Seepage through dams

REPORTERS:
MAYO, DARYL JAY L.
LOPOT, MARY LOUISE T.
CAMINONG, MEIGIENNE E
INTRODUCTION

1 2 3
Wet areas downstream All dams have some Seepage becomes a
from dams are not seepage as the concern if it is carrying
usually natural springs, impounded seeks material with it, and
but seepage through or paths of the least should controlled to
under the dam. Even if prevent erosion of the
resistance through the
natural springs exist, embankment, or
they should be treated
dam and its foundation, or damage to
with suspicion and foundation. concrete structures.
carefully observed.
SEEPAGE

1 2 3

The continuous The process by Water that

movement of water which a liquid
from the upstream seeped or oozed
leaks through a
face of the dam through a porous
towards its porous substance.
downstream face.
soil.
 1 Homogeneous dam
TYPES
OF 2 Thin core dam

DAMS 3 Zoned earth and rockfill dam

 HOMOGENEOUS DAM
Is one that is composed almost
entirely of the one material
which is usually relatively
impervious.

With this type of dam it is necessary to

incorporate some type of downstream
pervious drain with appropriately placed
filters in order to control the seepage
water. This is to prevent the occurrence
of a “piping” failure by the internal
erosion of the finer particles of the
earthfill.
 HOMOGENEOUS DAM
PIPING
-Internal erosion of the
foundation or embankment
caused by seepage.

Resistance of the embankment

or foundation to piping
depends on:
1) Plasticity of the soil
2) The gradation
3) The degree of
compactness
 THIN CORE DAM
If there exists a plentiful supply
of rockfill, a thin core dam could
be constructed. The rockfill
could be rolled by means of
compaction equipment or
dumped from trucks.

Impervious cores having widths of 15%

to 20% of the water head usually
perform satisfactorily if adequately
designed and constructed filter layers
are incorporated.
 ZONED EARTH AND
ROCKFILL DAM
When a wide range of construction
materials is available within the vicinity of
the damsite, a zoned earth and rockfill dam
incorporating all of these materials.

The term “rockfill dam” is usually

restricted to a dam composed almost
entirely of rockfill.

The water barrier may consists of an

upstream membrane of metal, concrete,
asphalt or earthfill or there may be no
water barrier at all.
 DETECTION

• Seepage flow which is muddy and

carrying sediment (soil particles) is
evidence of "piping," and is a serious
condition that if left untreated can
cause failure of the dam.
• Another indication of seepage is the
presence of rust-colored iron bacteria.
• A continuous or sudden drop in the
normal lake level is another indication
that seepage is occurring.
 DETECTION

• Seepage can also develop behind or

beneath concrete structures such as
chute spillways or headwalls. If the
concrete structure does not have a
means such as weep holes or relief
drains to relieve the water pressure, the
concrete structure may heave, rotate, or
crack.
 CONTROL

The need for seepage control

will depend on the quantity,
content, and location of the
seepage.
 CONTROL

• Controlling the content of the seepage or preventing seepage

flow from removing soil particles is extremely important.
 Modern dam design practices;
• Cutoffs
• Impermeable cores
• Impermeable blankets extending upstream from
the upstream face.
 CONTROL

• Cutoffs
- are a type of seepage
barrier structure
designed to reduce the
flow of water through
or around a dam.
 CONTROL

• Impermeable cores
-a zone of low permeability
material in an embankment dam.
 CONTROL
• Impermeable
blankets extending
upstream from the
upstream face.
- upstream blanket tied into the core
of the dam and was used to reduce
underseepage.
CONTROL

• The owner must retain a professional engineer to design toe drains, relief wells,
inverted filters, weep holes, or relief holes, and regular monitoring of these
features is critical.

• Weep holes and relief drains can be installed to relieve water pressure or drain
seepage from behind or beneath concrete structures.

• These systems must be designed to prevent migration of soil particles but still
allow the seepage to drain freely.
 MONITORING
Regular monitoring is
essential to detect seepage
and prevent dam failure.

Knowledge of the dam's

history is important to
determine whether the
seepage condition is in a
steady or changing state.

It is important to keep
written records of points of
seepage exit, quantity and
content of flow, size of wet
area, and type of vegetation
for later comparison.
MONITORING

All records should be kept with the Inspection and Maintenance Plan for the dam.

Instrumentation can also be used to monitor seepage.

• V-notch weirs can be used to measure flow rates
easily and inexpensively.
• Piezometers may be used to determine the
saturation level (phreatic surface) within the
embankment.
MONITORING

• Regular surveillance and maintenance of the internal embankment

and foundation drainage outlets is also required.
• The rate and content of flow from each pipe outlet for toe drains,
relief wells, weep holes, and relief drains should be monitored and
documented regularly.
• Normal maintenance consists of removing all obstructions from the
pipe to allow for free drainage of water from the pipe. Typical
obstructions include debris, gravel, sediment, mineral deposits,
calcification of concrete, and rodent nests.
FLOW NETS

Seepage losses through the ground

or through earth dams and leeves
and the related flow pattern and
rate of energy loss, or dissipation of
hydrostatic head, are frequently
estimated by means of a graphical
technique known as flow net.
FLOW NETS

Flow net is a graphical

representation of a flow field
that satisfies Laplace’s
equation and comprises a
family of flow lines and
equipotential lines.
A flow net must meet the following criteria:
1. The boundary conditions must be satisfied.
2. Flow lines must intersect equipotential lines at right angles.
3. The area between flow lines and equipotentials lines must be
curvilinear squares. A curvilinear square has the property that an
inscribed circle can drawn to touch each side of the square and
continuous bisection results, in the limit, in a point.
4. The quantity of flow through each flow channel is constant.
5. The head loss between each consecutive equipotential line is
constant.
6. A flow line cannot intersect another flow line.
7. An equipotential line cannot intersect another equipotential line.
Flow line is the path followed by a particle of water as it moves through a saturated
soil mass.
Equipotential line is a line connecting points of equal potential energy.
The flow of water through isotropic soil is:
N𝑓
q= kH
N𝑑
where:
k= coefficient of permeability
H= head
N𝑓 = number of flow channel= number of flow lines minus one
N𝑑 = number of equipotential (pressure) drops
= number of equipotential lines minus one
N𝑓
is called the shape factor
N𝑑
If the soil is anisotropic:
N𝑓
q= H k1 k 2
N𝑑
EXAMPLE #1:

The section of a sheet

pile is shown. The
coefficient of
permeability of the
soil is k= 4.2 x10−3
m/s. determine the
seepage into the
downstream side per
meter length of the
sheet pile.
 𝑁𝑓
[q=kH ]
𝑁𝑑

k = 4.2 × 10−3 𝑚Τ𝑠

𝑁𝑓 = 4
𝑁𝑑 = 8
𝐻 =7−2=5𝑚
𝑞 = 4.2 ×
−3 4
Τ
10 𝑚 𝑠 (5)
8
𝑞 = 0.0105 𝑚3 Τ𝑠 per
meter
𝑞 = 10.5 𝑳Τ𝒔
EXAMPLE #2:
For the masonry dam
shown, k= 5 m/day.
a) Determine the
seepage flow per
meter width of dam in
liters per minute.
b) Determine the uplift
pressure at A and B in
KPa.
c) Determine the uplift
force per meter of
dam. Assume that the
uplift pressure under
the dam varies
uniformly.
a.) Flow per unit width:

number of flow channels,

𝑁𝑓 = 4
number of presseure
drops, 𝑁𝑑 = 9
𝑁𝑓
Seepage flow, q = kH
𝑁𝑑

4
seepage flow, q = 5(18)
9
seepage flow, q = 40
𝑚3 Τ𝑑𝑎𝑦

1 1 𝑳
40 × × × 1000 = 27.78
24 60 𝒎𝒊𝒏
b.) PRESSURE AT A AND B:

𝐻
pressure head drop =
𝑁𝑑
18
pressure head drop =
9
pressure head drop = 2 m per drop
pressure head, h1 = 18-2(1) = 16 m
pressure head drop, h2 = 18-2(8) = 2 m

𝑃𝐴 = 𝑦𝑤 ℎ𝑔 = 9.81 16
𝑃𝐴 = 𝟏𝟓𝟔. 𝟗𝟔 𝐤𝐏𝐚
𝑃𝐵 = 𝑦𝑤 ℎ𝑔 = 9.81 2
𝑷𝑩 = 𝟏𝟗. 𝟔𝟐 𝒌𝑷𝒂
c.) UPLIFT PRESSURE PER UNIT
LENGH OF DAM:

𝑃𝐴 +𝑃𝐵
𝑈= 30 ×1
2
156.96+19.62
U= 30 × 1
2
U = 𝟐, 𝟔𝟔𝟒𝟖. 𝟕 𝒌𝑵
THANK YOU!