Title: Critical thickness of filler material for effective crack-filling at different water heads in dams

Authors: Bilal Ahmed Malik; Abdul Qayoom Dar; Mohd. Akbar Lone

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, India

Abstract: Crack filler material is usually provided in dams susceptible to cracking due to seismic activity, uneven settlement, and various other reasons. This study has been done to find the minimum thickness of the filler material needed for necessary crack-filling action. The 20 mm piped core was tested for water heads varying from 1 m to 5 m and filler material having thicknesses of 16 cm to 8 cm. Experimental results indicated that when the head of the water is increased, the critical thickness of filler material required for effective crack-filling also increases. Based on trial results, an equation that offers the variation of the required thickness of filler material with a water head has been proposed. The current study recommends that filler material of varying thickness should be provided with a minimum thickness of 0.11 times the design water head at the bottom of the dam.

Keywords: dams; cracking; crack-filling; filler material; critical thickness; water head.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2024.138130

International Journal of Structural Engineering, 2024 Vol.14 No.2, pp.113 - 140

Received: 06 Sep 2023
Accepted: 10 Oct 2023
Published online: 29 Apr 2024 *

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