Research on the infiltrations in an earth dam. Case study: Cuibul Vulturilor Reservoir, Vaslui County, Romania

Abstract

The dam of the reservoir Cuibul Vulturilor, located on the Tutova river is an inhomogeneous earth dam with a maximum height of 15.0 m, with a clayey central core and lateral prisms made of clayey-dusty sands. For tracking the evolution of body dam seepage, 12 piezometers and a drainage pipe with discharge in the downstream connection channel of the bottom outlet are used. The paper presents the characteristic elements of the theoretical infiltration curve in the dam It also shows the hydro isohypses for the dam drawn with SURFER program, using the maximum hydrostatic levels in the piezometers measured in the year 2019. The distribution of the hydro isohypses across the dam is strongly influenced by the location of the piezometers and the other point of measuring the hydraulic head. The pattern circulation of the infiltration water inside the dam body could be studied with increased accuracy, if the dam had been equipped with several piezometers. Even in these conditions, it is clearly observed that the regime of infiltrations through the dam body is similar to the theoretical way of behavior.