PIPING PHENOMENA AT OSTROVUL CORBULUI DIKE Case Study

ing. Gaftoi Daniel Andrei

PhD student at TUCEB

Presentation Content
I. Brief description of the site, of its geology and of the encountered phenomena

II. Considered assumptions causes of the piping phenomena III. Confirmations of the considered assumptions using a mathematical model

IV. Proposal of corrective measures

V. Confirmation of the efficiency of the solutions using mathematical model

Site description
Ostrovul Corbului embankment dike :
part of the Iron Gates II hydropower plant founded on highly permeable and easily trained alluvial soils initial project didnt supply a cutoff wall the excessive water from the protected area is pumped back into the storage lake the pumping station is equipped with 2 high capacity pumps it was placed on a caisson founded on the bed rock at approximately 18 m depth
Pumping Station

Danube

pumping water from the channel is intermittent ( 2- 3 rounds / day)

Drainage Channel

the duration of a pumping round 3 h during which the water level lowers with 2 - 2.5 m the water level difference between storage lake and drainage channel is approx. 5 m

Transformer Station

Site geology
Values of the permeability coefficient are high and very high k = 71 982 m/day

Size analysis for soil layers presented in the foundation of the dike

Hydraulic gradient ( i )

Dangerous zone for piping

Safe zone Coefficient of uniformity ( Un)

I silty sand layer (depth range : 3.3 m 10.2 m ) II, III coarse silt layer (depth range : 10.2 m 18.1 m )

Un = 20 - 25 icr = 0.18 0.30 Un = 50 - 150

Aim of the study

Groundwater movement between the retention level and the lower levels created by water pumping lead to soil structure damage - repeatedly ground subsidence near the transformer station (observed since 2003)

Affects the PS stability and functionality

Repeatedly filling of the hole with selected gravel no influence on stopping the piping phenomena

to identify the potential causes of the piping phenomena to identify the possible remedial solutions

Considered assumptions
Causes of the piping phenomena :
dam foundation soil that up to 18-20 m depth is composed of irregular sand and gravel, unstable in terms of hydrodynamic picking up pumping station foundation which represents an obstacle in the flow net of the groundwater flow from the dam to the drainage channel. no correlation between the pumped flow and the water level from the channel

Mathematical model 2D horizontal FEM model

Meshed region includes a large zone 2707 elements The results are not influenced by domain limit boundary conditions Finer mesh in the pumping station area better results in the interested area
Danube
Pumping station area

T = 1200 m2/day k = 0.0016 m/sec saturated volume water content - 20%

Verify the assumption

Situation modeled a pumping round (first step before the pumping round) Initial boundary conditions : H = 42.00 maSL in storage lake H = 37.00 maSL in the drainage channel
lines of constant head

Value of hydraulic gradient: i = 0.18 0.20 i icr

hydraulic gradients and flow vectors

Verify the assumption

Situation modeled a pumping round (last step after the pumping round) Boundary conditions : H = 42.00 maSL in storage lake H = 35.00 maSL in the drainage channel
lines of constant head

Value of hydraulic gradient: i = 0.26 i > icr

Geometry of the drainage channel

Cause of the hydraulic gradients concentrations

hydraulic gradients and flow vectors

Corrective measures proposed

1. Changes to the pumping rate - limit the water level offset into the channel and the lowering speed of the water (1 m in 3 hours)

2. A sheet pile cutoff wall - create a hydraulic barrier to reduce the flow gradients below the critical values
3. The combined effect of the two changes to the pumping rate and a sheet pile cutoff wall

Corrective measures
Situation modeled changes to the pumping rate 1 m in 3 hours Boundary conditions : H = 42.00 maSL in storage lake H = 36.00 maSL in the drainage channel
lines of constant head

Value of hydraulic gradient: i = 0.22 i > icr

hydraulic gradients and flow vectors

Corrective measures
Situation modeled sheet pile cutoff wall Boundary conditions : H = 42.00 maSL in storage lake H = 35.00 maSL in the drainage channel
lines of constant head

Value of hydraulic gradient: i = 0.15

hydraulic gradients and flow vectors

Corrective measures
Situation modeled sheet pile cutoff wall and changes to the pumping rate Boundary conditions : H = 42.00 maSL in storage lake H = 36.00 maSL in the drainage channel
lines of constant head

Value of hydraulic gradient: i = 0.1 Safety factor 1.8

hydraulic gradients and flow vectors

Conclusions
The paper aims to identify the causes of the subsidence phenomena observed at Ostrovul Corbului pumping station and to define the remedial solution. The analysis on the mathematical model showed that hydrodynamic picking up of the sand from the dam foundation has 4 principal causes: the configuration of the terminal area of the drainage channel the presence of the caisson the presence of easily trained alluvial soils the pumping regime - 2.00 2.50 m in 3 hours

To control the seepage phenomena we proposed : the development of a sheet pile cutoff wall changes to the pumping rate

Thank you for your attention !