Compaction control of random fill dam materials

Abstract

The embankment construction control is nowadays a well established technique.  Nevertheless, with some random natural materials (mixture of rockfill type elements with sand and clay) it is difficult to make specifications and measurements for control purposes.

Proposals for the solution of this problem are presented in this paper, which are based on a relationship between the unit weight, the water content, the coarse fraction and the deformability. Large one-dimensional compression tests are used and the method is exemplified with an instance of application to the downstream shell of an embankment dam.