Repair, Evaluation, Maintenance, and Rehabilitation Research Program: Plastic Concrete Cutoff Walls for Earth Dams
Abstract
Remedial seepage control of earth dams is a critical problem. Concrete cutoff walls may be used in some situations. Since the walls in their simplest structural form are rigid diaphragms, deformations of earth embankments due to increase in reservoir level or seismic activity could cause failure which would greatly decrease the flow efficiency of cutoff walls and jeopardize the safety of dams. In response to this dilemma, engineers in Europe, Asia, and South America have used plastic concrete, which has deformation characteristics similar to earth dams, to construct cutoff walls. Plastic concrete consists of aggregate, cement, water, and bentonite clay mixed at a high water-cement ratio to produce a ductile material. Geotechnical engineers in the United States have been reluctant to specify the use of plastic concrete for cutoff walls due to limited documentation of field performance of existing cutoff walls and lack of laboratory test data on plastic concrete under test conditions which approximate field behavior. This research was conducted to quantify the stress-strain- strength behavior and permeability of plastic concrete, and to develop design data for specifying plastic concrete for use in a diaphragm cutoff wall for an earth dam.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA234566
Entities
People
- Edward B. Perry
- Joseph L. Kauschinger
- Thomas W. Kahl