Chapter 61 - Earth Dam - Introduction, types and calculation of seepage through it
A dam is a barrier that restricts the flow of water and can be used to collect the water. This water may be utilised for many purposes such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use and hydro power generation.
Dams can be created using different materials such as bricks, concrete, timber and earth that means soil. Different sites require different types of material for the construction of dam. Not all the sites are appropriate for the construction of all the types of dams but an earth dam can be designed to be constructed at almost any site.
In earth dams the construction material is earth that is rocks and soil. The water that an earth dam holds on its one side flows from upstream through the voids present in the soil of the body of the dam to downstream by the action of hydraulic head difference. This phenomenon of flow of water, movement of water through the soil is called seepage.
As the water flows through the soil it exerts a drag on the soil particles in the direction of its motion. If this exerted force is strong it may displace the soil particles in its way and particles may get carried away by the flowing water. This creates pipe like openings in the body of the dam through which water can flow rapidly. This phenomenon is called piping. It is one of the major causes of failure in earth dams.
It is difficult to construct an earth dam with zero seepage. Some of the water will always seep through the dam and the foundation. So for the safety of the structure against piping the seepage through it must be within acceptable limits.
Here in this video we try to estimate the amount of seepage losses through the body of a homogeneous earth dam having a horizontal filter at the downstream end.
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