CContemporary challenges for dams : conference proceedings : 2015 / ANCOLD

The method of Annandale (1995) is widely used by Australian practitioners for the assessment of erosion in unlined spillways. This method is based on comparison to various case studies, where the geology at each site is characterised using the Kirsten index (a rock mass index previously developed to assess the rippability of rock), and the hydraulic conditions are characterised using the unit stream powerdissipation. In this paper, the historical development of this comparative design technique is traced and is critically reviewed against the original geotechnical and hydraulic data, and against a new, independent,dataset gained from unlined spillways in fractured rock in Australia, South Africa and the USA. It is shown that, while erosion can be usefully correlated against rock-mass indices and hydraulic indices, this‘comparative’ design technique has been promoted beyond its reach - the data do not support the inference of an erosion ‘threshold’ as presented by Annandale (1995). It is argued that this type of analysis should be used only as an initial ‘first indication of erosion potential’, as originally proposed by van Schalkwyk (1994b)

Rock Mass Erodibility

Erosion of rock masses by water typically involves unraveling of blocks of rock along existing defects in a manner that is not represented by analytical solutions for sediment transport or rockfill (rip-rap). A pragmatic approach to this complex problem is found by using a rock mass index to represent the erodibility of the rock-mass. The likelihood of erosion is then assessed by comparison against case studies in similar rock masses. A new independent data set of rock-mass erosion was gained from inspection of 26 unlined spillways in Australia, South Africa, and the United States. It was found that erosion can be usefully correlated against various published rock mass indices and hydraulic indices. A modified rock mass index, developed specifically to represent erodibility, is presented, and is applied to prepare a new comparative erosion assessment method for rock masses