ABSTRACT
Embankment dams are the most widespread kind of water-retaining structures. They can be defined as dams constructed of natural material obtained from borrow pits located in the vicinity of the dam site. Material obtained from excavation of foundations and appurtenant structures is also very often used. Owing to the complexity of problems that have to be solved during their design, construction, and service, embankment dams fall within the most complex engineering structures. Thus, embankment dams should satisfy the following basic conditions:
• Slopes should have inclinations by means of which it is possible to secure the stability of the dam and its foundation under the loads of all possible forces and influences, in the course of construction and service periods;
• Deformations in the dam and its foundation, as well as in the individual constitutional components, should be kept within certain acceptable limits in order to preserve the proper functioning of the structure;
• Loss of water, owing to seepage through the body of the dam and its foundation, should be within acceptable limits, while infiltrating water should not cause seepage deformations or erosion; hydraulic gradients, seepage pressure, and velocities in the dam’s body and beneath it, should be within permissible limits for the relevant materials;
• The crest of the dam should be sufficiently heightened above the maximum level of stored water so as to eliminate the possibility of water overflowing the dam, and attention should be paid to the possible height of waves, to the settlement of the embankment and the foundation following construction, as well as to other factors;
• It is necessary that the slopes and the crest of the dam be appropriately lined in order to provide protection against the action of waves, ice, or weathering influences;
• The prevention of water penetration along the circumference of the waterconveying elements carried out through the body of the dam.
