Abstract
Earth-rock fill dams are the most widely used dam type all over the world, and flood overtopping is the key reason causing dam burst. However, since an earth-rock fill dam with a concrete core wall is a modified new dam type, overtopping studies on these dams are rather deficient. The overtopping process and structural safety analyses of this new dam type have been studied in this paper by using a CFD-FEM coupled method based on the three-dimensional model of the Fangtianba reservoir expansion project. The scouring characteristics of the earth-rock fill dam, the variation trend of the downstream scouring depth, and the deformation as well as stress of the core wall have been obtained. Overtopping burst failure of the earth-rock fill dam with a concrete core wall is greatly affected by the downstream scouring depth, and tensile stress will occur on the upstream side of the core wall near the scour hole. When the downstream scouring depth is small and its growth is slow but stable, the tensile stress cannot exceed the allowable value in the early period of overtopping, and the concrete core wall may be able to support the dam body for a period of time, which might delay the occurrence of destructive collapse and overall burst. However, a sudden collapse may occur in the later period of overtopping; thus, reinforcement and emergency measures should be taken in time before the overall dam bursts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmadisharaf E, Kalyanapu AJ, Thames BA, Lillywhite J (2016) A probabilistic framework for comparison of dam breach parameters and outflow hydrograph generated by different empirical prediction methods. Environ Model Softw 86:248–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.09.022
Alhasan Z, Jandora J, Riha J (2016) Comparison of specific sediment transport rates obtained from empirical formulae and dam breaching experiments. Environ Fluid Mech 16(5):997–1019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-016-9463-2
Ashraf M, Soliman AH, Elghorab E, Zawahry AE (2018) Assessment of embankment dams breaching using large scale physical modeling and statistical methods. Water Science 32(2):362–379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsj.2018.05.002
Charru F, Mouilleron H, Eiff O (2004) Erosion and deposition of particles on a bed sheared by a viscous flow. J Fluid Mech 519:55–80. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112004001028
Derksen JJ (2011) Simulations of granular bed erosion due to laminar shear flow near the critical shields number. Phys Fluids 23(11):113303. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3660258
Feliciano CJA, Imran J, Chaudhry MH (2015) Experimental investigation of the effects of soil properties on levee breach by overtopping. J Hydraul Eng 141(4):04014085. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0000964
Foster M, Fell R, Spannagle M (2000) A method for assessing the relative likelihood of failure of embankment dams by piping. Can Geotech J 37(39):1025–1061. https://doi.org/10.1139/t01-109
Franca MJ, Almeida AB (2004) A computational model of rockfill dam breaching caused by overtopping (RoDaB). J Hydraul Res 42(2):197–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2004.9628304
Froehlich DC (2008) Embankment dam breach parameters and their uncertainties. J Hydraul Eng 134(12):1708–1721. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2008)134
Goodarzi E, Shui LT, Ziae M (2013) Dam overtopping risk using probabilistic concepts – case study: the Meijaran dam, Iran. Ain Shams Engineering Journal 4(2):185–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2012.09.001
Hou QD, Wu GJ, Li HB, Fan G, Zhou JW (2019) Large deformation and failure mechanism analyses of Tangba high slope with a high-intensity and complex excavation process. J Mt Sci 16(2):453–469. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-018-5002-6
Hu Y, Yu Z, Zhou J (2020) Numerical simulation of landslide-generated waves during the 11 October 2018 Baige landslide at the Jinsha River. Landslides 17(10):2317–2328
Javadi N, Mahdi TF (2014) Experimental investigation into rockfill dam failure initiation by overtopping. Nat Hazards 74(2):623–637. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-014-1201-9
Jayadi R, Istiarto, Pradipta AG (2018) Impact of sedimentation counter measure on the performance of flood control: a case study of Wonogiri reservoir. Applied Mechanics & Materials 881:78–85. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.881.78
Kakinuma T, Shimizu Y (2014) Large-scale experiment and numerical modeling of a riverine levee breach. J Hydraul Eng 140(9):04014039. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0000902
Kansoh RM, Elkholy M, Abo-Zaid G (2020) Effect of shape parameters on failure of earthen embankment due to overtopping. KSCE J Civ Eng 24:1467–1485. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-020-1107-x
Kwon HH, Moon YI (2006) Improvement of overtopping risk evaluations using probabilistic concepts for existing dams. Stoch Env Res Risk A 20(4):223–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-005-0017-2
Liang J (2019) A new type of dam-longitudinal reinforced rockfill dand its operation safety analysis. Advanced Engineering Sciences 51(2):1–7 (in Chinese). https://doi.org/10.15961/j.jsuese.201800882
Liao H, Yang X, Li H, Gan B-R, Zhou J (2020) Increase in hazard from successive landslide-dammed lakes along the Jinsha River, Southwest China. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk 11(1):1115–1128
Middlebrooks TA (1953) Earth-dam practice in the United States. Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers CT(2): 697–722 https://cedb.asce.org/CEDBsearch/record.jsp?dockey = 0292564
Mohamed MMA (2018) Overtopping breach peak outflow approximation of embankment dam by using Monte Carlo method. Beni-Suef University Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences 7(4):724–732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjbas.2018.10.002
Ouriemi M, Aussillous P, Medale M, Peysson Y, Guazzelli E (2007) Determination of the critical shields number for particle erosion in laminar flow. Phys Fluids 19(6):061706. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2747677
Pickert G, Weitbrecht V, Bieberstein A (2011) Breaching of overtopped river embankments controlled by apparent cohesion. J Hydraul Res 49(2):143–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2011.552468
Rafael M, Miguel T (2011) Research into protection of rockfill dams from overtopping using rockfill downstream toes. Can J Civ Eng 38(12):1314–1326. https://doi.org/10.1139/L11-091
Rifai I, Abderrezzak KE, Hager WH, Erpicum S, Archambeau P, Violeau D, Pirotton M, Dewals B (2020) Apparent cohesion effects on overtopping-induced fluvial dike breaching. Journal of hydraulic research 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2020.1714760
Saberi O, Zenz G (2015) Empirical relationship for calculate outflow hydrograph of embankment dam failure due to overtopping flow. International Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 4(3):45–53. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.ijhe.20150403.01
Sharafati A, Azamathulla HM (2018) Assessment of dam overtopping reliability using SUFI based overtopping threshold curve. Water Resour Manag 32(7):2369–2383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-018-1934-4
Sharafati A, Yaseen ZM, Pezeshki E (2020) Strategic assessment of dam overtopping reliability using a stochastic process approach. J Hydrol Eng 25(7):04020029. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001938
Tabrizi AA, Elalfy E, Larocque LA, Chaudhry MH, Imran J (2015) Experimental modeling of levee failure process due to overtopping. Proceeding of Dam Safety 2015 Conference, Association of State Dam Safety Officials, New Orleans 1–11 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288670624_Experimental_Modeling_of_Levee_Failure_Process_due_to_Overtopping
Tabrizi AA, Elalfy E, Elkholy M, Chaudhry MH, Imran J (2017) Effects of compaction on embankment breach due to overtopping. J Hydraul Res 55(2):236–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2016.1238014
Talukdar P, Dey A (2019) Hydraulic failures of earthen dams and embankments. Innovative Infrastructure Solutions 4(1):42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-019-0229-9
Tessema NN, Sigtryggsdóttir FG, Lia L, Jabir AK (2019) Case study of dam overtopping from waves generated by landslides impinging perpendicular to a reservoir’s longitudinal axis. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 7(7):221. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7070221
Wahl TL (1997) Predicting embankment dam breach parameters - a needs assessment. Energy and Water: Sustainable Development 48–53 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254347750_Predicting_Embankment_Dam_Breach_Parameters_-_A_Needs_Assessment
Wahl TL (2004) Uncertainty of predictions of embankment dam breach parameters. J Hydraul Eng 130(5): 389–397 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2004)130:5(389)
Xie JB, Sun DY (2009) Statistics of dam failures in China and analysis on failure causations. Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering 12:128–132 (in Chinese). https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1000-0860.2009.12.032
Acknowledgements
Critical comments by the anonymous reviewers greatly improved the initial manuscript.
Funding
This study was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFC1508601), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U20A20111, 51909182), and the Sichuan Youth Science and Technology Innovation Research Team Project (2020JDTD0006).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Zeynal Abiddin Erguler
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hou, Qd., Li, Hb., Hu, Yx. et al. Overtopping process and structural safety analyses of the earth-rock fill dam with a concrete core wall by using numerical simulations. Arab J Geosci 14, 234 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-06639-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-06639-w