, Dikes and Levees. EWG-IE 2018. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering , vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99423-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99423-9_4

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-99423-9

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