| Url |
https://cimne.com/sgp/rtd/Project.aspx?id=176 |
|
| Acronym |
e-DAMS |
| Project title |
Métodos numéricos y experimentales para la evaluación de la seguridad y protección de las presas de materiales sueltos en situación de sobrevertido. Numerical and experimental techniques for safety assessment and protection of embankment dams in overtopping scenarios |
| Official Website |
https://www.micinn.es/proyectosid/ |
| Reference |
BIA2010-21350-C03-00/BIA2010-21350-C03-01/BIA2010-21350-C03-0 |
| Principal investigator |
Riccardo ROSSI BERNECOLI - rrossi@cimne.upc.edu
|
| Start date |
01/01/2011 |
End date |
31/12/2013 |
| Coordinator |
CIMNE |
| Consortium members |
|
| Program |
LIA2. Proy.I+D: Investigación Fundamental |
Call |
Inv. Fund. No Orientada 2010 |
| Subprogram |
Investigación Fundamental No Orientada |
Category |
Nacional |
| Funding body(ies) |
MICINN |
Grant |
$49,489.00 |
| Abstract |
The objective of the project is the characterization of the whole failure process of earth and rock-fill dams due to overtopping. The research team has an important experience in the field, which was investigated in detail in the framework of the XPRES project. The proposed research line represents in fact the natural culmination of the work performed in the last years and as such it will take great benefit on the major investments realized by CEDEX, UPM and CIMNE over the period 2008-2010. To make an example, the availability of a new ad-hoc large-scale facility built by CEDEX and co-financed by MARM, (which allows the experimental testing of dams of height of up to 4 meters), will allow to carry out the investigation of scale effects up to an unprecedented level.
While in the XPRES project the work focused on the analysis of the downstream shoulder, the future effort will concentrate on the characterization of the whole failure process, including the collapse of the impervious element, whether it is a clay core or a concrete or asphalt membrane. The objective will be thus investigating the impact of the erosion (or mass sliding) of the fill material on the stability of the impervious element. The outcome of such study will represent a fundamental advance for the effective estimation of the flood waves generated by the dam failure and a timely contribution given that Spanish law demands such calculation to be performed for all of the dams in our country. As a consequence of the knowledge achieved on the failure process, a large amount of data will be available to elaborate criteria for the design of cost-effective protections that minimize or eliminate the damage due to overtopping.
The current calculation model is based on combination of Lagrangian particle methods such as the PFEM (Particle Finite Element Method) and of eulerian “levelset” techniques. The framework presented is perfectly suited for the simulation of the interaction between the failure of the dam body and the reservoir, as well as for modeling the overtopping and the progressive failure. The existing model will be enriched so to take into account general plastic behaviors and will use equal order pressure-velocity elements so to guarantee a locking-free behavior.
The numerical model developed on the other hand is sufficiently general to allow the simulation of phenomena other than the failure process. One of the objectives of the project will be thus to exploit such potential in related areas of dam engineering, for example for the simulation of the erosion around structures, landslide of the reservoir slopes or for the optimal design of spillways.
As a conclusion the proposed research effort aims to fully understanding of the failure process of embankment dams due to overtopping, including the analysis of the collapse of the impervious element, and the elaboration of useful criteria for the design of cost-effective protections which will raise the safety of our dams in overtopping situations. |
