Join us on April 9, from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern for Modeling Tailings Dam Failures with 2-Phase FLow. This webinar will cover the following: Failure modes of a tailing dam. Discussion of recent tailings dam failures. Use of Tailings Dam Tool and regression equations to estimate volume releases. Simulate tailings dam breach including tailings material and water volume using a two-phase flow model. Predict downstream mudflow inundation. Simu...

Join us on March 12, from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern for Intrusive Activities in Dams and Levees – Are They Worth the Risk of Creating a Flaw? The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has updated its regulation ER 1110-1-1807, Drilling and Invasive Activities at Dams and Levees, and related guidance based on what has been observed and learned during the last nine years of reviewing drilling program plans. This webinar will describe the update, w...

Join us on February 13, from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern for Triaxial Lab Testing for Earth Dams. The triaxial test is the premier laboratory test to evaluate shear strength conditions for earthen embankment dams. This test is common practice in geotechnical engineering but requires a good understanding of the different laboratory steps and procedures. This webinar will present concepts of the triaxial test as it applies to embankment dams. Dif...

Five Learning Objectives of This Course: Scour of rock is a dam safety concern that requires meaningful quantification It is possible to predict the scour potential of rock using data normally available for dam design High-resolution remote sensing and monitoring can facilitate improved scour assessment Course attendees should develop an understanding of processes and key drivers/controls for scour of rocks Course attendees should be able to e...

This webinar will review the design and construction of filters and drains for embankment dams. Specific topics covered will include 1) principles of filters and drains, 2) locations and configurations of filters and drains in embankment dams (for both new dams and dam rehabilitations) , 3) design guidelines for filters and drains, 4) evaluations of filters and drains in existing embankment dams, and 5) practical considerations for design and...

Potential failure modes analyses (PFMA) was first used in dam safety over twenty years ago and although thousands of PFMA workshops have been conducted since it was first introduced, the use and application of PFMAs is still mostly limited to larger federal agencies and occasionally by others on larger projects. PFMA is a tool and a framework to evaluate dam and levee safety. It has fundamentally changed the way many now approach assessing and...

The most common deficiency at dams in North America is inadequate spillway capacity. Inadequate spillway capacity can result in overtopping of a dam during flood events. This is especially a concern for embankment dams where overtopping of the dam embankment can cause breaching of the dam and uncontrolled release of the impounded water. This failure mode accounts for more than 40 percent of recent dam failures. A broad overview of the many app...

The purpose of this course is to provide a brief introduction into the science of concrete arch dams. The review will touch on design methods used in the past, but primarily focus on the methods used in the current state of the practice. A historical review of construction techniques will be discussed, and how that relates to evaluations and the physical behavior of the structures. The basic loads and loading conditions used for analysis will...

This webinar will review the 2004 failure of Big Bay Dam. A potential failure modes framework was used to make the forensic root-cause assessment based on data and information provided by the State of Mississippi. A detailed timeline of the failure obtained through review of court proceedings will be presented including the appearance of a number of distress indicators, the seriousness of which were not recognized and acted upon by the Owner a...

This course is based on 50 years of NRCS experience with investigating and remediating cracked earth embankments. The presentation consists of two main sections, covering: 1) the nature of soil cracking and the associated internal erosion failure modes; and 2) how to remediate cracked earth embankments. In the first section, general information is presented on which soils are most susceptible to cracking and which pose the greatest risk for fa...