SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1965
STP41282S

Instrumentation for Movements Within Rockfill Dams

Source

Methods of operating, installing, and obtaining field data with the slope indicator and the settlement torpedo are described. The slope indicator, a pendulum-activated inclinometer lowered inside a grooved extruded aluminum casing, can measure inclination to 1 min of arc. Vertical movements are detected with a settlement torpedo which measures the elevation of joints of the aluminum casing. Conclusions from field tests performed at several rockfill dams are: (1) vertical movements are 5 to 10 times as great as horizontal movements, (2) down-slope movements develop in the core parallel to the axis and are maximum at about the lower one-third point of the section, (3) there is no movement at the point of contact between a smooth rock abutment and a rockfill, (4) lateral spreading as well as down-slope movement develop in the shells of rockfills, and (5) the compressibility of a well-compacted rockfill is slightly less than that of a wellcompacted clay core, whereas a poorly compacted rockfill is considerably more compressible.

Author Information

Wilson, S., D.
Shannon & Wilson, Inc., Seattle, Wash.
Hancock, C., W.
Slope Indicator Co., Seattle, Wash.
Price: $25.00
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Details
Developed by Committee: D18
Pages: 115–130
DOI: 10.1520/STP41282S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-6011-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-6165-8