Engineering Management of Hydro Power Development 2000

Geology

ENGINEERING GEOLOGY IN
HYDRO POWER DEVELOPMENT
by JRI MARTNA, Consulting Engineering Geologist

Introduction
The tasks of the engineering geologist in hydro power development are naturally closely related to the
pertinent civil engineering problems. The questions to be solved change with time according to the advancing
stages of a project and are also related to the different parts of a hydro power project.

With time, the following phases of civil engineering activities take place:

feasibility studies,
layout and design,
construction,
operation and maintenance.

The parts of a power project with different kinds of problems which have to be considered separately are:

reservoirs,
dams,
power houses,
tunnels,
construction materials.

Problems in Time Sequence

A project normally starts with feasibility studies, often as a part of a master plan which means a general
project for development of a river or a runoff area. A feasibility study includes a general engineering-
geological assessment of the site obtained by a surface survey and some boreholes or adits, sometimes
complemented by geophysical studies. Locally obtainable construction materials are also surveyed.

When a feasible site has been determined, the layout and design are elaborated, accompanied by more
detailed geological surveys. The layout and design of a project depend on the results of these pre-construction
investigations, sometimes called pre-investigations, and the interpretation of the geology of the area.

It is important to realize that these pre-construction geological surveys are by their nature, and for economic
reasons, based on a more or less random sampling. They can be more or less accurate depending on the
extent of the surveys, the geological complexity of the site and the competence and experience of the

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geologist, but they can never be guaranteed to interpret the real geological conditions to 100 per cent
correctly. At the time when the contract is signed, there always remain uncertainties concerning the
geological situation.

It is therefore customary and recommendable that the excavation of foundations, tunnels etc on a site is
continuously geologically surveyed and that the design and construction is modified and adjusted according
to the actual geological conditions as revealed by the excavations. It is important that the terms of the
contract allow for such necessary adjustments.

Once the construction is completed and the power plant commissioned, the problems of maintenance
start. Geological processes are perennially active and the natural features of any area change all the time.
It is not to be expected, that artificial slopes, excavations, rock caverns etc will remain stable if not
properly attended to. Just as the buildings and the machinery, also rock and soil need attention and
surveillance to serve properly during the intended life time of the plant. It is important to establish routines
for surveillance by competent inspectors.at regular intervals of the civil engineering features - dams,
slopes, rock caverns, reservoir shores etc. - of a power station in operation The active processes are
often slow and their possibly deleterious effects may become evident first after a number of years or even
decades.

Problems in Parts of Power Projects

RESERVOIRS
There are three principal questions to be answered concerning a reservoir:

tightness of the reservoir,

stability of the shores,
permanency of the volume.

Tightness of the Reservoir

It is by no means certain that a proposed reservoir is capable of retaining water. There exist highly
permeable rocks and soils. The problems are most pronounced when so-called karst is encountered. By
karst is understood an extensive dissolution of limestone or sometimes gypsum, whereby intgerconnected
voids and cavities are formed which can rapidly drain off even large volumes of water. Other instances
which may pose problems are extensive permeable layers of gravel and sand.

Stability of the Shores

The stability of the shores may be considered from two different points of view:

erosion of weak rocks or soils,

rock slides in mountain regions.

A shoreline, similar to that of natural lakes will develop and become stable if the water level of the

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reservoir is reasonably constant. If, on the other hand, the water level is subject to considerable changes,
which is often the case, no stabilization of erodible shores can take place. Erosion of the shores, if they
are not protected, will proceed for a long time. A protection of the shores is usually economically not
feasible, except for limited areas.

In mountain areas the slopes are often steep and and sometimes unstable. Large rockslides may occur
which may fill a reservoir partly or completely, cause natural temporary dams and enormous surge waves.
Surge waves, caused by rock slides, have been recorded to reach a height of 500 metres. Remnants of
more or less recent slides, causing temporary local inundations is a common feature in the river valleys of
mountain areas. Sometimes the slide material has been stable, causing natural dams and lakes.

Permanency of the Storage Volume

Even if the storage volume of a reservoir may be suddenly substantially reduced by a slide, this is by no
means a normal case. Silting-up, however, is a common problem. Many rivers carry considerable amounts
of solids, both as suspended material and bed-load (rolled along the bottom).When a reservoir is created,
a large part of this material will be deposited. The silting-up is a common limiting factor for the useful life
of a hydro power plant (Fig. 1). It is also usual, that desilting basins must be built to prevent an excessive
wear of the turbines.Several full-scale experiments have shown that it is not possible to flush out sedimented
silt from a reservoir, a technique that functions well in a smaller scale, for instance in siltation basins.

Fig. 1. Schematic representation of the silting process in a reservoir. Density currents are silt-
rich flows along the bottom of the reservoir. They are not always present.(According to
Krynine and Judd).

The main part of the solid material transported by a river is not derived from the river bed and banks but
from the surrounding land through run-off of the rain. In a number of cases an excessive run-off and
erosion is essentially a man-made problem (Fig. 2).

DAMS
A dam is a civil engineering structure. Its design and performance, however, are essentially influenced by
the natural conditions of the site. Investigations into the causes of dam incidents and failures have shown
that a main cause of such an adverse happening is ignorance or misunderstanding of prevailing natural

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conditions - that is hydrology and geology - of the site. To be safe and effective, the dam and its foundation
material must be made to function together. Thus the location, lay-out and type of a dam is usually
determined in co-operation between the engineer and the engineering geologist.
To be safe, the three fundamental problems concerning a dam must be assessed:

tightness,
stability,
durability.

Tightness
Although the loss of water through a dam may have a noticeable economical value, the main reason for
achieving tightness is dam safety. Leaking water may, sometimes quite rapidly and sometimes in decades
cause deterioration of a dam or its foundation: either through erosion, or, in concrete dams (since cement
is soluble in water) through dissolving the concrete. Erosion through so-called piping may destroy a dam
in a matter of hours. Permeability of a dam foundation must always be assessed through water-pressure
or pumping tests in boreholes. The necessary tightness of the foundation, if not assessed to exist naturally,
is normally achieved by grouting with cement. On the other hand, it is practically impossible to build an
absolutely tight dam.

Stability
A dam transfers the weight of the stored water to its foundation and the foundation rock or soil must be
able to take the load. The stability of a dam is thus not only dependent on good design and construction but
is to a considerable degree due to a proper evaluation of the geology of its foundation. In other words, a

Fig. 2. Influence of vegetative cover on the per cent of runoff and soil lost by erosion (from
Schuchert).

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Fig. 3. Example of an actual damsite, with a hidden gorge found through geological site
investigations (according to Krynine and Judd).

good design is not possible without a thorough knowledge of the natural conditions at the site. A proper
geological investigation of a proposed dam site is always a good technical as well as economical policy.

Durability
The durability of a dam may be affected in a number of ways, most of which have a geological or
hydrological background.

A dam may be seriously damaged or destroyed by such violent happenings as overtopping or internal
erosion, piping, The deterioration of a dam may, on the other hand, also be a rather slow process caused
for instance by adverse chemical reactions between the concrete aggregates and cement, or differential
settlements, or weathering of the rockfill material.

Serious problems with the durability of a dam are usually caused by errors of judgement concerning
prevailing natural conditions or the properties of construction materials.

POWER HOUSES
Power houses can be built in a number of ways, above ground or partly or completely underground. The
lay-out and design of a power house should always be adapted to the geological conditions of the site.

For power houses above ground, the properties of the foundation rocks or soils have always to be assessed

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to control the stability and the settlements. Also, environmental hazards, as for instance avalanches, slides
and flooding have to be assessed. For underground location, the stability of the cavern is of vital importance.
Thus a choice of the following questions have to be discussed:

properties of the environment,

properties of the foundation,
stability of the cavern,
necessary supports,
durability.

The cavern for an underground machinery hall is a short but large tunnel, which contains personnel and
valuable equipment. The requirements for its stability, safety and durability are very high. Because of the
many geological hazards involved (an example is shown on Fig. 4.), which may have very expensive
consequencies, thorough engineering-geological investigations of power house sites during lay-out and
design and a follow-up during construction are a rule. The electrical equipment requires an absolutely
drop-free environment. The prediction of the new hydrogeological conditions after the excavation of the
new waterways around an underground power station is quite difficult. Therefore, precautionary drainage
measures are usually taken even in halls which are dry during the construction.

TUNNELS
Many hydro power projects include tunnels, sometimes very long ones. They are excavated for different
purposes, such as for conducting water to and from the turbines - headrace and tailrace tunnels - or
access and transports to underground power houses.

Some tunnels are temporary structures, intended for access during construction. Others are permanent,
intended to serve during the lifetime of the power station. All tunnels must be safe and stable when being
constructed and in use; for the permanent ones also the aspect of durability is to be considered. Assessment
of the properties of the rocks and the conditions in the rock mass (rock stresses, water leakage) is
essential for judging the necessity and dimensioning of supports.

Fig. 4. A rockslide may be caused by unfavourable directions of a fault and joints in relation to
the location of an underground machinery hall (according to Brekke).

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The stability of tunnels in reasonably good rock is more dependent on the occurrence of potential failure
surfaces - joints, fractures, faults - than the strength of the rock substance itself. Since the probability of
meeting an unfavourable combination of fractures increases with an increasing size of the rock volume
involved, a large rock mass has only a fractional part of the strength of the laboratory samples therefrom.

Fig. 5. Small tunnels are more stable than large ones (from Kovri).

A large tunnel is as a rule less stable than a small one at the same location. Fig. 5 exemplifies a case
where the same fracture distance will result in an overbreak in a large tunnel but not in a small one.

Because of its weight and because of the moving continental plates of the earths surface, the rock is
usually under stress. Both compression and tension occur. Moderate compressive stresses are the most
favourable ones for the construction of underground caverns. Compressive stresses which exceed the
bearing capacity of the rock will cause, depending on the circumstances, a more or less violent deformation
of the tunnel, either rock creeping or rock bursting.

Tensional stresses are especially dangerous in connexion with tunnels under water pressure. The tunnel
lining may crack in the absence of external rock pressure and the water may flood the surroundings.

There exist very special and rather complicated (and expensive) techniques, which enable the measurement
of in situ rock stresses. The traditional version of the Vattenfall overcoring method is shown in Fig. 8,
elucidating the principle of measuring three-dimensional rock stresses in a deep borehole.

The stability of rock openings is also time dependent (Fig. 6.). The purpose of the supports is to extend this
time, preferably to the stable position. The available time for applying the supports during the construction
is highly variable, from minutes to years, and it is normal, that it does vary in any tunnel. A correct
judgement of rock stability and its variation is essential for the economy and time schedule of a venture.

There is a large number of possible relationships between the geology of an area and a tunnel, some of
which are shown on Fig. 7. The geology along a tunnel is apt to change, sometimes rather rapidly, and may
require a rapid adaption of the excavation and support methods to the new situation.

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Fig. 6. The stability of tunnels is time dependent (according to Lauffer).

Excavation of tunnels meets with many difficulties. One of the important hazards during the construction
is an unexpected water inflow. Hydrogeological considerations are essential for the very difficult prognosis
of water inflow into tunnels during and after the construction period. For tunnels under water pressure,
also the possibility of outflow and the cracking of the lining and the surrounding rock (which may have
disastrous consequencies) should be considered.

Most ordinary cements react chemically with sulphates causing a cracking and, in serious cases, a
disintegration of the concrete. When the water percolates from the outside ground into the structure, an
enrichment of sulphate may take place in the concrete and even a low sulphur content may thus with time
cause a damage. Some cements are naturally immune to this reaction and special sulphate resistant
cements are also produced. There is a number of geological environments where the occurrence of
sulphatic ground water may be expected.

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Fig. 7. Examples of possible relationships between the geology of a rock mass and a tunnel
through it. (From Desio).

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Fig. 8. Measurement of three-dimensional rock stresses in a deep borehole by the Hiltscher-

Leeman method, developed at Vattenfall. (1) drilling of a 78-mm hole, (2) drilling of a 36-
mm hole, (3) appraisal of the small core for fractures, (4) lowering of the probe, (5) the
probe is activated by a fall-weight and glues the nine gauges against the wall of the bore;
first measurement, (6) the probe is released and hoisted, (7) the 36-mm hole is overcored
and subsequently hoisted, (8) second measurement at the surface. The stresses are
calculated from the difference between the first, confined, and the second, released,
measurement of the nine gauges.(From Hiltscher, Martna, Strindell 1979)

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
During the building of a hydro power plant, especially the dam, large amounts of natural materials, soils
and rocks, are used. All these materials must meet detailed technical specifications regarding their strength,
grain size, durability etc. For economic reasons they must be found more or less locally. In fact, the design
of a dam depends largely on the kind of locally obtainable construction materials.

If a rockfill or an earth dam will be constructed, large amounts of materials for the following will be used:

impervious core,
filters,
embankments.

The purpose of the impervious core is to provide the tightness of the dam and that of the embankment to
support the usually rather thin core. The purpose of the filters is to prevent the internal ersion of the core
material into the usually rather coarse-grained embankment. The grain size distributions of all these materials
must be balanced in respect of each other to achieve a stable and durable dam.

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Some dams are entirely made of concrete. All modern dams have at least some concrete structures, such
as intake and spillway. All tunnels and underground power houses contain concrete structures and supports.
There is always a need for concrete and thus for:

concrete aggregates,
cement.

Whereas there exist adequate tests for the suitability of materials regarding the grain size, strength etc. at
the time of construction, their durability is often a far more difficult issue. Rock materials may be dissolved
or weathered or react chemically with cement in concrete. Thus a proper judgement of the suitability of
natural construction materials requires an extensive knowledge of the behaviour of rocks and soils.

The risks with a sulphatic ground water have been mentioned above. The same applies to aggregates,
containing in water soluble sulphur minerals.

An issue of considerable interest concerning the durability of concrete structures is the Alkali-Aggregate
Reaction (AAR), also called the Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR). It is a chemical reaction between the
alkalies sodium (Na) and potassium (K) in the cement and some forms of silica (SiO2), so-called reactive
silica, in the aggregates. The reaction requires certain proportions of the active constituents and the
presence of water. It may take from a few years to some 25 years to develop and may result in an
expansion, cracking and crumbling of concrete structures. It is always of interest to study the existing
concrete structures in areas where a development of water power is intended. In areas without previous
experience of the behaviour of concrete structures, the possibility of this reaction can be quite difficult to
diagnose. Low-alkali cements are produced and reduce the risk for AAR damage.

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