Geotechnical Engineering Assessment of the Nargesi Damsite, Southwest Iran

This paper describes the results of the engineering geological investigations and geotechnical studies performed in the Nargesi dam site. The dam foundation located on the sedimentary rocks of Neogen period. To conduct this study, the steps including field and laboratory investigations, surface discontinuity surveying, drilled borehole data, and permeability were performed on dam foundation. Besides, the evaluation of the dam foundation was carried out by water pressure tests, which indicate the necessity of creating a grout curtain below the dam foundation. The permeability and groutability characteristics of the Nargesi dam foundation are significantly affected by geology of the site. The rock mass properties of the test section obtained from secondary permeability index (SPI) completed with the degree of jointing of the drill core acts as a useful reference for ground treatment design. Here, the performed laboratory tests were as: determination of density, moisture percent, porosity percent, water absorption, uniaxial compressive strength, Point-load strength index (Is50), p-wave velocity (Cp), s-wave velocity (Cs), deformability, and triaxial tests. The rock mass properties and classifications of the damsite is assessed using rock mass rating, the rock quality (Q), and the geological strength index classification systems. The strength and modulus elasticity of rock masses were determined through the equations proposed by different researchers. According to the findings of this work, except for some cases, there is a reasonable correlation between SPI and rock quality designation values. Based on these results, grout type and composition was suggested for the design of grout curtain.