A model for gas and water flow through the core of earth dams

Abstract

The paper proposes equations describing the transport of gases through the initially unsaturated core of a dam by dissolution and diffusion in water and examines different numerical simulations based on these equations. The simulation results provide pore-water pressure distributions similar to those observed in several earth dams, with higher pore-water pressures than expected in the downstream part of the core. Practical considerations to estimate the implications of the phenomenon are then discussed.Key words: dam, unsaturated soil, pore pressure, dissolution of gas, diffusion of gas, hydraulic conductivity.