EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE FAILURE MECHANISM OF THE ZONED COHESIVE EARTHFILL DAMS
| Author(s) | : | Junaid ur Rehman, Bakht Niaz Khan |
| Institution | : | M.Sc. Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology Peshawar, Pakistan |
| Published In | : | Vol. 6, Issue 3 — March 2019 |
| Page No. | : | 169-173 |
| Domain | : | Engineering |
| Type | : | Research Paper |
| ISSN (Online) | : | 2348-4470 |
| ISSN (Print) | : | 2348-6406 |
Earthfill dams are the common manmade hydraulic structures constructed all over the world. Breaching ofan earthfill dam can leads to catastrophic damage to downstream communities, substantial loss of life, environmentaldamages, and momentous property damages. This research paper aims to investigate the breach pattern of the zonedcohesive earthfill dams due to overtopping. Two small-scale laboratory experiments with different mode of initiation ofbreaching process, flat crest top level and an initial pilot channel erected at middle of crest were conducted. Thedimensions of placed model were, 12 inches crest width, 30 inches crest length, 20 inch crest height, and 1:2 upstreamand downstream side slopes. The results indicated that headcut erosion has a vital role in the breach developmentprocess of cohesive zoned embankments. The breach cross section has almost a trapezoidal shape. The final breachsection width reached to the full width of the dam in case of flat top crest level test while it was confined to the middle ofthe dam in case of test performed with initial pilot channel at middle of the crest. Also, the presence of relatively highcohesive soil in the central impervious core strongly slow down the breach growth process.
Junaid ur Rehman, Bakht Niaz Khan, “EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE FAILURE MECHANISM OF THE ZONED COHESIVE EARTHFILL DAMS”, International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD), Vol. 6, Issue 3, pp. 169-173, March 2019.
