DISCUSSIONS

of analysishavebeendevelopedin recentyeiusto deal

rnethods
with this problem, but the resultsof such analysesreportedin
theliteratureare sometimesquite contradictory,as evidenced
by the paperby Azzouzzet al. ( l98l ), quotedby Brand, some
resultsof which were seriouslyquestionedby La Rochelleand
Marsal( 198I ). lt seemsthat more experienceis neededin order
to better evaluatethree-dimensionaleffects in embankment
failures.

:d
tlrs \-.

&
, ' ' .d ' q

:,rr,rii

t,

'cle)

Conclusion
In conclusion,thereseemsto be a certainconsensusrelative
to the stabilityanalysisof embankmentson soft soils:
-Total stressstability analysesare quite suitable for design
purposesas long as reliable shear strength values of the
foundationsoils are used. For this purpose,empiricalmethods
suchas the in sita vane correction (Bjerrum Ig1-Z),or the cu :
0.2?oo'method(Trak et al. 1980)may be quite appropriate.
-Effective stress stability analyses are an efficient tool for
engineerswho have to evaluatethe stability of an embankment
during constructionor when it is subjectedto reloading. It is
c le ) i
1 . 89* * : importantthat theseanalysesbe carried out using "measured"
* porepressurevalues,and reliable effective strengthparameters
e circle)
(determinedpreferably at large strains). It should be remem1 . 0 3 *r beredthat the determination of the cohesion parameter may
).98f i
presentsome problems and that a value of c' : 0 might be
i1'
preferredin somecases.It is also true that the presentpractice
couldbe greatly improved if more casesof failure of ernbankt . 2 5 " mentsincluding effective stressanalyseswere reported in the
' :0,
. . literature.
= 0 . 95)
BILIsUSRAMANIAM,
A. S., SrvnNonnN,
C., andHo, y. M. 1979.
Stabilityand settlementof embankments
on soft Bangkokclay.
Proceedings,
3rdInternational
conference
on NumericalMethodsin
Geomechanics,
Aachen,Vol. 4,pp. 1373-l4ll.
l.15 i
(''=0,.
: 0.95)
circular
rce)
i
1.54 :
:"=0,"
: 1.22\

'j

t,

J
:tedb!
lor the
rs (the
clays,
to soft
values
about
; more
'e, the
values
at the
:s that
s may
rts; as
se for
lthors
3nsof
:eson

r may
alysase

hway
:hreeNew

255

Brennuu. L. 1972. Embankmentson soft ground. Proceedings,

SpecialtyConferenceon Performanceof Earth and Earth-Supported
Structures,Lafayette,IN, Vol. 2, pp. l-55.
Bnu, J.-P.,and Dnvnux, A. 1976.Rupturedu remblaid'essaii Saint
Andr6-de-Cubzac./n Stabilit6 des talus: d6blais et remblais.
Bulletin de Liaison des Laboratoires des Ponts et Chauss6es,
NumdroSpecialIII, Vol. 2, pp. 145-148.
H e N z n w A , H . , K r s n r o n , K . , a n d M n r s u o e , E . 1 9 8 2 .S t a b i l i t y
analysis with the effective stress method for embankmentsconstnrctedon an alluvial marine clay. Soils and Foundations,22(3),
pp.32-a6.
JossenuuE,H., BLoNDEAU,F., and hlor, G. 1977. Etude du
comportementnon draind de trois argiles molles. Application au
calcul de remblais. Proceedings,International Symposium on Soft
Clays, Bangkok,pp. 487-504.
Ln RocHer-LE,P., and Mensnt-, R. J. l98l . Slopestability-general
report. Proceedings,Xth International Conferenceof Soil Mechanics
and FoundationEngineering,Stockholm, Vol. 4, pp. 485-507.
LERoUEIL,
S., Tnvpxls, F., TRAK,8., L^l Rocgeue, P., and Roy,
M. 1978a. Constnrction pore pressuresin clay foundationsunder
embankments.Part I: the Saint-Alban test fills. Canadian GeotechnicalJournal,15, pp. 54-65.
LenourIL, S., TnvexAs, F., MtEussnxs, C., and Prtcxlup, M.
1978b. Construction pore pressures in clay foundations under
embankments.Part II: generalizedbehaviour. CanadianGeotechnical Journal,15, pp.66-82.
SIuoxs, N. E. 1976. Field studiesof the stability of embankmentson
clay foundations.Laurits Bjemrm Memorial Volume. Edited by N.
Janbu,F. Jorstad,and B. Kjoernsli. Nonvegian GeotechnicalInstitute,Oslo, pp. 183-209.
Sxeurrox, A. W. 1964. Long-terrn stability of clay slopes.G6otechnique, l4(2), pp. 77 -103.
TRAK, B. 1980. De la stabilitd des remblais sur sols mous. Ph.D.
thesis,D6partementde g6nie civil, Universit6 Laval, Qudbec,P.Q.
TRIK, B., Le Rocgerle, P., TevENls, F., Lenouett, S., andRoy,
M. 1980. A new approachto the stability analysisof embankments
on sensitiveclays, CanadianGeotechnicalJournal, l7 , pp.526-54.

Internal stabilityof granular filters:r Discussion

C. F. Rrplry
50ll HilariePlace,Victoria,8.C.,CanadaVSY
2A4
ReceivedOctober28, 1985
AcceptedOctober31, 1985
Can.Geotech.
1.23,255-258(1986)

The purposeof this discussionis twofold. Firstly, the writer

wishesto encourageT. C. Kenney and his colleaguesin their
continuationof their thorough step-by-stepresearchinto the
mechanicsof particle migration and particle blockage within
soil massesunder seepageflow conditions, and particularly to
encourage
them to investigatethe relationshipbetweenwidth of
particlesizegradationof a filter material and its susceptibilityto
harmfulsegregation.Secondly,the writer wishesto emphaiize
that designsfor effective filter-drainagecomponentsof dams,
havebeenusedsuccessfullysince the 1940's,which take into
account the construction aspects and the field behavior of
embankmentdams. Most of the piping incidents that have
occurredat embankmentdams in the 1960'sand 1970'swould
rPaper
by T. C. Kenney and D. Lau. 1985.CanadianGeotechnical
Journal,22, pp. 215-225.

not have occurred had filter-drainage components of similar

designbeenused.
The internalstability of granular filters is one of a numberof
importantquestionsto be consideredby designersof filters for
embankmentdams. Numerous incidents of serious and costly
piping have occuned within relatively thin core rockfill dams
during the past 25 years, where the filter zone and (or) the
adjacentdownstreamtransition zone have consistedof widely
gradedmaterials.If the filter and transition zonesat thesedams
had fulfilled their intendedfilter function, none of the incidents
could have occurred.
The researchwork reportedby Kenney and his colleaguesin
the paperunder discussionand previous papers(Kenney et al.
1984, 1985)hascontributedgreatly to a better understandingof
both particlemigration and particle blockagewithin soil masses
under seepageflow conditions. The laboratory test programs

256

\--

\-

CAN. GEOTECH.J. VOL. 23, 1986

have been extensive and thorough; so also have been the

analysesof the testresults.The paperdealswith the potentialfor
internalinstability of filter materialsthat havebeenplacedunder
controlled laboratory conditions in order to achieve homogeneity and in order to prevent segregation and horizontal
layeringeffectswithin the test specimens.Hencethe testresults
and the analysisare applicable to idealized conditions for the
group of widely graded filter materials that were tested. The
authorscorrectly acknowledgethat the test conditions of large
seepagevelocity and mild vibration were more severe than
would generallybe expectedin practice. However, the writer
believesthat the controlled homogeneity of the test materials
was the more significant variation from actual field conditions.
Harmful segregationof widely graded materialsduring placement in the field is consideredby the writer and by others(Leps
1979)to be inevitable,and measuresto eliminate segregationto
be at least uncertain if not impractical. Even with these
limitations, the findings of the test program provide new,
helpful insight into the relationshipbetweenshapeof grain size
curve and potential for internal instability for filter materials
in a homogeneousstate. However, the potential for internal
instability of a particular filter material can be significantly
higher than indicated by such laboratory tests, if the filter
materialis susceptibleto segregationduring field placement.
The questionof its internal stability is only one facet of the
problemof designof an effective filter zonewithin a dam. In the
writer's opinion, the most critical zones with respect to
provision of effective filter action are the downstreamfilter and
transition zones of thin core embankment dams, particularly
thin corerockfill dams. The subsequentdiscussionis directedto
thesezones. The ability of a filter zone to block migration of
particles from the adjoining zone upstream of the filter is an
equally important, if not an overriding, requirementto that of
internal stability, for effective filter function. In order to fulfill
this function the zone material should have the following
properties:
'controlling constrictionsize'
(i) a particlesize gradationwith
that is appropriatein relation to the adjoining upstreamzone;
(ii) low to nil susceptibilityto segregationduring the practical
of handlingandplacementof the materialin the field,
operations
'controlling constriction size' at areasof
otherwisethe actual
contact of coarsesegregatedfilter material with the upstream
zone will not be appropriate;
(iii) 'crack stopper'capability,i.e ., the filter materialshouldbe
incapableof sustainingan open crack within the zone as a
downstreamextensionof a transversecrack through the more
cohesivecore.
This combinationof propertiesthat are requisiteto effective
filter actionhasbeenshownto be providedby narrowly graded
materialsof appropriategradation.By contrast,numerouscases
of damswith seriousinternalpiping incidentsdunng the past25
yearshave clearly demonstratedthat widely gradedmaterials
cannotbe relied upon to provide this combinationof essential
propeniesfor effectivefilter action( KjaernsliandTorblaaI 968;
Kjaernsli1973.Wood et al. 1976:Vaughanet al. 1970;Boivin
and Seemel1973a. b: Seemeland Colwell 1976:Chadwick
1976,1979;Vestad1976:Sherard1973, 1979.1984;Hoff and
Nilsen 1985;Kjellberg et al. 1985).Recordeddam perforrnance
experienceand rigorouslaboratorytest programshave clearly
sandis not only capable
that a cleancohesionless
demonstrated
of effectivelyfilteringeven the finestof the generalrangeof silt
'crack
andclaysoilsfoundin nature.but thatit hasthenecessary
stoppercapability' and the necessaryresistanceto harmful

An upperlimit of particlesizeto eliminateconcern| ,rt_j'

segregation.
for harmful segregationwithin a filter sandappearsto be 18mrn \ 11";;

Til;fi".".:ft'dH;ffi # NJ:;-iJ;."ij#;l
i*ffi
I g::1,
Becausethe presenceof fines imparts undesirablecohesionto
tttOn
t^'^
a \ t r a n Score
(
'^"^i II ::::;
6e
filter sand,the upperlimit of finei contentin order to havo
da
;"":i::n
I
drese
stopper'capabilityappearsto be ZVominusthe No. 200 siere
D^^^.,^^

+L^ --^^^-^^

^f

G-^-

;--^.+o

.'arlaciroLlo

^^l'o"i^-

I T;"'

sieve
passing
theNo.100
rn*i,althoughbTo
,. ii: n:l I ffij
to.b?s
havs
Recentprogramsof severelaboratorytests
is preferable.

t :#;.

gradations
of sand
verified
therange
I *li,r'u}r
:),|;:j]t"T'":')t,ijlX,',-ll
(Sherar
d et al. 1984a,b'. ',
blockentryof tlhefinestc6reparticles
lPj?
l9E5).
at.le8s).
Kenney
Kenney
eial.
et
i :T,:i
to thetransitionanddrainagezonesdo*nstr.am I
with respect
of a sandfilter zonein a rockfill dam,themajorgapin.existing|
thelimitsof |
is thelackof provencriteriaconcerning
knowledge
widthof particlesizegradationthatcanbetoleratedwithoutthe I
duringhandling#;;.:
of harmfulsegregation
occurrence
i

f,T:|a|,f;
'j,ii'ii,
f
r
ffi;;
ii::;
!f-"tlll

orthe'nu,..iur.-iil'";;"r,i'.T;il!"'l'Gffi;t! ;; i HIJ|;
ment
""fi,
samedegreeof thoroughnessthat the authorshave carried out
provenfilter
filter
theproven
the
subsequently,
subsequently,
*ot: As
As mentioned
mentioned
forpreviouswork.
forprevious

|
practiceof the 1940'sand1950'sin NorthAmericafor slopingI
far
corerockfilldamsprovidessafeguidelinesin themeantime f,
thetolerablewidth of particlesizegradationto preventharmful
|

ful"gn
;;;;
;";;;
ffiil;"

:-^--.
^r +L^
^r -^;^,,-i^i-- ianizro-r.
i
inci^dents
seriouspiping
spateof
ironyof
theaaala
Thi unfortunate
[
of thepast25 yearswherefilter andtransitionzoneshavefailed I
in their filter functionis that widely reportedprevious:*L:n- |
or unheeded.That
enceappears!o have gone unrecognized
I
includesthe following:
experience
)
in 1950*s*9]:q
(i) the admonitionof A. Casagrande
[
t
dams
cracksin embankment
of transverse
cornmonoccurrence
i
to render
and the needfor incorporation
9f designmeasures
I

"r pipi"

*gffqi::""1-..-^.^

themharmless(casagrande1950);
|
_-__.
^r^:_-^_,of
^r clean
^,^^_sand
^^-..,
chimney
(ii) the proven effectivenessof a narrow
'crack stopper' zone within homogeneousclav i
as an effective
r^.. r^r.i
. ^,,^: - ^- 1963;
, o<i. I
1963;
Brazil (Terzaghi1953;Hsu

damsin
Queiroz
|
vargasandHsu 1970);
)
--,
r:__
_--^r:^^
^r
rL^
(iii) the satisfactory
and provenfilter designpractice.gl*
1940'sand 1950'sin NorthAmericafor rockfilldams(ASCE i
1960;Jomini1954).
I
rvqrr
vclean
Y\,1 Lll-ar
vof
r
vchimney
lrrrrlrvJ
wide
w l r . l s vertical
a
ll
that
trld[
a II lm
concept
u
ultutrPt
The
I llt
I|
'crack

cohesionlesssand would serve as an effective

tlgqq:t'

il"|:t^r"
l"*-",
.iJr,l U
.rrri.O
*.,,i.eC
'Jf,.j,,
oit. i,
of tt. i

,n*rv .
;"f;;
--.,ne Pr ev

ililpossib
'r.ri'
,
fr.';U,
ransitic
rgv,
.,r
r.,r",
o
f p

I fo,inO.,

by K. Terzaghiin thg 1940's. I ir;;;'",

to havebeenintroduced
appears
I rv.r!
andvrJe_w
elsewhere
| aLrr 4rrLr
in t)Brazil
vtrry
then
tllstt lll
since
SrllLs
extensively
cxtcllsl
used
usgu
ano
has
nas
been
ocgll
and
receivgr
|i ,."";.r",
(Vargasand Hsu 1970). None of the Brazilian dams with the
niurow sandchimney has exhibited piping in spite of the fact
that investigationshave shown that open cracks within the
residualclay bodies of the dams are common (M. Vargas'

i *iu.r.
ft. ,
I
I ,in.. I
I
Gro*d,

perfo...ul:. uf i J.i.iu
1978).Thesuccessful
personal
communication,
theseinternalchimneydrainsfor up to 40 yearsshoulddispel i *itt fi
doubt that clean sand can be relied upon to behav_e_::1
'crack stopper.
material, i.e. as an effective
cohesionless
within the confinedconditionsat depth insidea dam. .
The filter designconceptfor rockfill dams that had become
virtually standardpracticein North America by the time of the
A .S .C .E . S ymposi umon R ockfi l l D ams i n 1958 appear st o
Dalr.
' "by
r - ' J. P. Growdonin 1940at Nantahala
havebeeninitiated
^..
a 250ft (76m) high sloping core rockfill dam. Growdon
used the same design for other rockfill {an1s
subsequently
\('rtrr
others
t l l c l s . rin
I r rNoflh
oY o
widely
l0ely a
adopted
o o p t e t l by
was
as w
((Growdon
U T O W O O n1960a-r').
l y O U d - ( ' ) . tItt w
America during the 1940's and 1950's. Growdon's filtertransitioncomponentbetween the clay core and the coarsc
dumpedrock fill consistedof thrcc narrowly gradedzonc.sol
cl eansand.N o. 2fi ) si evesi zeto i i n. t0.075-12m m ) . i- l t n.

\
i
I
I
I
[
|I
)
I
iI
|
I
I
L
(
I

II

.on..p
ur io*
,.ti-t.
t "..,
op* f,
. r . ". ,
t,"r.
[ O f e lfli
of u,r<
uniu.r,
ffr"r
a C t t,r,
hl
graded
itrui.,r
,ur.ri
,.!r..g

DISCUSSIONS

3rn
nm
n).
oa
rck
]ve
m)
rve
vill
,b;

( l l -7 3 mm ) , and 3- l0i n . (7 5 -2 5 0 m m ). T o th e w ri ter' s

inowledge none of the dams using this design for the filteriransitioncomponenthas shown any evidenceof piping withinih..or. orthe downstreamfilter-transitioncomponent.Many of
thesedams will undoubtedly have endured transversecore
cracksdue to the much larger Settlementsassociatedwith the
dumpedrockfill dams of that era, as against.lhoy of modern
compactedrockfill dams. The sandlayer provided assuredfilter
againstmigration of core particlesfor a broadarray of
,upu^Uitity
coie materiils, ranging from tropical clays to broadly graded
elaciattill soils. T[e ielatively narrow gradationof the sand
:&IIl
againstharmful segregation,
i.y., prouidedassuredprotection
'crack stopper' capability. The
ing
aisured
fines
of
lack
its
,nO
sof
narrow and appropriate gradation of each transition zone
the
providedassuredprotection against harmful internal segregalceiion and against migration of particles from the adjacent
the
upstreamzone.
out
The 1960'susheredin an era of accelerateddam undertakings
Iter
throughout the world, which coincided with the change in
ring
merh;d of rockfill construction from dumped rockfill to comfor
pacted rockfill. At several o.f ,J1l^.casesof serious .pigi"q
nful
ifestations
ng the 1960'sand 1970's, surfacemanifestati
during
incidents
rnc
an abrupt
of
form
the
took
material
of piping within the core
gnts
and the
sediment,
with
laden
discharge
seepage
inciease-of
iled
appearanceof sinkholes upstream and (or) downstream of the
reri.iist. While none of the incidents involved a dam breach, all
fhat
;eated a real Senseof urgency for remedial action, and all
t
required costly repairs. Several of the incidents have been
the. widely reportedwiih regard to the incidents themselvesas well
ams" asthc invistigations, analyses,and repairs of them. The focus
nder' of the investfuationsand analysesin the reports has dwelled
mostlyon transversecore cracks-their causesand mechanics
;and
of formation-as being the primary problem to be overcomein
clay
thepreventionof piping (Sherard1973). Seepagethroughjoints
963;
in therock foundaiionwas the assignedcausetor one case,and a
possible
assignedcause for another. One wonders why this
' the
nearlytotal focus of attention on core and foundation cracks?
SCE
The obvious and undeniable fact was that the filter and (or)
transitionzonesat eachdam failed to fulfill their designfunction
of preventing erosion of core fines in spite of either core or
foundationciacks; otherwise piping of core material could not
have occurred. The filter failures and the causes of them
receivedlittle attentionin the reports, and have not receivedthe
universalattentionby dam designersthat is warranted.
The reasonsfor the use of less stringent defensivemeasures
since 1960 by some designers as compared to the proven
Growdonpractice are not clear and can only be_surmised.A
perceivedieduction in constructioncost by use of fewer zones
with little to no processing was Probably one reason. The
conceptthat core materialsof wide particle size gradation,such
assomeglacial tills, could be relied upon to be self-filtering or
self-healingappearsto have been another. Surely the occurrences
of surfacesinkholeshaveprovidedsufficientevidenceof
openholes throughthe thin glacial till cores at severalof the
casesthat this conceptshould now be dismissed.A third and
morelikely reasonis ihought to be that the dangerof segregation
of widely graded filter and transition materials was not
universaliyinderstood or accepted.While it is an undeniable
{
factthat n1unydams have performed satisfactorilywith widely
hltera gradedfilter and transition zones, surely the lessondemonoarse
stratedby most of the piping incidents is that use of such
rnrtcrialsincurs a real riri oi piping at random locationsof
The
iir:-..,r:ated
materialwherethe filiei criteriaarenot satisfied.

257

writer believes that segregation is the major culprit to be

guardedagainst,and that th; risk of uncontrollablesegregation
in.r.ur., is the range of particle sizes becomes wider. The
comments on these"pointi by Leps ( 1979) are particularly
pertinent.The mech.ni.t of efminating that risk is simpleand
ihe additional cost is modest. The required nanowly graded
materialscan usually be obtained simply by the washing and
screeningof availabie widely graded materialsfrom quarry or
pit run sour.es, with supplementalcrushing being necessaryin
io*. cases.A rockfill dim has inherentstructuralstability. The
filter-transitioncomponentof an earth core rockfill dam is the
most critical elemeni to its continued satisfactoryperformance
as a water-retainingstructure. Surely, then, the processingof
filter materials int6 select sizes for the two of three filtertransitionzonesof an earth core rockfill dam is as important as
the universally acceptedprocessingof aggregatesfor concrete
dams into a i*g.t nurb.t of sizls; and surely the costs of
should be as acceptable.
processing
'
In conllusion, the writei hopes that this discussion will
encouragethe authorsto extend their careful researchin order to
develop criteria relating the susceptibility.to segregationof
granularfilter materialsio the width of particle size gradation'
Finally, even though gaps remain in our fundamentalknowledgeof particle migration and particle blockage under seepage
Row conOitions,thE engineeringprofessionhas availablenow,
and has had since 1940, a proven practice for design and construction of effective filterl to protect against internal piping
within dams, which takes into iccount practical constnrction
considerations.
of the
onRockfillDams,1958.Transactions
ASCE.1960.Symposium
AmericanSocietyof Civil Engineers,125,PartII'
Borvrx, R. D., an-dsEruEL,R. N. 1973a.ChurchillFallspower
Designof the dykes.Paper,CANCOLD Meeting,
deveiopment.
City.
Quebec
constructionof
lg'13b.churchill Fallspowerdevelopment.
thedykes.Paper,CANCOLDMeeting,QuebecCity'
ClslcnnxpE, A. 1950.Noteson thedesignof earthdams.Journalof
theBostonSocietyof Civil Engineers,pi.424-429'
CHa,pwrcr.W. L. 19'76.Disculsionof question45. X11ICOLD
MexicoCity, Vol. V, pp' 281-282'
Congress,
New
49. XIII ICOLDCongress,
of question
1979.Discussion
Delhi,Vol. V, PP.410-414.
of
slopingcoredam.Transactions
Gnowoox,l. p. fgOOa.Nantahala
125,PartII, PP.160-180.
theAmericanSocietyof civil Engineers,
of the
|gffib. Damswith slopingearthcores.Transactions
AmericanSocietyof Civil Engineers,l2S,Part II, pp' 207-225'
of the
of siopingcoredams.Transactions
1960c.Performance
AmericanSocietyof Civil Engineers,125,PanII, pp' 237-252'
on
Horr, T., andNlLsrN,K. Y. 1985.Erosionandleakageproblem-s
someNorwegiandams. PaperR36, Question59, XV ICOLD'
Vol. IV, PP.573-586.
Lausanne,
by Rio Light SA.
Hsu, S. 1963.Residuuiituy earthdamsconstructed
Proceedings,2nd Pan Am congresson soil Mcchanicsand
Brazil,Vol' II, pp' 347-363'
FoundatioiEngineering,
Journal,37(11)'pp'
H. 1954.TheKenneydam.Engineering
JorvrtNt,
6 - 1 7.
of
G. I. 1984.Permeability
KexNry,T. c., Leu, D., andoroeGBU,
Journal,21,
granularmaterials.CanadianGeotechnical
compacted
pp.726-129'
' I'' O M nNG E'
R ., C H tu,E ' , OroE cB UG'
K exxE v,T. C ., C H eH nL,
sizesof
constriction
Controlling
1985.
A.
c.
ulle,
G. N., and
Journal'22' pp'32-43'
Geotechnical
granularfilters.Canadian
42,y^1ICOLDCongress,
of question
B. lgi3. Discussion
K.riEnxsr-r.
Madrid.Vol. V, PP.416-419.
throughhorizontal
g., and'To*rr,nn.L 1968.Leakage
Kreenxsr-r.

258

cAN. CEOTECH.J. VOL.23. 1986

cracksin the core of Hyttejuvet dam. PublicationNo. 80, Norwegian

GeotechnicalInstitute, Oslo, pp. 39-47.
K.leunrnc, R., NoRstEDT,V., and FeceRsrRoM,H. 1985.Lrakage
in and reconstnrction of the Juktan earth and rockfill dams. Paper
R35, Question59, XV ICOLD, Lausanne,Vol. IV, pp. 553-573.
Leps, T. 1979. Discussionof question 49, XIil ICOLD, New Delhi,
Vol. V, pp.414-415.
QuEInoz, L. A. 1963. Discussion: Residual clay earth dams constructed by Rio Light SA. hoceedings, 2nd Pan Am Congress on
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Brazil, Vol. II, pp.
679-682.
SeEuet, R. N., and CoLwerr, C. N. 1976. Drainageprovisions and
Ieakageinvestigations of the Churchill Falls dams and dykes. Paper
R8, Question45, XII ICOLD, Mexico City, Vol. II, pp. 107-127.
SHERIRo,J. L. 1973. Embankment dam cracking. /n Embankment
dam engineering. Casagrandevolume. J. Wiley, New York, pp.
27t-353.
1979. Sink holes in dams of coarsebroadly gradedsoils. Paper
R2, Question49, XIII ICOLD, New Delhi, Vol. II, pp. 25-35.
1984. Trends and debatable aspects in embankment dam
engineering. Water Power and Dam Constmction, 36(12), pp.

26-32.

SHEnlno,J. L., DuNxrclN, L. P., andTlLsor, J. R. 1984a.Filters

for silts and clays. ASCE Journal of the GeotechnicalEngineering
Division,110(6),pp. 701-718.
1984b. Basic properties of sand and gravel filters. ASCE
Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 110(6), pp.
685-700.
TeRzlcHr, K. 1953. Discussion. Proceedings, Third International
Conferenceon Soil Mechanicsand FoundationEngineering,Zurich.
Vol. III, pp.2l7-218.
VeRGns,M., and Hsu, S. 1970. The use of vertical core drains in
Brazilian dams. PaperR36, Question 36, X ICOLD, Montreal, pp.

s99-608.

VlucHlx, P. R., KtutH, D. J., LEoNlno, M. W., and h,loouRe.

H. H. M. 1970. Cracking and erosion of the rolled clay core of
BalderheadDam and the remedial works adoptedfor its repair. Paper
R5, Question36, X ICOLD, Montreal, pp.73-92.
Vesrao, H. 1976. Viddalsvatn dam. A history of leakages and
investigations.PaperR22, Question 45, XII ICOLD, Mexico Citv.
pp. 369-390.
WooD, D., Kllennslr, 8., and Hoec, K. 1976.Thoughtsconcerning
the unusualbehaviourof Hyttejuvet dam. Paper R23, Question45,
)il ICOLD, Mexico City, pp. 391-414.

Theb
atbringi
is
The

tion
inroduc

umpli
is pl
results

"Basi

variety

glvenI
tion of
attack
Ch
piles a
analytic
and
capac
andlate
andeff,
piles

Much
the axi

include
Reta
consid

J. VOL. 23. 1986

cAN. GEOTECH.

Internal stability of granular filters:l Discussion

V. Mrr-lrceN
GolderAssociates,
3I 5I WhartonWay,Mississauga,
ReceivedJanuary27, 1986
AcceptedFebruary6, 1986

Canada IAX 286

Can. Geotech.J.23,414-418 (1986)

The authorshave carried out a detailed and most interesting

examinationof the internal stability of granularmaterialswhen
they are subjectedto seepageforces and vibration. On the basis
of their test data, which demonstratethat seepageflows in
"fines"
certairt coarsely graded filter materials tend to wash
throughthe coarsefraction of the material, they proposecriteria
to evaluatesuchpotentially unstablegradations.From the data,
these criteria in themselvesappearlogical but, as the authors
"are neverthelessdisquieting" in that they imply that
state,
many existing dams could have filters that are potentially unstable.This implication is so important that it must be examined
most critically.
Comparison of the laboratory tests with field experience
The materials tested by the authors and determined to be
stable are, with one exception, sandy gravelswith a maximum
size in the medium gravel range and a coefficientof uniformity,
U (= Doo/Drc), generallylessthan l0 but occasionallyashigh
asabout l5;in comparison,the unstablematerialswere coarser,
but more broadly graded with a maximum size consistentlyin
the coarsegravel range or larger, had less than 30Vosandsizes,
and had a coefficient of uniformity generally in excessof 20.
Such materials,both stable and unstable,are generallycoarser
"sand-rich" filters long
than the uniformly graded
advocatedby
Ripley (1983)anddiscussedby Sherardet al. (1984);nevertheless, many dams do have such broadly graded coarse filters
adjacentto the core.
The authors determined that the most significant factor in
internal stability of the filter materials was the particle gradation: "the absolutesizesof the particles are of little importance
in comparisonwith the shapeof the grading curve." This forms
stableor unstablegradationsasindicated
the basisfor assessing
in Fig. l. This simple shaperelationshipis used in Fig. 2 to
examinethe grading stability of coarsefilter materialsin dams
where adverseseepageeffects have beenreported,by Kjaernsli
and Torblaa (1968) for Hyttejuvet Dam and by Vestad(1976)
for ViddalsvatnDam; the gradationof an unstablegap-graded
filter materialreportedby de Mello (1975)is alsoexamined.All
plot definitively as potentially unstable filters. In contrast,
agreement is poor for even the finer filter gradations for
BalderheadDam asreportedby VaughanandSoares(1982)and
for the Churchill Falls dykes reportedby Seemeland Colwell
(1976) and which are plotted in Fig. 3. The mechanismof
distressreported in all casessolely related to "fines" from the
core materialspiping throughcoarserportionsof the filters;no
direct evidence is given of the filters in themselvesbeing
unstable.It is interestingto speculateif such could have
occurred,particularlyin thosecaseswherecrackingof the core
was marked, as in BalderheadDam, thus producingpossible
critical flows directly acrosslocal filter zones.
rPaperby T. C. Kenneyand D. Lau. 1985.CanadianGcotechnical
J o u r n a l2. 2 , p p . 2 l 5 - 2 2 5 .

The method of testing, as describedin a companionpaperin

this journal (Kenney et al. 1985), involved seepagevelocities
higher than those generally experiencedin the filter zones of
most dams; the sampleswere also subjectedto mild vibration
"vibration had
during testing and, as the authors state,
a
profound influence on the behaviour of some of the tested
materialsfor which even the mildest vibration increasedthe loss
of fines." This combination of high seepagevelocitiestogether
with lengthy vibration is not likely to be encounteredin most
dams; however, even if the laboratory conditions appearto be
stringent in comparison with probable field conditions, the
"potential for instability" could exist in local
writer agreesthat
where such coarsely graded filters have
dams
in
many
zones
been used.
Potential for segregation
It is of interest to the writer that the gradations of the
"unstable" coarsematerialstestedtend to be typical of materials
that segregatereadily. Such materialsas reportedby Sherardet
al. (1963), Woodward et al. (1969), and Sherardet al. (1984)
areplotted in Fig. 4, only the last being appropriateto a granular
"stable"
filter. It may be noted that the boundary betweenthe
"unstable"
gradings tested by the authors (Fig. I of the
and
paper) approximately coincides with the coarse boundary
suggestedby Sherardet al. (1984) to limit segregationof filter
materials. In practice, such segregationcan produce serious
seepageproblems.
Optimum density is not optimum for internal stability?
It may also be inferred that the factors affecting hydraulic
instability or stability of the material are apparently quite
different from those affecting density. (The same factors also
relateto mechanicalstability suchas rutting and the like.) The
idealgradationforoptimum densityis shownin Fig. 5 andgiven
by the equation(Fuller and Thompson 1907)
passinga given sieve : 100 (aperturesize
Percentage
:
of thi sieve/sizeof lutg.tt particle in ihe material)r
Fuller's curvesare similar to the gradationsof sandymaterials
containingoptimum gravel contentgiven by the United States
Bureauof Reclamation(1963). In highway practice,however.
maximum densitieshave been produced more readily using
material on the fine side of the optimum gradation(Asphalt
Institute1958Xthis rangeis alsoplonedin Fig. 5. lt may be seen
that such gradations for optimum density colrespond with
shapesthat are typical of potentialhydraulicinstability.This
trendis evenmore apparentwhen consideringthe gradationand
compactioncharacteristicsof pervious fill for Oroville Danr.
reportedby Miller ( 1965)and shownin Fig. 6, andwhich is not
dissimilarto the coarsestmaterialstestedby the authors.As the
percentageof materialfiner than the No. 4 sievesizeincreases.
the material apparentlybecomesnlore hydraulically unstable
(Fig. 6b), but in contrast,the compacteddry densitymarkcdly

period
is di
for

hydrau
high
mate

lnn
partlc

suffici
metho
to inhi

DISCUSSIONS

0.8

GRAOING

(E
lrj
J
J

SHAPE
CURVE

l!

VT
z
o

IA

'Pern
tcities
nesof
ration
had a
tested
reloss
gether

)5

o.q

U NS T A8 L E
G R A O IGNS

o.q

H=(1.?)F

l!

0.2

0.2

"'x
,ro"rry'

G R A DN
I GS

D I+D

stzE, D
GRlrr.r

r [lOSt

( L O GS C A L E )

to be
s, the
rlo c al
have

0.q

0.2

ETwEEN
H ' m a s s F R A C T I oEN
D nHottO

Frc. l. Method of describingthe shape of a grading curve (after the authors)'

^
rf the
:erials :

FINELlt'tlT
I
I I
C O A RS E L I I , I T

v T O D A L S v A T NO A M F T L T E R ( S )

5 A N 0 Y6 R r v E L 1 H y T T E J U v E T D A r . 1
FTLTER(S)
J
GRAVEL
6 A P . G R A O E DF I L I E R ( D E I ' I E L L O 1 9 7 5)

udet I
r984)
tnulafr--

:1bl.e"I
lf the
ndary
'filter

q n

H= ( l . ? )F

u 6 0
z
tr

:rious

lrj

'ro
5
o-

ty?

raulic
quite
; also
) The
given

,52:
o.I

l.o

l0

100

G R A I NS I Z E , m m

LC

Frc. 2. Problem filter gradations-I.

ral)t'2
erials
itates
ever,
using
phalt

(Fig. 6c). (It is alsointerestingto notethatevena short

increases
periodof vibiation densifiesthe compactedmaterialfurther.) It
is difficult to accept that materials of gradation so appropriate
for optimum deniity are apparently so suspect in terms of
hydraulic internal stability. Does instability only result under
high seepageflows? Is there a critical level below which the
materialsare stable?

I SeO

with
This
n and
)am,
is not\,s the
ases'
table
cedlY

Application to practice
in dams, it is the silt (or finer)
problems
seepage
In most
-are
particle sizes thit
lost; seept*,le velocities are rarely
sufficientlylarge to transportsand-sizedparticles.Conventional
methodsoideslgning filters for dam coresare thereforedirected
"fines" and to ensuringan
to inhibiting the movement of such

i
)

in
adequatedegree of permeability of the filter material, say
filter
the
within
conditions
.i..5 of lg'-am/s. The hydraulic
are not considered.This thb authorshave carefully examined,
and determined the potential hazatdof the internal instability of
coarse, broadly grid.O materials when used as filters. In
practice, in a uroaoly graded material under a high hydraulic
of particles is inevitable; this
gradient some t.*ungt-ent
iesults in a local increaie in permeability of the materialwith a
consequentreduction in the hydraulic gradient,leading in turn
to u nr* equilibrium state. Under a new hydraulic gradientthe
process may be repeated-(Such a process is exemplified by
i'fines" as in samplesA a1d As, shown in
iepeatedloises of
loss,
fiir 4 and 5 of the paper.)However,with eachsuccessive
required.
be
to
tend
water
of
quantities
largei
inJreasingly

416

CAN. GEOTECH.J. VOL. 23.1986

"
: ; X l : l . * l i R o c E s s E Dl c x u R c x r LFLA L L sD y K EF I L T E R( S )
-

a
FtilEST .l
-/AVERAGE"
I B A L D E R H E A oo A r . , tF I L T E R ( s)
.
COARSESTJ

z
r
F

fz r o o
L
F

lr,

S
q o
o-

!/

t.0
t0
G R A I IS
{ | Z E, n m

r00

0.2

F
Ftc. 3. hoblem filter gradations-Il.

L:
'oon

3 ]

,,tao*acABLE,,fiATERTAL.
H r L L s c R E E KD A , . l

I t
X

R A N 6 Eo F G R A D A T T o No sF , , s E G R E 6 A B L E 'F . T A T E R T A( L s
r { A G 6 0 N E RE T A L . r 9 6 9 )
C O A R S E SLTI T 1 I TF O R F I L T E R ST O L I I . t I TS E G R E G A T T O
( S
NH E R A R D
E TA L . I 9 8 . {)

F 6 0
E
L,

lr
F

z
l,
!.,

t{0

E
L,
q-

li

0.

F 6 0
E,
lr,
r
F

z
14,
v q 0
G
l4l

o-

*/

--/
'
-

ry

-/ _z -4^
/./
,--,/

-7

//

--'/

,/^

./
t.0

r0

GRAI N S l Z E , m m

r00

0. 1

0.2

Flc. 4. Materialssubjectto problemsof segregation.

Repetit
damcar
of suspt
is exace
that rel
sandsu
Regrett
by the
coarser

:l

, , P R A C T I C A"L R A N G E
O FG R A O A T I OFNO RO P T I H U HC O I l P A ( T I O N
,, IDEAL II GRADATION
- N"
F O RO P T I I . I U IC
. IO T . I P A C T I O

F U L L E R ' S C U R V ET

- 6 0
G
lr,

lt

U
qo
(E
t!
o-

r.0

t0

0.2

0.t

100

G R A I NS l Z E , m m

"ideal" for optimum compaction'

Frc. 5. Materials

o
I
o J

o
.

p E R v r o u sE f i g A N K r . r E F
NrTL L , o R o v r L L E o A t i

(c)

(b)

I,oo

A F T E R I 5 I ' , I I N U T EVSI E R A T I O N
A S C O IP
. I A C TE D. N O V I B R A T I O N

( ) % < r r {s t E v E )

.{

I
I

* 6 0
CE
U

\=
F

H=(1.3)F

E
trJ

" l

to

'.0
i

lt{5

i
.

o 3 l
1
9
I
. i 5

r<n

ir

U q o

?r lT l
.

i
a

( 20% > f, '{ SIEVE)

r.0
t0
GRAIS
N I Z E. m m

0
f00

4
0

0.t

0.2

F
Frc. 6. Compaction data-Oroville

Repetition of this processin the filter adjacentto the core of a

dam can leadto progressivecore damage.When the coreitself is
of suspectinternal stability, as in BalderheadDam, the damage
is exacerbated.To preventsuchdamage,it is generallyaccepted

Dam fill.

0.?

0.'{

P E R C E NFTI N E RT H A NI 9 S I E V E( ( 5 M M )

(1 lblcu ft : 16kglm'.)

acceptablefilter gradationhas beenpostulatedby Sherardet al.

(1984) and is plotted in Fig. 7; it is compared with the filter
gradingsexaminedby the authorsin their Fig. l3 and also with
the suggestionsby Lowe and Binger (1982)to ensureadequate
self-filtering of a widely graded filter material. Perhapsnot
"coarsest"envelopecan be drawn throughall the
surprisingly, a
dati. It is suggestedby the writer that this representsthe
"coarsest" acceptablegrading for filters; for most cases, the
"finest" acceptablegrading corresponds to that of concrete

418

CAN. GEOTECH.J. VOL. 23. 1986

-.-

F I L T E RE x A M t N E tDN F t G .t ? O F p A p E R
-.--,,LOI'EST "
( FIG.13OF PAPER)
ACCEPTASLE
x ,, FLATTEST,. GRADATIoN
( LowEa EINGERt982)
O "COARSESTI
LII,ItT( S}IERARDET AL. I98,{ )

z
F

r r 6 0

lr,
z
L
F

z
lr,

Y e o

U
c

loo
cnarru
stzE.mlrl
Frc. 7. criteriato define"coarsest"gradationlimit for filters.
sand. The writer agreesthat broadly graded filters should be
avoided.
. I! is strongly advocatedthat the authorscontinueand extend
their work. In addition to questionsraised in this discussion,
possibleaspectscould inclube the following:
-The testing of "sandier" gradations.
-The examination of a lower
range of seepagevelocities/
gradients.(critical or "threshold" levels in meihinically
stable
materials?)
-The examinationof potential
for segregation-without water
flow. (Does vibration inc.easesegregation?)(what degrees
of
segregationare tolerable?)
AspHer-rlNsrrrure.
_r959.Asphalthandbook.AsphaltInstutute,
Construction
seriesgl.
or MEuo, V. F. B. 1975.Somelessons
fromunsuspected,
realand
fictitiousproblemsin earthdamengineering
in grazit. proceedings

Sixth Regional Conference for Africa on soil Mechanics and

FoundationEngineering,Durban, South Africa. Vol. 2, pp. 2g5_
304.
1977.Reflectionson designdecisionsof practicalsignificance
to embankmentdams.G6otechnique,2T(3),
pp. 2gl-355.
FurLrn, W. 8., and THor',rpsoN,
S. E. 1907.The laws of proportioning concrete. Transactions of the American Society or clt'it
Engineers,59, pp. 64-143.
K E N N E yT
, . C . , C H n H e L ,R . , C n t u , 8 . , O r o e c u , G . I . , O u e N c r . G
N. , and unar , c. A. I 985 . controlling constrictionsizesof granular
filters. CanadianGeotechnicalJournal, 22, pp. 32-43.
K-lepnNsu, B., and roRBLne, I. 1968. Leakagethrough horizontal
cracks in the core at Hyttejuvet Dam. Norwegian Geotechnical
Institute,Oslo, Norway, No. 80, pp. 39-a8.
LowE, J., III, and BrNcEn, W. V. 1982. Tarbela Dam project.
Pakistan. second Annual uscol-D Lecture. United states Committee on Large Dams, Atlanta, GA,l03 p.
MnLrn, R. K. 1965.Discussionon vibratory maximum densitytest.
compaction of soils. American society for Testing and Matirials.
SpecialTechnicalPublication,No. 377, pp. 23-29.
RrpLEy, c. F. 1983. Discussion:Design of filters for clay cores of
dams. ASCE Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 109(9), pp.
l r93- r 195.
Sreurr, R. N., and CorwELL, C. N. 1976.Drainageprovisionsand
leakage investigations of the churchill Falls dams and dykes.
Transactionsof the Twelfth Internationalcongress on Large Dams,
Mexico City, Mexico, Vol. 2, pp. 107-127.
SHERIRD,J. L., WooDweRD, R. J., GHrzrrNsxr. S. F., and
CrrveNcrR, W. A. 1963.Earth& earth-rockdams.JohnWiley and
Sons,Inc. New York, NY, pp. 629-631.
SurRlRo, J. L., DuNNrcAN,L. P., andT,c,r-Bor.
J. R. 19g4.Filtersfor
silts and clays. ASCE Journalof GeotechnicalEngineering,il0(6),
pp. 701-718.
UNtrpp Sreres BuRrnu or Rpcr-euArroN. 1963.Earth manual,pp.
42-44.
VeucH.lN, P. R., and Soenrs, H. F. 1982. Designof filtersfor clay
cores of dams. ASCE Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering
Division, 108(GTl), pp. 17-31.
VEsuo, H. 1976. Viddalsvatn Dam. A history of leakagesand
investigations. Transactionsof the Twelfth InternationalCongress
on Large Dams, Mexico City, Mexico, Vol. 2, pp. 369-390.
WaccoNen, E. B., SHrReRo,J. L., and CrevENcER,W. A. 1969.
Geological conditions and constructionclaims on earth and rock-fill
dams and relatedstructures./n Engineeringgeorogycasehistories.
Edited by G. A. Kiersch and A. B. Cleaves.GeologicalSocietyof
America, Boulder, CO, No. 7, pp. 33-44.

Internal stability of granular filters:r Discussion

JnuesL. S H ennno
P.O.Box 1416,SanDiego,CA 92073,U.S.A.

?5 yee
substa
Porou:
beenor
gzvel
soils(!
been n
labora
evalua
gravel

The
siont

labora

The
wellbeing

D are
and

susp
resu
nat
below

infl
exca

indi
the
dam
tests
signi
auth

used
head
excel
speci
W,
gene
et al

re
aut
have
lntern
highl
seve
made
auth

AND

simil

LonN P. DuNNrcnn
soil MechanicsLaboratory, soil Consertation service(usDA), Lint'oln, NE 6g50g.u.s.A.
ReceivedMarch 26. 1986
AcceptedMarch 27. 19S6

tCStS

C a n . G e o r e c h1. . 2 3 , 4 1 g _ 4 2 0 ( l 9 g 6 )

The authorsdescribebasicresearchon a subjectof practical leastin the U.S.A. and Canada.Researchers

in Europehave
importancethat has not heretoforereceivedmuch
studiedin a generalway the nrovementof sandparticlesinside
attention.
at
sand-gravelmixtures,from which activitieshavecomethenew
rPaper
by T. c. KcnneyandD. Lau. 19g5.Canadian
Georechnical terms"suffusion"and "colmatation"(Wittmann I97tt). SuffuJournal.22, pp. ZIS-22i.
sion hasbeendiscussed
in the literaturein Russiafor morethan

about
with
tests
proce

(r0i
ran

hydr:
addit
a l

dou
abo

4t9

DISCUSSIONS

niil
J.

ax
al
al

it.

s.
of
p.

rd
s.
s,
rd
rd
)r
),
I.
ry
tg

rd
is

).
ll
t.
lf

t< years, generating a volume of theory that comprisesa

tantial part of east Europeanbooks on seepagethrough
I
htyrour media (Kovacs l98l). Some embankmentdams have
I b..n damagedby migration of fines out of the voids between
I sravelparticlesin zonesof coarse,broadly gradedimpervious
I ioils (Sherard1979).However,to our knowledge,therehave
I U..n no studiessimilar to those of the authors,i.e., careful
! hboratoryexperimentsdirectedtowardthe practicalproblemof
svaluatingthe internal stability of compactedfilters of sandy
gravel.
The authors' work has reachedthe rathersurprisingconclusionthat somesandygravels,apparentlyfairly well graded,are
internally unstable. Substantialmigration of sand particles
occurred within the densely compacted specimensin the
llboratorytestsemployed,with the sandcomingout thebottom.
fhe unstable materials tested were sandy gravels of fairly
well-gradedgrain size distributions,generally consideredas
being completely stable and suitable for use as filters in
embankmentdams. For example,the sandygravelsA, As, and
D are representativeof materialsthat have been usedas filters
andtransitionsin many dams, and heretoforetherehasbeenno
suspicionthat they had questionableinternalstability.
fhere are several main reasonsfor surprise at the authors'
results.Sandy gravels of this generalgradationare common as
naturalriver alluvium in dam foundations.In deepexcavations
below the water table, unwateredby sump pumping, large
inflows of groundwater can be seen seeping out of the
excavation and inclined side slopes. In these there is no
indication of sand migrating out of the gravel voids and
rmulatging in the excavationbottom as would be expectedif
l,
l\r" materialwere internally unstable.Also, aspart of studiesfor
I dam design it is fairly common to make laboratorypermeability
testson materialsof similar gradation, with no observationsof
significant migration of sand out of the bottom. In fact, the
authors'test appalatusand proceduresile very similar to those
used for routine permeability tests (sample length, hydraulic
head applied, and details of drainage layer at the bottom),
except that it is not the practice to vibrate a permeability test
by tapping it with a rubber hammer.
specimen
We have been engaged during the last several years in a
generallaboratoryresearchprogramon filters fordams (Sherard
et al. 1984a, b; Sherard and Dunnigan 1985). While this
researchdid not include any tests exactly like those of the
authors,our experiencewith similar tests(Sherard1985)would
havecausedus to predict that all the sandy gravels shown to be
internallyunstablein the authors' tests (in their Fig. l) were
highly stable. After puzzling over this apparent conflict for
severalmonths following publication of the authors' paPer,we
madea seriesof laboratoryteststo seeif we could duplicatethe
authors'results.
The authors' unstable materials A, As, and D are all very
similar, with a nrllrow rangeof particle sizedistribution.For our
testswe chose a sandy gravel with particle size distribution in
about the middle of this nilrow range, a well-gradedmaterial
rvith particle size distribution as shown in Fig. I . A total of five
testswere made, all on this material, using the samegeneral
.rocedures as describedtor the authors' tests, in a 254 mm
iin.) diameter, 508 mm (20 in.) long plastic cylinder. A
,
\ange of sample thicknesses(127-254mm (5-l0in')) and
hydraulicgradients(3-45) wasused.One testwasmadewith an
additionaleffectivestressof about 138kPa (20 psi) appliedwith
a spring load. The cylinder was mounted vertically with
"drainagelayer"
downward flow. As in the authors' tests, a
about 152mm 16in.) long, or filter, was placedunderneath(on

Sond whrch cnlers

moleriol vords

drotnoge
Sievc

o
O
, t

O
I

o
6

o
9
a

o
r

o
d
l

Sizes

o
r

{
O

\ :

Droinoge
Moleriol

ii uo
c
o
o
o-

D . ' u :2 0 m m
tn

1.0

0.5

5.0

l0

P o r t i c l e D i o m e l e r ,m m

Frc. l. Sandy gravel tesred,which is similar to the authors'

A, As, andD.
materials
unstable
downstream side) of the material being tested. This drainage
layer material consisted of uniform gravels, retained on the
19mm (i in.; sieveandpassingtheZlmm (l in.) sieve(Fig. 1).
Both the sandygravel and the drainagelayer were compactedto
a relatively high density.
In all tests, the water was caused to percolate through the
specimenfirst for about 20-30 min without vibrating. Then the
specimenwas vibrated by pounding the exterior of the plastic
cylinder with many strong blows of a heavy rubber hammer,
with the flow continuing. Sometimesthis cycle was repeated
several times. At intervals over the entire test all the water
emergingat the bottom was caughtand the ratemeasured.Also,
all sandloming out of the bottom during the entire test was
caught and measured.At the end of the test the specimenwas
carefully dismantled. All the sand caught in the voids of the
drainagematerial was separatedout, and the total weight and
particl- size distribution measured.In two of the five teststhe
ihickness of the specimenbefore and after was determined.In
one of these,the thicknessand gradationof the four individual
compactedlayers of the specimenwere measuredbefore and
after the test.
All testsgave the sameresults:the specimensactedaswholly
stablematerials.
1. Before vibration very little sandmigratedout of the bottom
of the specimeninto the voids of the drainagematerial.
2. Aa the result of the vibration, a small quantity of sand
emergedimmediately from the bottom of the cylinder with the
flowing water. When the vibration was terminatedthe sandflow
essentiallystopped.
3. The amount of water coming out of the bottom of the
cylinder rangedroughly between 15 and 600 ml/s, depending
on the head. This remained essentially constant for constant
headappliedand gaveessentiallythe samecomputedcoefficient
of permeability. For all tests, ft was approximately 0.020.03 cm/s. The flow through the specimen was not changed
significantlyby the vibration or sand migration.
+. ttt. total quantity of sandthat migrated out of the bottom
of the specimensinto the voids of the drainage layer varied
greatly with the hydraulic gradient and velocity of flow, generally.t follo
Approximate
gradient

total
APProximate
sandmigrating(g)

45
3

500
25

420

\-'

\_

CAN. GEOTECH.J. VOL. 23. 1986

Sincethe areaof the specimenwas about 500 cm2, for the highgradient tests the quantity of sand that migrated out of the
bottom of the specimenwas about 1.0 E/cm2. This value of
l.\g/cmz was the necessarypenetrationof sand from the
specimeninto the drainagelayer to enablethe drainagelayer to
act as a filter and prevent further sandmigration. Assumingthat
the compacted sand formerly had a dry unit weight of
2 .0 9 / c m 3, t hen ab o u t 1 .0 /2 .0 : 0 .5 c m (5 m m ) of the
specimenlength at the lower interface penetratedthe voids of
the drainage-layergravel. This decreasein specimen length
(5 mm) is consistentwith the measuredchangein length of the
specimenin the spring load test (0.19 in. : 5 mm).
5. About 80 or 90Voof the sandmigration into the voids of the
drainagelayer occurred as the result of the vibration imposed.
6. In the one test in which the particle size distribution of the
upper three individual layers of four compactedlayers in the
specimenwas measuredbefore and after the test, there was no
measurabledifference, showing again that all the sand that
migrated into the voids of the drainage layer came from the
bottom of the specimen,directly adjacentto the upper face of
the drainagelayer.
7. In all cases the particle size distribution of the small
quantity of sand that migrated into the voids of the drainage
layerwasapproximatelyasshownin Fig. l, with maximumsize
of about 2.0mm. This is consistentwith the resultsof earrier
tests,which show that the maximum particle size that can pass
through the voids of a uniform filter is roughly l\Vc of the D15
size (Sherard et al. 1984b). In this case the D15 size of the
drainagelayer is roughly 20mm, Fig. l, so that it would be
expectedthat the sandparticlesthat could enterthe voids would
have a maximum size of about Zmm.

2. We have subsequentlymadesimilar testson sandygravel

specimens-of similar gradation that show the material to be
stable.
3. The reason for the difference in the two groups of test
resultsis not known. More experimentsare neededto reconcile
the difference.
4. We believe that such sandy gravels are internally stable.
5. This is a relatively important practical point from the
standpointof the use of such materialsas filters in embankment
dams.
hydraulics.
ElsevierScientific
Kovlcs, G. 1981.Seepage
Publishing
Company,Amsterdam,New York, 730p.
Snrnenp, J. L. 1979.Sinkholesin damsof coarse,broadlygraded
India,Vol. II, pp. 25-35.
soils.l3th ICOLD Congress,
1985.The upstreamzonein the concretefacerockfill dam.
ASCE Symposiumon ConcreteFaceRockfillDams.
Proceedings,
Detroit,MI.
L. P. 1985.Filtersand leakage
SuEneRp,J. L., and DUNNIGAN,
dams.Proceedings,
controlin embankment
ASCESymposium
on
andI*akage from DamsandImpoundments,
Seepage
Denver,CO,
pp. 1-30.
SnrRnnp,J. L., DuNNtcnN,L. P., andTlraor, J. R. 1984c.Filters
for claysandsilts. ASCEJournalof the Geotechnical
Engineering
D i vi si on,110,pp. 701-718.
1984b.Basic propertiesof sandand gravelfilters. ASCE
Journalof the Geotechnical
EngineeringDivision, ll0, pp. 684700.
L. 1978.Phenomena
WWirtueNN,
andparameters
of two-component
soil. Symposiumon the Effectsof Flow throughPorousMedia.
InternationalAssociationof HydraulicResearch,Committeeon
Flow throughPorousMedia,Salonika,Greece,pp. 68-80.

Conclusions
l. The authors' experimentalresults showing that sandy
gravesl A, As, and D are internally unstableare surprising.

Internal stability of granular filters:r Reply

T. C. KENNey eNo D. Lnu
Departmentof Civil Engineering,Universin'of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., CanadaMSS 1A4
R e c e i v e dM a y 1 2 , 1 9 8 6
AcceptedMay 12, 1986
C a nG
. eotec1
h . 2 3 , 4 2 0 - 4 2 3( 1 9 8 6 )

We wish to thank Messrs.Milligan, Ripley, Sherard,and

Dunniganfor spendingtime andeffor-tin studyingour paperand
preparingchallengingdiscussions.As is so often the case,the
value of the discussionsis at leastequal to that of the onginal
paper,and we are grateful.
The first item concernssemanticsand the imprecisionof the
term "unstable grading." The picture was presentedthat a
granularmaterialconsistedof a load-bearingfabricof particles,
or primary fabric, and looseparticleslocatedin the void spaces
of the primary fabric. If the loose particleswere sufficiently
rDiscussions V.
by
M i l t i g a n( t 9 8 6 ) . C . F . R i p l e yt t 9 8 6 ) .a n dJ . L .
Sherardand L. P. Dunnigan(1986).CanadianGeotechnical
Journal.
23. this issue.pp. 255-258. this issue.

smallto passthroughthe void networkof the primaryfabricthey

could be removed by the actions of gravity, water flow, and
vibration, and such soils were describedas having unstable
gradings. If the primary fabric and its void spaceswere to
remainunchangedunderthe actionsof gravity, waterflow. and
vibration,it followsthatthereis a maximumlimit to thechange
of gradationthatcanoccur-particles canonly be lostif theyarc
smaller than the void network-and increasesof seepage
velocityand vibrationwill not leadto steadilyincreased
losses.
Therefore,for any material.thereis an upperlimit to the internal
lossesthat are possible;that is, there is a maximum limit to
which a materialcan be internallyunstable.
Somegranularmaterialshave gradingsthat are potentially
unstable.lt is alsotrue that the authorshave potentialfor bcing

howeve:
imPosec
gradingr
unstabl
potentia
sarilYth
on the s
Weh
we ha!
possibil
incomP
Wea
rcstresl
and the
in our 1
tests,p
defeats
testrest
of the t
betwee:
Sher
in the r
gradinp
that, be
D, grac
that A i
testA')
grading
unstabl
Table I
agreem
ever,g
in our
will be
to Sher
hasled
pretati(
Som
therigl
areess(

! compa
I In botl

densiti
and thr
These
Dunnil
test al
approx
drainal
about
Sherar
affecte
that w,
our ap
enterir
graino
fact th
t his is
vibrati
and U
gradin
Thc

TI
,l
.'
u
'"
.
u
;

42r
tscussroNs
I
results.TakingfirsrthetestongradingU in Fig' l, it isapparnt
lunr,ubl". We would naturallydenysuchallegations.tn trurh,
upon
ihe
conditions
being
no changeof gradingoccurredduringthetestin laye$2-4
would
depend
that
) hoo,"u.r,our ..sponse
of
soil
below this a transitionzone developedthat became
regarding
the
instability
and
is
true
osed.
The
sime
I
coanertowardsthedrainagelayers.Theseresults
N_-.ing.. Thus, when a soil grading is describedas being progressively
and
ihe
that
indicate SradingU is stableandwe agreewhh Sherard
| ilsuUi". as in Fig. I of the paper,ii is meantthat it has
paper
the
we
concluded
In
to
this
effect.
conclusion
panicles,-but
necesDunnigan's
cannot
conclude
one
I ootentiatfor losinl
behaviouris dependent that gradingAs was unstable,basedon the resultsin Fig. 5,
I lrrily thatthelosJs will occurbecause
coarsergradingdeveloped
which indicatethat a homogeneous
! un th. severityof $e imposedconditions.
wasa zone(layers2 and
there
4-7.
Above
these.layers
i We haveiientified thi possibilityfor gradinginsrabilitybut in layers
we have not given any'guidance on how to evaluate this

ourworkis
andin thatrespect
for heldconiitilons,
possibility

3) in which there was no changeofgradiflg, butwe discounted

ano."ly:
thisasa.test

tl*ff^":i^::_":.:-::f:

:: :*4i$9
nizethatour interpretatiol of this testwasincorrectandthatthe
our unchangedgrading in the upper Pan of the specimenwas
gratefulto SherardandDunniganfor questioning
We^are
tests,
prformed
evidencethat gradingAs is stableandthatthe lower,coarser
independent
that
they
testresultsto theextent
with
those
zonewasa transitionzone.
were
inconsistent
results
that
their
reported
andthey
il;"; i"p;r lntum. we repeatedthe SherardandDunnigan . Fig.2 is arevisionof Fig. 12 in our paper.ln the left-hand
i.ttt. oiui severalof our earliertests.Therewerevictoriesand &awing, gradingAs hasbeenremovedandA' hasbeenadded.

g I incomPlete.
:omple'te.

d I
i
:.
t' |
It

'

,. ldefeationbothsides.onour.sidethesoodnews.is.th"llt:
Il,l"l,cll-139..9Tty^'.fY_*:.._"".t"':lti9:.j::":jf":1":::
thebadnewslsthatour interpretation the boundarybetweenstableandunstablegradingshavebeen
"t consistent;
I I Lri r".utt,
reston materialAs mustbe changedandthe-boundary
'' |"i,ft
i,
,,uUteand unstablegradingsmrist be modified.
I i"t*i"n
r i Streraraana Dunniganperiormedtestson a gradingthat was
g I f" ,tt" riJaf. ,-s. oTA,'Ar, andD, andwe iill reierto it as
I craaineU. thev loundrhismaterialto be stableandconcluded
E
A and
to besimilarto gradings
gradingU appeared
- I iiut, UE""ur.
lO,eradingse-anddweriilsostable,incontrastioourfindings
A (new
repeated
ourtests^on
unstable..we
I' I rt'uie.undP",ere
,,
performeda test on SherardandDunnigan's
and
D
and
1s5s
d')
i
'"
' I eradingU. Our reiultsconfirmedthatgradingsA andD were
similarto resultsin
(jf, = 0.12 and0.10, respectively,
I in.tuUi.
' '.le
grading
paper),
U to be stable,in
and
we
found
t
oi
o*
|

plotted.TheseareCu=12, U, As, anda."j:ll31"l"j:lryf:

the lenerF standingfor Fuller curve. It wasMilligan who made
the observationthat the conclusionsin our paperwould lead-to
theFullergradationasbeingunstable,andto him
condemning
this did not seem corrcct. Although gradingF is a slight
sandsize
a.Fullercurv-e(particles.smallerthan
modification-of
grading
for
F
in
Fig.
I
arenotincluded)thetesttesults
Prcsenled

!19l:,lh:
.ry1*,3::-d
boundarybtweenstsble
2 theYitliqT-9i1.1,"-I*g.i$i:i1:
suggested
shouldbestable.
In Fig. ]l
andunstablegradingshasbeenrevisedfrom thatin our PaPer.
was the lrebotsjkov
The boundarywe originally suggested
curve and the boundarywe now suggestis the Fuller curve.

How- it*""g! rh3 t"lft _dTt-JI -ti:^:TPf}:

of Sheridani Dunnigan.
lrt.- .e-ent*ittr-ti,ehnding.s
J::
cuwesU and
to include:.:.i":i
the sameas gradingAs, which, inclinationshouldbe slightlyrcduced.

'i

iver, gradingU is essentiilly

-This
inconsistency
in our-paper]we concludedwas unstable.
will bead&essedin thefollowing paragraphandwe areindebted
to SherardandDunniganfor thiii carlfui investigation,which
hasled to affirmationof the test results,improvementof interpretation
ofthetestresults,andmodificationof ourconclusions.
in
Someofthe resultsofour teston gradingU arepresented
gradingsU andAs
portionof Fig. l, andbecause
theright-hand
l1eesientiallyidentical, thJresultsfor gradin! U canbedirectly
compatedwiih the resuttsfor gradingAs in Fig. 5 of our papei.
In both teststhe specimensizeswere identical, the initial dry
Oinsiti"s*t"." Z.ti/m3, the totalfluxeswereabout400ml/s,
andthe reductionsin samplethicknesswere less than 3 mm.
Thesevaluescompareclos;ly to thosereportedby Sherardand
Dunniganfor their testson gradingU. The outwashfrom our
rcst aiparatus was 600-760 g ;d in addition there was
upp.oii11ut"tyan equalmassoi foreign particlescaughtin the
dilinage
total massoi trinsportedpaniclesof
layers,giving
'about
-tOUjt*i." the qdntity reported by
tiOb g,
aUout
Sherardand Dunnigan. The massof o:ansporiedp'aniclesis
to us
affected
by theduratlonofvibration,andit is notsurprising
we
liand-tapped
because
greater
losses
simply
that we ciused
of time. The material
our apparatusf6r immoderateleigitrs
-significantly
more coarse.ntering our drainagelayers was
graineithanthatrepineaby StrerarO
ird Dunnigan,despitethe
iact thatwe useda'finer-griined
drainagelayer;thereasonfor
-because
we uled ionger periodsof
is almost cenainly
\- _.ration.In summary,it appearsthatour testson giadingsAs
- on
1Xo U ur" .onsistentrith thetestsby Sherardanddunnigin
gradingU.
of these
The issue now boils down to the interpretation

As), its advantageis that the inclination in a l1-F diagramis

l:1, a relationshipeasily remembered.
In summaryof Fig. 2, and in rcply to the discussionby
Sherardand Dunnigan, (i) gradingsA and D are unstable,(ii)
gradingAs is stable,and(iii) on the basisof newtestdatathe
boundarybetween stable and unstablegradingshas been
revised.
One of manyintercstingpoints raised,by Milligan concerned
what he observedin his Figs. I a1d ! as an absenceof any
relationshipbetweengradingfor hydraulicstabilityandgrading"It
for optimuh density. is difficult to accepttbatmaterialsof
gradationso appropriatefor optimum densityare ap?arcntlyso
suspectin terms of hydraulic internal stability." In fact, the
densityis thatof a
gradationthatgivestheminimumcompacted
gradation
hasthehighest
a
and
such
perfectlyuniform.material,
degreeof hydraulic stability. The densityof sucha materialcan
finesarcof suitable
by addingfinesbutunlessthese
beincreased
gradation to resist movementthrough the void chamels lhe
combinedgradationwill beunstable.-lntheexteme, if thevoids
ofthe unifbrmmaterialwerepackedfull ofsmall pafticlesin a
densearrangement,the density would be maximum and the
of
mixturewouldbe hydraulicallystablebtcauseofthe absence
hydraulic
stability
panicular.$adation
panicles.
For
any
loose
but,byitselfdenrrtyis nota valid
asdensityincreases,
increases
criterionby whichtojudgehydmulicstabilityof a granular.soil.
Eachof the contributorswas Primarilyconcemedwith the
of thpaper'
applicationto practiceof someof theconclusions
Ripley *as corcemedabout-theusein damsof widelygraded
of segregaof inevitableoccurrence
filiers,particularlybecause
review
perspective
and
a
historical
tion. His discussion
Presents

422

CAN. GEOTECH.J. VOL. 23. I9E6

SAND
Fine

GRAVEL
Fine lMedium I Coarse

lMediuml Coarse

SAND
lMediuml Coarse

Fine

GrainsizeD, mm
0.060.1 0.2
1.0

0 . 61

GrainsizeD, mm

610

20

60

.06 0.1 0.2

SpecimenF

E o.B

ffi

E
E

c
o

60
1.0

0.8

l--z+orr --l
tnitiar
sradineFl/

E o.z

20

8 0.4
U)
(U

610

E
E

Fril

C\

-r

f 3-----t----1

E
E 0.6
a

0 . 61

SpecimenU

t-

GRAVEL
Fine lMedium I Coarse

0.6

|-.z+m
o mJ

t/

///
rnitiat
eractine:-ZUf

ct// '/ /
Layers 2,3, 4 - - - + z u n ; '

L a y e r s2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6
$

0.4

.q

>

rU]

0. 2

u"gl
I

TL
i:

z7'

Flc. l. Resultsof testson modifiedFuller gradingF andSherardandDunnigan'sgradingU.

1.0

( b ) STABLEGRA ) I N G S

0.8

o
$

F o.

0.6

I
I

c
o
o

"il

\.'

3
o
-o

.E 0.4

,r

0.4

o
(E

.:

q,
(!

Cu=12

/-j

0. 2

0.2

,i-l

4.:'
0.2
0.4
F,massfractionsmallerthan

0.6

odl

'/'".;'rr
l-lr''
.'l----w

i
c

_=_!el

i
I

I
I

'y between
Suggestedt roundar
stableand unstablegradings
l l l

0.2
0.4
0.6
F, massfractionsmallerthan

Ftc. 2. Shapecurves of selectedunstableand stablegradingsand the revised boundarybetweenstableand unstablegradings.

of filter design for dams and in a polite manner,reflectinghis

own personality,he chastisesthe professionby pointingout that
Tany of today's problemsrising from the useof widely graded
filters are the result of not following successfurdesign and
construction practices developed decadesago. His central
theme is that narrowly graded materialswill never seriously
segregate,they are inherentlystablefor conditionsof seepage.

and any additionalcost for screeningis moneywell invested.

The discussionis presentedwith devastatinglogic and is
recommendedreading for dam designersand studentsof the
geotechnicalfield.
Milligan, Sherardand Dunnigan.and J.-J. Pard(in privare
communication)recognizedthe seriousnessof segregationin
widely gradedfilter materialsbut were not asconcernedaboutit

filter
our

DISCUSSIONS

as Ripley. Rather, they were more concerned that filter

materialsthat they believedwerecompetentwould bejudged as
rstableby the findings in our paper. Parmentionedtestson
Iter materialthat would be classifiedas unstableon the basisof
our paper and that had been subjectedto prolongedperiodsof
without showingsignsof instability. He alsocorrectly
seepage
observedthat stabilityof a filter would dependon its thickness,
amongother factors.The generalfeeling of the discussers
was
thatour findings were too conservativeto justify usingdirectly
in design.

ted.
lis
thr'
: \ .

nte I
rin i
rt it

423

We share the same reservationsas the discussers.Our

findingsrelateto worsr conditions.Additional work is pranned
in which only seepageis used to encouragethe movementof
loose particles,a condition that is closer to most geotechnical
field conditionsthan the combinedflow and vibration used in
our tests.
Again, we are indebtedto the discussersof our paperand to
people who have communicatedprivately. It is clear that this
subject is of interest to many and that there remain many
uncertainties.