EARTH DAM

• Most ancient type of dam

• An earth dam is made of earth (or soil).
• Can be build with the natural material
• Can be easily constructed on earth foundation
• Earthen dams are still cheaper as they can utilize the
locally available materials and less skilled labor is required
• Susceptible to dam failures as compared to gravity or
arch dam

Types of Earthen Dam: three types

1. Homogenous Embankment type
2. Zoned Embankment type
3. Diaphragm type
 1. Homogenous Embankment type
 simplest type of earthen embankment consists of
a single material and is homogenous throughout
 an impervious blanket may be placed on the u/s
face
 purely homogeneous section is used for low to
moderately high dams or levees
 Large dams are seldom designed as
homogenous embankments
 Slope pitching Top flow line called
phreatic line

Seepage line

Homogeneous embankment Impervious foundation

without any internal
drainage (filter)

Fig. 1(a) Homogeneous type embankment (without filter)

• a purely homogenous section poses the problems
of seepage
• huge sections are required to make it safe against
piping stability
• an internal drainage system is generally added with
such a section e.g. a horizontal drainage fitter
• it keeps the phreatic line well within the body of the
dam and steeper slopes and thus section can be
made smaller
• internal drainage system is therefore always
provided in almost all types of embankments
Slope protection Top seepage line is
called phreatic line

Seepage line

Drainage filter

Homogeneous embankment Impervious foundation

provided with a drainage filter

Fig. 1(b) Homogeneous type embankment (with filter)

 2. Zoned Embankment Type
This type of dam provided with a central impervious
core, covered by a comparatively pervious transition
zone, which is finally surrounded by a much more
pervious outer zone
central core checks the seepage
transition zone prevents piping through cracks
outer zone gives stability to the central impervious fill
and also distributes load over the foundations
widely constructed and the materials of the zones are
selected depending upon their availability
Clay, in spite of being highly impervious, may not be the best
core, as it shrinks and swells too much
 That’s why clay is mixed with fine sand or fine gravel as
most suitable material for central impervious core
 Silts or silty clay may be used as the satisfactory central
core materials
 Freely draining material, such as coarse sands and gravels
are used in the outer shell
Transition filters are provided between the inner zone and
the outer zone as shown in Fig. 2
Slope protection Pervious
outer zone

Transition filter of
moderate permeability

Impervious
core

Impervious foundation

Fig. 2 Zoned type embankment

 3. Diaphragm type Embankments
This type of dam have a thin impervious core, which
is surrounded by earth or rock-fill
The impervious core called, diaphragm, is made of
impervious soils, concrete, steel, timber or any other
material
It acts as a water barrier to prevent seepage
through the dam
It may be placed either at the center as a central
vertical core or at the u/s face as a blanket
It must also be tied to the bed rock or to foundation
material
 Thin impervious core called
U/s slope Diaphragm
protection

Pervious foundation

impervious foundation or bed rock

Fig. 3 Diaphragm type embankment

Diaphragm type of embankments is differentiated
from zoned type embankments, depending upon
the thickness of the core

If the thickness of the diaphragm at any elevation is

less than 10 meters or less than the height of the
embankment above the corresponding elevation,
the dam embankment is considered to be of
Diaphragm type. But if the thickness equals or
exceeds these limits, it is considered to be of zoned
embankment type.
 Causes of Failure of Earthen Dams
over 600 dams failure have been reported in the last 175 years
Causes Failure (%)
Foundation problems 40
Inadequate spillway 23
Poor construction 12
Uneven settlement 10
High pore pressure 05
Acts of war 03
Embankment slips 02
Defective materials 02
Incorrect operation 02
Earthquake 01
 Causes of Failure of Earthen Dams
 Earthen dams are less rigid and hence more susceptible to
failure. Earthen dam may fail, like other engineering
structures due to improper design, faulty constructions, lack
of maintenance, etc.
 The failure of earth dams can be grouped into following
three classes
1. Hydraulic failures
2. Seepage failures
3. Structural failures
1. Hydraulic failures
About 40% of earth dam failures have been attributed to
these causes
The failure under this category may occur due to the following
reasons
a) By over topping
The water may overtop the dam if the design flood is under
estimated or if the spillway is of insufficient capacity or if the
spillway gates are not properly operated.
Sufficient free board should therefore be provided as an
additional safety measures.

b) Erosion of upstream face

The waves developed near the top water surface due to the
winds, try to notch out the soil from the upstream face and may
even sometimes, cause slip of the upstream slope.
Upstream stone pitching or riprap should, therefore, be provided
to avoid such failures.
c) Cracking due to frost action
Frost (thin layer of ice on a solid surface) in the upper portion of
the dam may cause heaving and cracking of the soil with
dangerous seepage and consequent failure.
 An additional free board allowance upto a maximum of say
1.5m should, therefore, be provided for dams in areas of low
temperatures.
d) Erosion of downstream face by gully formation:
Heavy rains falling directly over the downstream face and the
erosive action of the moving water may lead to the formation of
gullies (bvjv) on the downstream face, ultimately leading to the
dam failure.
This can be avoided by proper maintenance, filling the cuts from
time to time especially during rainy season by grassing the
slopes and by providing proper berms at suitable heights so that
the water has not to flow for considerable distances. The proper
drainage arrangements are made for the removal of the
rainwater collected on the horizontal berms.
 berms

Earth dam

Fig. 5 Earth dam showing berms

e) Erosion of the d/s toe
The d/s toe of earth dam may get eroded due to 2 reasons i.e.
(i) the erosion due to cross currents that may come from
spillway buckets
(ii) the erosion due to tail water.
2. Seepage Failures
More than 1/3rd of the earth dams have failed because of
these reasons. The failure under this category may occur due
to the following reasons:

a) Piping through foundations

Sometimes when highly permeable cavities or strata of coarse
sand or gravel are present in the foundations of the dam,
water may start seeping at a huge rate through them. This
concentrated flow at a high gradient may erode the soil. This
leads to increased flow of water and soil, ultimately resulting in
rush of water and soil, thus, hollows get created below the
foundations. The dam may sink down into the hollow so
formed, causing its failure.
 Foundation material
goes out creating
hollows below the dam

Pervious
foundation
Flowing water and
erosive material
Fig. 6 Piping through foundation
b) Piping through dam body
When the concentrated flow channels get developed in the
body of the dam, soil may be removed in the same manner as
was explained in foundation piping, leading to the formation of
hollows in the dam body, and subsequent subsiding of the
dam. These flow channels may develop due to faulty
construction, insufficient compaction cracks developed in
embankment due to foundation settlement, shrinkage cracks,
animal burrows, etc.
 Solid grains and
water comes out

Fig. 7 Piping through dam body

Piping can be avoided by thoroughly and properly compacting
the soil near the outlet conduits and by preventing the
possibilities of leakage through conduits by preventing the
formation of cracks in the conduits.
c) Sloughing of D/s Toe
The process behind the sloughing of the toe somewhat similar to
that of piping. The process of failure due to sloughing starts when
the downstream toe becomes saturated and gets eroded,
producing a small slump or a miniature of slide.
 The miniature slide leaves a relatively steep face, which
becomes saturated by the seepage from the reservoir and
slumps again forming a more unstable surface. The process
continues till the remaining portion of the dam is too thin to
withstand the horizontal water pressure, leading to the failure
of the dam.

3. Structural failure
About 25% of the dam failure has been attributed to
structural failures. The failure under this category may occur
due to the following reasons:
a)Foundation slide
When the foundation of the earth dams are made of soft soils,
such as fine silt, soft clay etc., the entire dam may slide over
the foundations.
 weak or soft foundation

Fig.8 Sliding due to soft or weak foundation

Some times seams of fissured rocks, shales or soft clay, etc

may exists under the foundation and the dam may slide over
some of them, causing its failure. In this type of failures, the
top of embankment gets cracked and subsides, the lower
slope moves outwards forming large mud waves near the
heel as shown in Fig.8.
Excessive pore water pressure in confined layer of sand and
silt, artesian pressure in abutments or hydrostatic excess
developed due to consideration of clay seams embedded
between sand or silts, etc. may reduce the shear strength of
the soil, until it becomes incapable of resisting the induced
shear stresses, leading to the failure of dam foundation without
warning.

b) Slide in embankment
When the embankment slopes are too steep for the strength of
the soil, they may slide causing dam failure. The most critical
condition of the slide of the u/s slope is the sudden drawdown of
the reservoir and d/s slope is most likely to slide when the
reservoir is full. The u/s slope failures seldom found to
catastrophic failure, but the d/s slope failure are very serious.
These failures generally occur due to development of excessive
unaccounted pore pressure which reduce the shearing strength
of the soils.
 M.W.L
Sudden
drawdown
LOW W.L
Failure surface

Fig. 9 U/s slope slide due to sudden drawdown

M.W.L Failure surface

Fig. 10 D/s slope sliding during full reservoir condition

 Design Criteria of Earth Dams
 A fill of sufficiently low permeability should be developed out
of the available materials
 Sufficient spillway and outlets capacities should be provided
 Sufficient free board must be provided for wind set-up, wave
action, frost action and earthquake motions
 The seepage line should remain well within the downstream
face of the dam
conservation dam must be as water tight as possible
no possibility of free flow of water from upstream to
downstream face
The u/s face should be properly protected against wave
action and the d/s face against rains and against waves
upto tail water
The portion of the dam, d/s of the impervious core, should
be properly drained by providing suitable horizontal filter
drain
The u/s and d/s slopes should be so designed as to be
stable under worst conditions of loading
The u/s and d/s slope should be flat enough provide
sufficient base width at the foundation level, such that the
maximum shear stress developed remains well below the
corresponding maximum shear strength of the soil
A suitable allowance in the height of embankment (between
2 to 3 % of dam height) must be made in fine grained soils
to account for the consolidation that may take place, up to
years after construction
 DESIGN OF AN EARTH DAM
Top width

Sid
Height

e
of dam

s lo
pe
Base width

Height of dam

Height of dam = Highest Flood Level + Free board

Freeboard (F.B)
The minimum height of the freeboard for wave
action is generally taken to 1.5 hw
were hw is given by
hw = 0.032 VF + 0.763 - 0.271 (F) 3/4 ; For F <32km

hw = 0.032 VF ; for F>32 km

Where
hw = height of water from top of crest to bottom of
trough in meters.
V = wind velocity in km/hr
F = Fetch or straight length of water expanse in km.
 Table 1 U.S.B.R. recommendations for freeboard for earth dams
Spillway type Height of Dam Maxm F.B over MWL
Uncontrolled Spillway Any height between 2m to 3m
Controlled Spillway Height < 60 m 2.5 m above top of
gates
Controlled Spillway Height > 60 m 3.0 m above top of
gates
An additional FB up to 1.5 should be provided for dams suited in areas
Low temperature frost action
Top width
The top width of large earthen dams should be sufficient to
keep the seepage line well within the dams, when reservoir is
full
It should be sufficient to withstand earthquake shocks and
wave action
For small dams, this top width is generally governed by
minimum roadway width requirements
The top width (B) of earth dam can be selected as per the
following requirements

B = H/5 + 3 for very low dam

B = 0.55 H + 0.2H for dams lower than 30 m
B = 1.65 (H +1.5)1/3 for dams higher than 30 m

where H is the height of the dam

 Upstream and Downstream Slope
The side slopes depend upon various factors such as the
type and nature of the dam, and foundation materials,
height of the dam etc
Table 2 Terzaghi’s side slope for earth dams
Type of material u/s slope (H:V) d/s slope (H:V)
Homogeneous well graded 2.5 : 1 2.0 : 1

Homogeneous coarse silt 3.0 : 1 2.5 : 1

Homogeneous silty clay

(i) Height < 15 m 2.5 :1 2.0: 1
(ii) Height > 15 m 3.0 :1 2.5:1

Sand or sand and gravel

with a central clay core 3.0 : 1 2.5 : 1

Sand or sand and gravel

with R.C. diaphragm 2.5 : 1 2.0: 1
 SEEPAGE ANALYSIS
The amount of seepage has to be controlled in all
conservation dams and the effects of seepage has to be
controlled for all dams, in order to avoid their failures
The seepage through a pervious soil material for two
dimensional flow is given by Laplace equation

 2  2
2
 2
 o
x y
Where
  K.H  velocity potential
k = permeability of the soil
h = head causing flow.
The equation is based on the following assumptions
i. Water is incompressible
ii. The soil is incompressible and porous.
iii. The quantity of water entering the soil in any given
time is the same as the quantity flowing out of the
soil.
iv. Darcy’s law is valid for the given soil
v. The hydraulic boundary conditions at the entry
and exit are known.
A graphical solution of the above equation
suggests that the flow through the soil, following
the above assumption can be represented by a
flownet as shown in Fig. 11
Seepage Discharge through Isotropic Soils
Let us assume that the soil is isotropic i.e. The permeability
is constant in all directions, ( horizontal permeability is equal
to vertical permeability) or KH = KV
Equipotential
lines

Top flow line i.e.

phreatic line
B
y H Flow line or
C stream line
A Gravel
D filter
x

Fig. 11 Flow net

The flow through the square ABCD

= 
qkiA
H
= k
 

Y
1
 x
Where, H is the energy drop between the two equipotential
lines bounding the square ABCD and x and y are defined
in Fig. 11.
H
 qk y
 x
 
Total drop [Link] head causing flow
 
Numberof incrementsin to which the totaldrop is equally divided.
H
or  
Nd
Where, Nd =Total number of drops in the complete flow net
 H  y 
q  k  
Nd  x 
H
k (since y = x)
= Nd

total flow through the unit width of the dam

 q   q
 k.H 
= 
 Nd 
  Number of flow channel
k .H
q .Nf
Nd
Seepage Discharge for Non-isotropic Soils:
q  k H .kV [Link]
Nd
Determination of phreatic line when the dam section is
homogeneous (Without Filter)

H A B

Directrix
I J a
H

K a Vertex

G F C D
Focus

Fig. 12 Dam section without filter

It has been found by experiments that the seepage line is very
nearly parabolic except near its junction with the u/s face.
Since the u/s face of the dam becomes an equipotential line
when fully covered with water, the seepage line shall be
perpendicular to this face at B.
Let a base parabola with focus F is drawn and produced so as
to intersect the water surface at point A
Cassagrande has shown that for dams with reasonably flat
upstream slopes, AB  0.3 HB, where H is the projection of the
point G.
Knowing the point A, the base parabola AIJC can be drawn with
focus F
It can be corrected for the curve BI such that the BI is
perpendicular to GB, thus, BIJC will finally represent the
seepage line.
The base parabola BIJC will cut the downstream slope at J
and extend beyond the dam toe up to the point C
The seepage line will, however, emerge out at K, meeting
the d/s face tangentially there.
The portion KF is known as discharge face and always
remains saturated.
The correction JK (say ) by which the parabola is to be
shifted downward can be determined as follows
A. Graphical General Solution
Cassagrande has given a general solution to evaluate a for
various inclination of discharge face
Let  be the angle, which the discharge face makes with the
horizontal, Then various values of a have been given by
Cassagrande as given in Table 4 a  a
 Table 4
a
a in degrees
a  a
30 0.36
60 0.32
90 0.26
120 0.18
135 0.14
150 0.10
180 0.00

Where (a +a) is the distance FJ and is known

a can then be evaluated
a + a can be corrected by a general equation
180   
 a  a  a  
 400 

The value of  will be equal to 180 for a horizontal filter

case and may be equal to or more than 90 in case of a
rock toe is provided at the d/s end.  will be less than
90 when no drainage is provided.
 B. Analytical solution for determining the
position of point K

Case (a) when  30

A B

H b K
a sin a

a cos
b
b

Fig. 13
Schaffernak and Van Iterson have derived an equation for
determining the value of a (and thus fixing the position of point K)
in terms of H, b and .
 ' ' 2
b b2 H
a  
cos  2 2
cos  sin 
Case (b) when  lies between 30 and 60

Cassagrande has derived an equation for

determining the value of a in terms of H and .

2 2 2 2 2
a  b  H  b  H Cot 
Determination of phreatic line when the dam section is
homogeneous and provided with a horizontal filter

H A B H

x P(x,y) Curve drawn with

center
H J
A & radius AF

F C D
G
b
Focus Vertex of
parabola
parabola
Extended

Fig. 14 Dam section with filter

Equation of the base parabola
The equation of the parabola can be determined from the
basic property of the parabola

Taking the focus (F) as the origin, the equation of the

parabola can be written as

2 2
x  y  x  FD

where the vertical line through D is the directrix, FD is the

distance of the focus from the directrix, called focal distance
and is generally represented by S.
The equation of the parabola, then becomes
2 2
x  y xs (1)
If the horizontal distance betn the already determined point A
and the focus (F) is taken as say b then (b, H) represents
the coordinates of the point A on the parabola

Substituting in equation (1) we get

2 2
b  H b s
2 2
or
S  b  H b (2)

The discharge can also be calculated easily from

the equation of the seepage
Let q be the seepage discharge per unit width of the dam.
Then according to Drays law, q = KiA

the discharge crossing any vertical plane across the

dam section will be the same

Hence, the values of i and A can be taken for any point

on the seepage line
dy
i
dx
A= y1 (i.e. saturated depthwidth)
dy
qk y (3)
dx
But the equation of parabola is

x2  y2  x  S
x2+y2=(x+S)2
y2 = (x+S)2-x2

2
y  S  2 xS
Equation (3) becomes
d 2 2
qk S  2Sx [ S  2Sx ]
dx
 1
1 2 2
1

= k ( S  xS )  2S[ S 2  2Sx ]
2
S 2  2Sx
= k.S 2 =k.S
S  2Sx
q = k.S

This is an important equation. Strictly speaking, this

equation is applicable only to dams with horizontal
drainage filter but is used for other type of sections
also and gives quite close values of discharge