Crack propagation and threshold strength of fissured clays subjected to cyclic loading

Sherard (1973) reports 15 cases of embankment dam cracking that have occurred around the world. He notes that 150 to 300 small dams (20-75 ft. high) are constructed in the United States each year and that most of the cracking in the dams in the U.S. results from embankment soils that are especially brittle and so susceptible to cracking.