ABSTRACT
Both projects consider rehabilitation or heightening of existing dams, making the issue even more sensitive and tricky.
2 DESIGN APPROACH AND STABILITY CRITERIA
The usual approach, adopted in dam engineering practice, is to investigate the possibility of sliding along rock/concrete contacts and along discontinuities within the rock mass. The most complete and reliable 3D foundation stability analysis was proposed by Londe (1968). The method provides very comprehensive and logical results in the case of well-defined and well-marked main discontinuities in the rock mass. In the case of non-present (or not observed) discontinuity, the analysis has to be carried out with other methods. Due to a very conservative hypothesis, a 2D stability analysis could be useful as a first estimate of the safety factor. In order to be closer to a more realistic 3D situation, the 2D stability calculation can be carried out by introducing some additional resisting forces.
