Flow simulation and investigating the effects of cutoff wall on the uplift pressure in earth dams

Abstract

Since the construction of dam is significantly important both according to economic and safety aspects, it should be carefully assessed before construction. The use of available software is one of the evaluation and behavioral investigation methods. On this basis, we have investigated the effect of cutoff wall on the seepage flow, uplift pressure, etc, in the body of earth dam in Baft city through numerical modeling using the finite element method through GeoStudio software package. The results of this analysis indicate that the location and dimensions of cutoff wall significantly affects its performance on reducing the seepage flow. The soil type in terms of permeability is another important parameter and the results indicate that the one-time reduction of soil dam penetration reduces the seepage flow by 97%.

Keywords: Earth dam, cutoff wall, soil permeability, GeoStudio software, uplift pressure.