ABSTRACT
An introductory presentation on the position of embankments in the history of dam engineering, as well as of the principal variants and their key components, was included in Chapter 1. The structure and contents of this chapter, which is necessarily concise, are dictated by the need to introduce basic elements of soil mechanics and applied geology in sections dealing with the nature and classification of engineering soils and with their characteristics. The text is also influenced by the design approach to embankment dams being in many respects less formalized than is the case for concrete dams (Chapter 3). After briefly reviewing embankment dam design principles and construction methods this chapter concentrates on the discussion of seepage, stability and settlement as the key factors in design. It concludes with a brief section dealing with rockfill and rockfill embankments.
