Evaluating stability of dam foundations by borehole and surface survey using Step Frequency Radar

Evaluating stability of dam foundations is one of the prime areas of any rock engineering investigations. Despite best engineering efforts in the design and construction of dam foundations, the foundation regime of a constructed dam suffers deterioration due to continuous erosion from backwater current of dam discharge and dynamic effects of loading and unloading process. Even during construction, development of frequent cracks due to sudden thermal cooling of concrete blocks is not uncommon. This paper presents two case studies from India and Bhutan. In the first case, the back current of water discharge from the Srisailam dam in India had continuously eroded the apron and has eaten into the dam foundation. In the second case with dam construction at Tala Hydroelectric Project in Bhutan, sudden overflow of river during the construction stage of dam had led to development of three major cracks across the dam blocks. This was ascribed to adiabatic cooling effect of concrete blocks overlain by chilled water flow. Non-destructive evaluation of rock mass condition in the defect regime by the borehole GPR survey helped in arriving at the crux so as to formulate appropriate restoration plan.