Monitoring Seepage through Dam under Consolidation Using the Finite Element Method, Case Study: Karkheh Dam

Authors

1 M.Sc. Graduate of Hydraulic Stracture Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Jundi-Shapur University of Technology, Dezful, Iran.

2 Asistant professor of Civil Engineering Department, Jundi-Shapur university of technology, Dezful, Iran.

Abstract

The monitoring of an earth dam refers to the dam’s performance in different construction stages, starting with impoundment followed by the exploitation period, which can be achieved in different fields such as seepage and subsidence analysis. This research analyzed Karkheh storage dam’s seepage behavior using the finite element method under various scenarios assuming saturated flow, saturated-unsaturated flow, and saturated-unsaturated flow under consolidation in steady and unsteady conditions. The 17-year data obtained from the Karkheh dam’s piezometer instrumentation in five sections of the dam’s body and foundation were used to improve the accuracy of the parameters and adapt the analyses results to the actual dam conditions. Subsequently, seepage analysis comprising calibration and validation of the numerical model in two-dimensional and three-dimensional states using Seep/w and Seep3D software was conducted under the considered scenarios. Finally, a complete numerical model was obtained based on the actual dam conditions. The results show that three-dimensional flow analysis in the unsteady state under consolidation is more accurate than the two-dimensional state with a 23.5% lower error rate than the 2D approach.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

جوادی جوکار م.، م. شهربانوزاده و ف. صالحی‏فر، 1394، ارزیابی عددی فشار آب منفذی در بحرانی ترین مقطع سد خاکی با استفاده از نرم‏افزار Seep‐3D مطالعه موردی: سد کرخه، کنفرانس و نمایشگاه مهندسی آب، تهران، ایران.
شرکت مهندسی مشاور مهاب قدس، 1381، گزارش پایانی ابزاردقیق و رفتارنگاری سد کرخه، طرح سد مخزنی کرخه.
شرکت مهندسی مشاور مهاب قدس، 1374، گزارش زمین‏شناسی سد کرخه، مطالعات مرحله دوم، طرح سد مخزنی کرخه.
شهربانوزاده م.، م. حسامی کرمانی و غ. بارانی، 1389، مدلسازی جریان نشت از پی سد با استفاده از نرم افزار Seep-3D مطالعه موردی سد شهید عباسپور، اولین کنفرانس بین المللی مدلسازی گیاه، آب، خاک و هوا، مرکز بین‏المللی علوم و تکنولوژی پیشرفته و علوم محیطی، کرمان، ایران.
Fu J.F. and S. Jin. 2009. A study on unsteady seepage flow through dam. Journal of Hydrodynamics 21(4) 499-504.
Geoslope international, Ltd. 2004. Seep3D user manual.
Geoslope international, Ltd. 2018. Seep/w user manual.
Guo X., J. Baroth, D. Dias and A. Simon. 2018. An analytical model for the monitoring of pore water pressure inside embankment dams. Engineering Structures, 160, 356–365.
Jin L., Z. Qi, Li. Liang, Wei Xiang. 2019. Monitoring and characterizing the deformation of an earth dam in Guangxi Province, China, Engineering Geology, 248, 50–60.
Lam L., D.G. Fredlund and S.L. Barbour. 1987. Transient seepage model for saturated unsaturated soil systems: a geotechnical engineering approach, Department of Civil Engineering, University of saskatchewan, saskatoon, Canada S7, NO W0.
Li G.C. and C.S. Desai. 1983. Stress and seepage analysis of earthen dams, Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE 109, 946-960.
Rafiezadeh K. and B. Ataie-Ashtiani. 2014. Transient free-surface seepage in three-dimensional general anisotropic media by BEM. Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements, 46, 51-66.
Ren J., Z.Z. Shen, J. Yang and C.Z. Yu. 2016. Back analysis of the 3D seepage problem and its engineering, applications. Environmental Earth Sciences, 75(2), 1-8.
Stanisław L. and O. Leszek. 2017. Using the modified scalar product approach for testing the direction of seepage through the earth-fill dam in Pieczyska, Journal of Water and Land Development, No. 33 (IV–VI): 89–98, 1429–7426.
Thieu N.T.M., M.D. Fredlund, D.G. Fredlund and V.R. Hung. 2001. Seepage modeling in a saturated/unsaturated soil system. International Conference on Management of Land and Water Resources, MLWR, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Yan X., F. Shu-yan, Z. Kai, Y Hui and F. Zhi-yuan. 2017. Seepage safety monitoring model for an earth rock dam under influence of high-impact typhoons based on particle swarm optimization algorithm, Water Science and Engineering, 10(1):70-77.
Yuan S. and H. Zhong. 2016. Three dimensional analysis of unconfined seepage in earth dams by the weak form quadrature element method, Journal of Hydrology, No 533, 403–411.
 
 
Irrigation and Water Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 2 - Serial Number 50
December 2022
Pages 85-103

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics