Evolution of an interfacial crack on the concrete-embankment boundary
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- US Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC (United States)
Failure of a dam can have subtle beginnings. A small crack or dislocation at the interface of the concrete dam and the surrounding embankment soil initiated by, for example, a seismic or an explosive event can lead to a catastrophic failure of the dam. The dam may ‘self-rehabilitate’ if a properly designed granular filter is engineered around the embankment. Currently, the design criteria for such filters have only been based on experimental studies. We demonstrate the numerical prediction of filter effectiveness at the soil grain scale. This joint LLNL-ERDC basic research project, funded by the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), consists of validating advanced high performance computer simulations of soil erosion and transport of grain- and dam-scale models to detailed centrifuge and soil erosion tests. Validated computer predictions highlight that a resilient filter is consistent with the current design specifications for dam filters. These predictive simulations, unlike the design specifications, can be used to assess filter success or failure under different soil or loading conditions and can lead to meaningful estimates of the timing and nature of full-scale dam failure.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 1119958
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-TR-645956
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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