Location
New York, New York
Date
15 Apr 2004, 1:00pm - 2:45pm
Abstract
Remedial work on the Saluda Dam will entail excavation at the toe to depths of over 50 ft. Excavation at the toe of a large high hazard dam is an unusual event. Although statically stable the Dam doesn’t meet modern standards for dynamic stability. Based on the assessment of liquefaction potential, the dam requires remediation. The downstream hazard entails consequences of failure of potential loss of life. Due to such consequence, the Regulator called for renovation of Saluda Dam. Engineers evaluated several remedial alternatives. The chosen alternative entails excavation at the toe for construction of new RCC and Rockfill Berms. Excavation at the toe of so large a dam, impounding so large a lake is a dangerous undertaking. It would be a daunting task even if there were no downstream hazard. The hazard and consequences of failure in this case make it much more so. The consequences of failure demand a high factor of safety. The excavation concept entails powerful questions: How can it be done assuring safety? What factor of safety is sufficient considering consequences of failure? Are there not alternatives to excavation that will effect seismic stability?
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Meeting Name
5th Conference of the International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
Publisher
University of Missouri--Rolla
Document Version
Final Version
Rights
© 2004 University of Missouri--Rolla, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
File Type
text
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Sossenkina, Elena; Newhouse, Scott; and Glunt, Matt, "A Dangerous Place to Dig Excavation at the Toe of Saluda Dam" (2004). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 15.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge/5icchge/session02/15
A Dangerous Place to Dig Excavation at the Toe of Saluda Dam
New York, New York
Remedial work on the Saluda Dam will entail excavation at the toe to depths of over 50 ft. Excavation at the toe of a large high hazard dam is an unusual event. Although statically stable the Dam doesn’t meet modern standards for dynamic stability. Based on the assessment of liquefaction potential, the dam requires remediation. The downstream hazard entails consequences of failure of potential loss of life. Due to such consequence, the Regulator called for renovation of Saluda Dam. Engineers evaluated several remedial alternatives. The chosen alternative entails excavation at the toe for construction of new RCC and Rockfill Berms. Excavation at the toe of so large a dam, impounding so large a lake is a dangerous undertaking. It would be a daunting task even if there were no downstream hazard. The hazard and consequences of failure in this case make it much more so. The consequences of failure demand a high factor of safety. The excavation concept entails powerful questions: How can it be done assuring safety? What factor of safety is sufficient considering consequences of failure? Are there not alternatives to excavation that will effect seismic stability?
