DFII-NAC Seminar on

Challenges in Foundation Construction

at NAC- Hyderabad,August 20,2019

Dam Cut-off Walls - A Case Study

Dr.K.S.Rama Krishna
Chairman-DFI of India & Member -Board of Trustees, DFI-USA
 DFII-NAC Seminar : Challenges in Foundation Construction at
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Dam & Possible gradient of Seepage( Beckhaus, Schmitz and Scwarz(2008)
NAC Hyderabad
1. What is a Dam Cut-off Wall
(CoW) ?
It is a wall or barrier
appropriately located in the
foundation underneath a dam.
The wall may be extended into
the main body of the dam.

2. What is the Material Used?

Impervious material
3. What is the Purpose of Dam CoW?
To drastically reduce or prevent seepage of water through the
foundation of a dam for the long term safety, stability and
performance of the dam
Design Aspects:
The design of cut-off wall for deciding:
1) Location
2) Thickness of wall
3) Depth of wall
4) Material of wall
Involves
A) Stability Analysis for loads
1) Dam weight, and other external loads
2) Impounded water
3) Earth Quake
B) Seepage Analysis:
1) Through dam body
2) Through Foundation (substrata containing layers of soil , rock, etc.)
C) Deformation/Settlement Analysis:
1) There should be compatibility between dam foundation settlement and cut-off
wall settlement
2) The wall should not crack or shear

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Types of Cut-off Walls
• Steel sheet-pile walls
• Slurry trench walls
• Plastic Concrete Cut off walls
• Concrete Cut off walls
• Secant Bored pile walls
• Jet Grout walls
• Grout barriers
• Mix-in-place barriers
• Artificial ground freezing

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Materials Used to make Cut off Walls
• Compacted impervious soil
• Reinforeced soil
• Soil-Bentonite
• Soil-Cement
• Cement-Bentonite
• Soil-Cement-Bentonite
• Plastic Concrete
• Conventional concrete
• RCC
• Geosynthetics
• Asphalt concrete
• Sheet piles
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 Case Study
Plastic Concrete Cut-off wall for main dam

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Topics Covered
• Project features
• Geology & Geotechnical aspects
• Specifications
• Construction Method

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 Cut-Off Wall For Parbati Hydro Electric Power Project
➢Client: NHPC Ltd.
➢Location: Village-Sainj, Kullu District
Himachal Pradesh (1300 m MSL)
236 km from Shimla
Contractor: L&T –Patel Consortium

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 Parbati Stage-III H.E.Power Project
520 MW (4×130 MW)
The Parbati Stage-III is a run-of- the river scheme ( the natural flow
and elevation drop of a river are used to generate electricity).
Utilizing
• diversion of the tailrace release of Stage-II powerhouse
• inflows of Sainj river through a 7980 m headrace tunnel
a design discharge of 177 cumecs at a maximum rated head of
326 m
for generation of 520 MW (4x130 MW) in a underground powerhouse
near village Bihali
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The Main project comprises of

• a 43.0 m high rock fill dam at Suind to provide a live

storage of 1.2825 MCM
• Head Race Tunnel of diameter 7.25m and length 7.875 Km
• 4 penstock of 3.0m diameter each.
• Underground power house consists of 4 generating units, each
unit with rated capacity of 130 MW.

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Project Location
 PROJECT LAYOUT

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DAM & Cut-Off Wall in Plan
Dam & Cut-Off Wall Cross Section

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 Cut-Off Wall Longitudinal Section

• Length at Top of COW : 117m

• Max. Depth : 45m from
EL(+)1300m level
• Thickness of COW : 1000mm
• Soil trenching area : 3000 Sq-M
• Rock trenching area : 200 Sq-M
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• NAC Embedment
Hyderabad in bedrock : 0.50m (min)
16
Major Quantities

Description Unit Tender Qty

1.RCC-Guide walls m 240

2.Excavation of Trench
a. In overburden m2 3000
b.In bedrock m2 200
3.Plastic concrete including all m2 3200
ingredients

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Sub-soil Information

• Type of overburden soil : Bouldery alluvial deposit

• Boulders : Gneissic and Quartzitic
• Expected boulder size : 1000-1500mm
• Bed rock type : Chloritic schist with bands
of chloritic phyllite
• Compression Strength : 74.19 MPa (perpendicular
to foliation

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Geological & Geotechnical Evaluation for Cut-Off Wall Works

➢RBM: boulders ,pebbles and cobbles of intrusive and metamorphic

rocks with silty clay/sand
➢Boulder size-1.5m upto 18m depth, boulders upto 0.8m at different depths.
➢While drilling exploratory holes-presence of hollow space in between
boulders
➢Soil is heterogenous
➢Permeability-10-1-10-5 cm/s
➢Bed rock: hard compact metavolcanic,metavolcanic with chlorite schist
bands ,chlorite schist and chlorite phyllite intercalations
➢Bed rock depth:El (+)1267 to (+)1256m

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TECHNICAL/PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS of Plastic Concrete
Type of test Testing frequency Testing method Acceptance criteria
Unconfined 3 cylinders / 60 m3 150 Ø x 300 mm high 2.0 - 0.5 MPa
compressive strength
(28 days)
Confined strength (28 3 cylinders / 60 m3 Triaxial test 3.0 - 0.5 MPa
days): pc = 0.4 MPa

Strain at failure in 5 - 7%
unconfined test
Young's modulus Once per 300 m3 Triaxial test 200 - 400 MPa
Permeability Once per 200 m3 Triaxial test < 1 x 10-8 m/s
➢Minimum width of diaphragm wall shall be 800mm, as per contract
➢Minimum width of contact surface between adjacent panels should never be
less 20/07/2019
than 700mm. DFII-NAC Seminar : Challenges in Foundation Construction at
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 Technical/Performance Requirements

• Rock Socketing -Minimum depth of

0.5 m into bed rock

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Several Challenges:
1. Procuring and Importing Critical Equipment: Trench Cutter, Stein Grab,
Chisel, spares, consumables
2. Transporting the huge equipment to the site in Himalayas through
narrow ghat roads
3. Lack of skilled people- first time for every one at site
4. Sourcing experts, technicians, operators and superintendents from
abroad
5. Very tough geological conditions 9 Colluvium, boulders of quartzite &
Gneiss)
6. High risk of collapse of trench with equipment stuck in side (Only single
piece of high value equipment)
7. Sudden loss of bentonite in trench
8. Tough weather
9. Several other local issues
Challenges in Equipment Transportation
 WORK SEQUENCE

1. Area Preparation Up to +1300 Level

2. Additional Investigation – 6 Deep Core drillings
3. Pre-Drilling & Grouting
4. Guidewall Construction
5. Site Establishment
6. Erection of Plant and Equipment
7. Trenching
8. Concreting
AREA PREPARATION
 WORKING PLATFORM PREPARATION

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 NHPC

NHPC

NHPC

NHPC

NHPC

NHPC
L&T

L&T

L&T

L&T
107.44
25.73

79.94
83.17
61.03
51.08

57.08
11.05

102.8
Core Rec. /Permeability

Core Rec. /Permeability

15.6
Core Rec. /Lugeon

Core Rec. /Lugeon

Core Rec. /Lugeon

Core Rec. /Lugeon

Core Rec. /Lugeon

Core Rec. /Lugeon

0

Core Recovery %

Core Recovery %
DDH-16
DDH-14

DDH-17

DDH-13

DDH-18

DDH-19
03-ACH

04-ACH

05-ACH

06-ACH
EL1300.00 (TOP OF
CUT-OFF WALL )
1300 0/1.5
20/0.27 23/0.18 0/58.47x10 cm/sec.
-3

37/0.19 36
12/0.16 -3
41/3.0 36 41.6 x 10 cm/sec.
99/0 56/0.13 17.3 35/0.12 45
67/0.5 33/4.5
3 66/0.11 53 7/0.25 46
43/0.15
73/0.4 51/6 76
4 66/0.19 35/0.23 6.6
31/0.9 53/0.84 45
38/0.3 35/7.5
7 66/0.2 60 16.66
57/1.26 35/0.27
41/0.2 91/3.2 64/9 46.66
8 37/0.26 77
43/1 57/0.26
11/0.4 22/1.94 35/10.5 30

1288.5
8 67 35
43/0.29 48/0.25
29/2.29 40/1.19 33.3
25/0.5 56/12 58 52
6 60/0.31
43/2.6 32 25/0.41
31/0.7 24/0.87 51/13.5 24 84/8.8 x 10 cm/sec.
-3

7 67/0.31 47 30/0.41
43/6.19 18.5

1284.3
22/0.86 43/15
1283.59
7/1.31 30
42 79/0.29
23/4.9 0 42 55/0.25
71/0.9 80/0.66 44/16.5 50
LEGEND :-
9 0 37.3 87/0.26
31/6.85 71 72/0.33
50/0.84 78/18
30 8 43/0.39
31/5.51 65
59/2.16 63 83/19.5
64/7.65 59/1.02
63
59
80/0.53 33
82/0.27

64/0.43
58
64
37
Soil Filling
92/10.25 73/1.14 27
43/0.72 53
97/2.63 28/1.2
23
56 27/0.33 23
71/0.38
11 Mix Boulders of Gneiss,
10/0.61
92/10.74

97/14.45
30/1.74
51
51
53/0.58 36
51/0.47
39
40
Quartzite, Metabasic.
51/1.27 72 60/0.59 -3
30.6 45 x 10 cm/sec.
80 85/0.4
Loose Sand & Clay
31/12.4 20
24/1.31 20/1.78 24.6
83
33/26.08 100 35
56/1.1 17 42/1.82 32 -3
51.04 x 10 cm/sec.
29
44/24.95 22 40 65
33/1.26 26.5/2.48
50/19.61 10/1.31
0
67/3.6
26

25 1269.39 Gneissic Boulder

1265.5
19/23.26 17/1.33 20 100/4.23
64

Quartzitic Boulder
42/11.87 0/1.5 98/6.2
28/19.15 10

1261.5
0/1.56 80/
20
53/28.13 52/1.31 100
61/25.05 43/1.38 Metabasic Bed Rock
53/27.15 29/1.34 1267.6
1256.05
56/26.04

1256.41
30/1.35
50/21.53 76/1.23
61/8.8 LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED
H.E.P.P.Stage-III(LOT-1), Vill.-SAINJ; Distt.-Kullu (H.P.)

CUT - OFF WALL

GEOLOGICAL INFORMATION
1238.95 D.R.P.

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PRE-GROUTING
Pre-treatment Grouting :Tube-a-Manchette grouting (TAM)

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 DRILLING FOR PREGROUTING TREATMENT

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 Guide wall drawing

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 PANEL SEQUENCE

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 JOINT BETWEEEN PRIMARY AND
SECONDARY PANEL

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 BENTONITE PLANT

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TRENCH CUTTING SET-UP
 PRETRENCHING WORKS WITH GRAB

2.800 mm

2.800 mm

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 BC TRENCH CUTTER - ADVANTAGES

INCLINED ROCK SURFACE

IN CASE THAT ROCK SURFACE IS
STEEP:
Step-1: FORMING OF A FLATTER
ROCK SURFACE BY CHISELLING
Step-2: START ROCK SOCKETING
WITH THE CUTTER

Step 1

Step 2

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 BC TRENCH CUTTER - DIFFICULTIES

STONES > 80MM

STONES HAVE TO BE CRUSHED TO
PASS THROUGH THE MUD HOSE LINE
(2 X DIA STONE)

BOULDERS
BOULDERS, PARTIALLY
PROTRUDING INTO THE TRENCH
MAY CAUSE DEVIATIONS

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 STEIN MECHANICAL GRAB

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
WEIGHT 19 TON
CLOSING FORCE 180 TON
=> FOR HARD SOIL EXCAVATION

LONG FRAME 10 M
=> GOOD FOR VERTICALITY

TWO SYNCHRONIZED WINCHES

=> HIGH PULLING CAPACITY
=> CHISELLING IN HARD
LAYERS

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 Heavy
Ziele Duty
der Chisel - Various Types
Bodenverbesserung

Box type Scraper type Cross type

weight 20 tons weight 6 tons weight 18 - 22 tons
mainly for breaking rock mainly for correction of mainly for breaking
verticality boulders

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 Heavy
Ziele Duty
der Chisel - Characteristics
Bodenverbesserung

inclined rock crushing of scraping to

prepare surface for BC boulder correct verticality
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 WHICH
Ziele derSYTEM IS THE BEST ... ?
Bodenverbesserung

BC Cutter ? DHG Grab ? Chisel ?

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 WHICH
Ziele derSYTEM IS THE BEST ... ?
Bodenverbesserung

... It is the combination of all,

which brings the success

?
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 This is what we adopted
Ziele der Bodenverbesserung

BC CUTTER GRAB CHISEL

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 TREMIE CONCRETING

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 FINISHED CUT OFF WALL

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 KODEN EQUIPMENT FOR EXCAVATION
MONITORING

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Quality Control: A) Excavation Slurry
PARAMETERS LIMITS AVERAGE RESULTS REMARKS
Density(kg/l) 1.01-1.1 1.06
Marsh Viscosity(s/l) 35-45 36
Sand content (%) <3% 0
FRESH
Water loss(cc) 20-50 24
Cake thickness(mm) 15-20 3.5
pH 7 to11 8.7
Density(kg/l) <1.15 1.09
Marsh Viscosity(s/l) 35-50 37
Sand content (%) <3% 1.25
WORKING
Water loss(cc) 40-50 45
Cake thickness(mm) 15-20 8
pH 7 to11 9
Density(kg/l) <1.10 1.06
BEFORE
Marsh Viscosity(s/l) 35-50 36
CONCRETING
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Sand: content
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B)Plastic Concrete
PARAMETERS LIMITS AVERAGE REMARKS
RESULTS
SLUMP 181.5cm 225cm

FRESH TEMPERATURE 5º-35º 13º

AIR CONTENT 1.4-1.7% 1.5

U.C.S 20.5Mpa 2.16

STRAIN AT FAILURE IN U.C.S 1-2% 1.5

TEST
AFTER
28 YOUNG’S MODULUS IN UCS 200- 380
DAYS TEST 400Mpa
C.C.S(0.4Mpa) 30.5Mpa 2.8

PERMEABILITY 1x10-8 m/s 2.45x10-8

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The Result:
1. The cut-off wall met all stringent quality and safety requirements
2. It was completed well ahead of time with good appreciation from
client NHPC
3. We have an excellent team in L&T of engineers, technicians,
operators and workmen who are executing dam cut off walls,
diaphragm walls in this country.
4. Together with Bauer Germany L&T executed dam cut-off walls in
Bhutan (97m deep) and Polavaram
Acknowledgements:
Sincere Thanks to
• NHPC for evolving a very important strategy of pre-qualifying
specialist subcontractors based on their experience, method and
equipment proposed
• L&T Management for encouraging and supporting us to acquire
this new technology & to procure very high value equipment
• Trevi SPA - Italy and Bauer Machinen - Germany for their technical
and expert support
• All the team and site staff for their dedicated and enthusiastic
involvement
 THANK YOU for your patience

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