Effect of spatial variation of soil permeability on pressure heads in zoned dam

Abstract EN

Two dimensional unsteady seepage through a zoned earth dam was investigated by the finite element based on Galerkin method.

The coefficients of permeability are assumed to vary in terms of geometry, external load influences and the effect of head distribution in the flow domain and the resulted nonlinear seepage problem is solved.

The effects of drawdown rates and various material parameters on pressure heads variation were discussed.

The results show that the zoned dam permeability has important influence on pressure heads variation as the height of the dam increases.

It is believed that a variable permeability analysis such as the one presented in this work should be taken into account.