The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Comparisons of methods of rapid drawdown stability analysis

Wong, Kai S.; Duncan, James M.; Seed, H. Bolton

UCB/GT-82-05, University of California, Berkeley, Geotechnical Engineering, 1982-12, PDF (3.5 MB)

The study outlines and discusses methods of analysis and evaluation of strength parameters and the analysis of the slope failures at Pilarcitos and Walter Bouldin Dams and two hypothetical dams due to rapid drawdown of water. It is concluded that Morgenstern's chart solution and the Simplified Equations solution yield almost identical results as does computer solution for homogeneous slopes. Therefore the Simplified Equations method proposed here can be used for homogeneous dams with considerable savings in time and effort.

Available online: http://library.eerc.berkeley.edu/documents/GEOTECH/UCB-GT-82-05r.pdf