O&M Conference on SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Theme Ash Management Technologies

Effect of Water Logging and Excess pore pressure in Dyke Maintenance.

Presented By D N Naresh AGM(PE-Civil)

Before any construction activity - MOEF clearance is a must

MOEF stipulates

Minimum land Safe design of dyke No breach/failure No leachates- liner Effluent discharge TSS less than 100ppm Control of Fugitive dust

INVESTIGATIONS are taken up after site selection Sub soil exploration & Geo Hydrological studies Access suitability & availability of soil Type of section Sub soil characteristics
TYPE OF SECTION and METHOD of CONSTRUCTION

CRITERIA FOR SAFE DESIGN.

MATERIAL PROPERTIES for deciding type of DYKE and method of CONSTRUCTION FOUNDATION FILL NO OVERTOPPING ADEQUATE FREE BOARD SETTLEMENT OF DYKE/FOUNDATION FOUNDATION STABILITY SHEAR STRESSES should be less than SHEAR STRENGTH SEEPAGE LINE WITHIN d/s FACE of DYKE SEEPAGE ANALYSIS TO PREVENT PIPING ACTION IN FOUNDATION & EMBANKMENT SLOUGHING & TOE SOFTENING INTERNAL DRAINAGE like (SAND CHIMNEY, SAND BLANKET, ROCK TOE ,TOE DRAIN) is provided ---as per IS:9429 SLOPES TO be PROTECTED AGAINST WAVE ACTION,WIND ACTION,RAIN WASH ,VELOCITY OF FLOW ---as per IS 8237 STABILITY OF SLOPES STABILITY ANALYSIS ALLOWABLE FACTORS OF SAFETY (FOS) STATIC >= 1.5, DYNAMIC >= 1.0

--- min 1.5m as per IS 10635

--- as per IS 7894

Design
Stable slopes Internal drainage

Drainage Media
( Sand Chimney & Sand Blanket)

Design Consideration
Ash dyke is designed as an earthen embankment. For safe design seepage is trained from bottom of dyke by provision of filter media i.e. sand chimney + blanket.

Function
To avoid damage to d/s slope by seepage water To keep d/s part of embankment in dry condition & to increase FOS. To avoid piping To reduce the pore water pressure To have phreatic line in a predetermined path.

Absence/ incomplete const.

Discontinuity/ absence of filter leads to piping, cross cuts , erosion of d/s slope, settlement of dyke. Phreatic line will cut the d/s slope of embankment, and reduce the FOS.

Precautions
During construction, continuity of sand blanket & chimney shall be ensured. Appropriate thickness of sand blanket & chimney shall be maintained. Proper exit to seepage water shall be ensured. There shall not be any blockage or choking on rock toe & Toe drain.
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Provision of internal drainage

Dyke under construction

Signs of Distress :Water Stagnation

Water logging

Due to water logging there is softening of base sloughing

Water logging

Effect of water logging .

Pore Pressure

WATER LOGGING LEADS TO SLOUGHING WILL WEAKEN THE BASE LOSS OF SHEAR STRENGTH REDUCE PASSIVE RESISTANCE WILL REDUCE FoS WILL TRIGGER THE SLIDING FAILURE

Effect of water logging on safety of dyke

Before saturation

During saturation
Cleavages & split seen on cores

24 hours of saturation

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Control Measure

Do not allow water logging/inundation in and around the dyke

Maintaining DRY CONDITIONS D/S

NATU

RAL W ATER

BODY

DISCHARGE CHANNEL

WATER RECIRCULATION ASH PIPE LINE TO PLANT

SPILLWAY

DYKE ALIGNMENT TAPPING FOR RECIRCULATION

OVERFLOW LAGOON
WATER ESCAPE STRUCTURE

*
STORAGE LAGOON-I STORAGE LAGOON-II

ASH FILLING SHALL BE CARRIED OUT NEAR THE WATER ESCAPE IN THE INITIAL PERIODS

SLURRY PIPE LINE

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Effect of Excess pore pressure exit to Pore pressure

No proper exit to Pore pressure

exit to Pore pressure blocked

Present Practice of assessing the pore waterPiezometers

Monitoring dykes
reacting quickly to inadequate performance or to danger signals is a continuing critical aspect for dyke safety.

Instrumentation
data will fore tell of any abnormal behavior quick response to abnormal behavior can prevent failures in many cases.

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Location of Piezometers

Location of instruments to measure pore water

Present Practice of assessing the pore waterPiezometers

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Seepage /piping seen on the d/s slope

Slippage of slope due to pore pressure

Need to have data of seepage path along the dyke

Need for State of art GPR..

Based on the forgone discussion there is an urgent need to get pore pressure on the dyke section on continuum basis for better management of ash disposal
In order to assess the pore water pressure across the dyke on continuum basis can be obtained from Ground Penetrating radar(GPR). This is a non destructive test which uses electromagnetic waves to image the water table/seepage path in the dyke section.

Basic Principle

Different Dielectric Constant

Photographs: Georadar Inc.

Hyperbola Image Formation

Field Example- Pipes

Buried Pipe

Trench Buried Pipe

Field Operation

Application of GPR in Ash Dyke

Conclusions.
Water logging in and around the dyke - not desirable for safety of the dyke excess pore pressure leads to slippage of slopes/piping there is need to detect seepage path along the dyke instead of discrete locations
GPR - Quick assessment of seepage path in non-destructive manner

GPR - Helps in prediction of seepage path in ash dyke indicating the behavior of dyke.
Highly effective for R&M Projects. Recommended as a tool for dyke inspection, monitoring and maintenance

Signs of healthy dyke

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SUSTAINING GROWTH

WITHOUT LOSS OF GENERATION THRU SAFE ASH DISPOSAL

 BACK UP SLIDES

Dielectric Constants of Various Materials

Clay Sand Air Glass Quartz Slate Mica Water 2.8-3.0 5.0-5.5 1.0 5.0 5.0 7.0 9.0 88

Depth Determination

Need for continuous profile of pore pressure

Water Recirculation
WATER RECIRCULATION ASH PIPE LINE TO PLANT TAPPING FOR RECIRCULATION

NATU

RAL WA

TER BO DY

DISCHARGE CHANNEL

SPILLWAY

DYKE ALIGNMENT

OVERFLOW LAGOON
WATER ESCAPE STRUCTURE

*
STORAGE LAGOON-I STORAGE LAGOON-II

ASH FILLING SHALL BE CARRIED OUT NEAR THE WATER ESCAPE IN THE INITIAL PERIODS

SLURRY PIPE LINE

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Maintaining Zero Discharge

NATU

RAL WA TER BO DY

DISCHARGE CHANNEL

WATER RECIRCULATION ASH PIPE LINE TO PLANT

SPILLWAY

DYKE ALIGNMENT TAPPING FOR RECIRCULATION

OVERFLOW LAGOON
WATER ESCAPE STRUCTURE

*
STORAGE LAGOON-I STORAGE LAGOON-II

ASH FILLING SHALL BE CARRIED OUT NEAR THE WATER ESCAPE IN THE INITIAL PERIODS

SLURRY PIPE LINE

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RAMAGUNDAM

ASH POND MAINTANANCE PRACTICES

ENSURING CLEAR FLOW OF WATER FROM TOE DRAINS AND SLOPE DRAINS

ENSURING HEALTHINESS OF DOWNSTREAM AND UPSTREAM SLOPES OF DYKE

REGULAR MONITORING OF PIEZOMETER READINGS

MONTHLY ASH DYKE INSPECTION BY CROSS FUNCTIONAL TEAM

Typical section of healthy dyke

MANAGEMENT OF ASH DISPOSAL

DESIGN,CONSTRUCTION , ROUTINE CHECKS & SAFETY ASPECTS

D.N.NARESH PE-Civil

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ISSUES RAISED IN OPERATING STATIONS

SEEPAGE FROM BODY OF DYKE WATER LOGGING ON d/s SIDE SETTLEMENT OVER TOPPING/BREACH RAT HOLES EROSION OF u/s AND d/s SLOPE PIPING DELAY IN PLACING AWARD/COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION LEADING TO OVER LOAD ON THE DYKE

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WATER LOGGING

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Typical section of healthy dyke

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BASIC FEATURES

TO BE DESIGNED for MOST CRITICAL CONDITIONS. ENSURE FoS AGAINST THE ULTIMATE LOADS WHICH THE STRUCTURE IS LIKELY TO FAIL

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