An 80 m long section of the Fort Henry embankment failed due to rapid drawdown of the impounding reservoir in 1979. Back analyses using the limit state stability approach with total stress soil parameters and the technique favoured by US Corps of Engineers, yielded factors of safety greater than the true value of 1.0. A simple stability chart based effective stress analysis was able to model the slide accurately. Finite element analyses showed that both magnitude and rate of drawdown control the embankment stability. The safety level of the embankment under the current operating regime has been found to be adequate but with little scope for relaxation.

  • INTRODUCTION

  • FORT HENRY EMBANKMENT

  • CONTROL WATER LEVELS AND RATES OF DRAWDOWN

  • SITE INVESTIGATIONS

  • GROUND CONDITIONS / FAILURE SURFACE

  • SOIL PARAMETERS

  • ANALYSIS OF FAILURE

  • INFLUENCE OF RATE OF DRAWDOWN

  • CONCLUSIONS

  • ACKNOWLEDGEMENS

  • REFERENCES

This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this chapter.
Don't already have an account? Register

Purchased this content as a guest? Enter your email address to restore access.

Please enter valid email address.
Email address must be 94 characters or fewer.