1.

INTRODUCTION

1.1.PROJECT OVERVIEW

The ST Hydropower station (Rufiji HydroPower project) is located in the Rufiji river in the southeast
of the united republic of Tanzania. The Rufiji river is the largest river in Tanzania, with and area of
177,000 km square. The power stationproject area is located at the Stiegler valley section of the lower
Rufiji river, about 325km as the crow flies from dar es salaam, Tanzania, and 230km as the crow flies
from the mouth of the river. The geographical location of the project is shown in the next figure.

Figure 1Geografical location map of the project area

ST hydropower station is a hybrid development, mainly for the generation of electricity. The normal
storage capacity is about 307 x 108m3 at the normal storage level to regulate the reservoir for many
years. The hub building is mainly composed of the riverbed main dam + no. 1-4 auxiliary dam on the
rigth bank+ the diversion tunnel on the rigth bank + the ground plant on the rigth bank. The maximum
of the lanhe dam is about 131m, and the initial installed capacity of the power station is 2115MW.

1.2.OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this document is to provide information, as well as the design criteria to be able to
justify the proposed support for each slope.

1.3.UNITS AND MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

In this project, the international system of SI units (International Standard) will be used. This system
is developed based on the unit of mass called kilogram (kg), the unit of length meter (m) and the unit
of time (s).
As an example, among the main derived quantities we have: the Newton (N) force unit, the pressure
unit, megapascal (Mpa), the work unit, Joule (J) and the power unit, Watt (W). The angles will be
measured in the sexagesimal system.
In all project works, the geographic location will be based on the Universal Transversal Mercator
(UTM), defined by the Gepgraphic Institute. All the plans will be reference to this system and will
include graphic scales.

1.4.GENERAL CODES

The project, including materials and methodology, will take into consideration one or several
internationally recognized standards. The main technical characteristics of the

Todos los diseños, incluyendo los materiales y métodos utilizados, tomarán en consideración una o
varias normas reconocidas internacionalmente.
By definition these norms, applicable in the various areas of sdesign, como or have been developed
and reccomended by organism such as:

Civil Engineering Codes and Standards

 ISO International Organization for Standarization
 ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials
 USBR U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
 UBC Uniform Building Code
 IAHR International Association for Hydraulic Research
 ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers
 ACI American Concrete Institute
 ICOLD International Committee of Large Dams
 AISC American Institute of Steel Construction
 AASHTO American Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges
 USACE Normas y procedimientos empleados para el análisis dinámico de la presa,
Cuerpo de Ingenieros de USA
 EUROCODIGOS Normas Europeas redactadas por el Comité Europeo de Normalización
(CEN), en particular
o Eurocódigo 0: Bases de Diseño Estructural (EN 1990).
o Eurocódigo 1: Acciones sobre las Estructuras (EN 1991).
o Eurocódigo 2: Diseño de Estructuras de Hormigón (EN 1992).
o Eurocódigo 3: Diseño de Estructuras de Acero (EN 1993).
o Eurocódigo 4: Diseño de Estructuras Mixtas de Acero y Hormigón (EN 1994).
o Eurocódigo 8: Diseño Sísmico de Estructuras (EN 1998).

Mechanical Engineering Codes and Standards

 ISO International Organization for Standarization
 ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials
 ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers
 ANSI American National Standards Institute
 AWS American Welding Society.
 AWWA American Water Works Association
 AASHTO American Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges
 CECT Comité Europeen de la Chaudronnerie et de la Tolerie
  DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung
 USBR U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
 NFPA National Fire Protection Association
 AISC American Institute of Steel Construction
 ABNT Associacao Brasileira de Normas Técnicas
 NBR Norma Brasileña

Electrical Engineering Codes and Standards

 BS British Standards
 EN European Standard
 EEI Edison Electric Institute
 ICEA Insulated Cable Engineers Association
 IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
 IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
 NBS National Bureau of Standards
 NEC National Electrical Code
 NEMA National Electrical Manufacturers Associations
 NESC National Electrical Safety Code
 US HEC US Corps of Engineers, Hydraulic Engineering Center
 VDE Verein Deutsche Elecktrotechnik

1.4.1. CODES, STANDARDS AND TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS OF REFERENCE FOR

THE DESIGN OF OPEN-PIT WORKS

 FHWA NHI-06-088 6 – Slope Stability – Soils and Foundations – Volume I.

 EM 1110-2-1902 Engineering and Design - Slope Stability
 ER 1110-2-1806 Engineering and Design – Earthquake Design and Evaluation for Civil
Works Projects
 FHWA0-IF-03-017 – Geotechnical Engineering Circular No. 7, Soil Nail Walls.
 FHWA ED-88-053 – Checklist and Guidelines for Review of Geotechnical Reports and
Preliminary Plans and Specifications.
2. BASIC GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND MAJOR ENGINEERING
GEOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

2.1.REGIONAL GEOLOGY AND SEISMICITY

2.1.1. TOPOGRAPHY

The project is located on the Rufiji River in southeast Tanzania. The upper reaches of the basin are
mainly tributaries of the Great Ruaha, Kilombero River and Luwegu River. Kilombero River and
Luwegu River converge at Shuguli to form Shuguli waterfall. Shuguli waterfall is about 1.5km wide
and 1km long. The Great Ruaha River fed into the Rufiji River about 15km upstream of Stiegler's
Gorge. In the Gorge of Stiegler's Gorge, the Gorge was 8km long, out of Stiegler's Gorge, forming a
10 ~ 20km wide alluvial plain in the lower reaches and extending into a coastal delta of more than
200km.

2.1.2. STRATIGRAPHIC LITHOLOGY

The regional strata in the project area are mainly composed of quaternary, tertiary, Permian to Triassic
and pre-cambrian strata, the quaternary strata are mainly composed of flood alluvial and residual
slope alluvial layers, mainly composed of clay, silty clay, sand and gravel layers, distributed in river
valleys, alluvial plains on both sides and gentle slope zone on the top of the mountain. Tertiary strata
are mainly composed of slightly cemented sand and gravel, distributed in the south and east of Rufiji
River basin and scattered over Permian to Triassic strata. The Permian to Triassic strata are mainly
composed of Karro series sandstone and mudstone, which are distributed on both sides of the river at
the dam site and reservoir area. The pre-cambrian strata are mainly composed of gneiss and
distributed on the left bank of the Rufiji River.
GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE
Tanzania is located in the east of the African plate, belonging to the Dodoma craton block in the
southern craton section of East Africa, which is one of several highly mineralized cratons in East
Africa. The rift valley system of East Africa is divided into two branches in Tanzania. The western
branch forms a series of basins, valleys and lakes on the surface, forming the natural boundary
between Tanzania and its western neighbors. The eastern branch extends from the rift valley of Kenya
to the territory in the south, and is divided into three branches, namely, the south-east branch, the
south-south branch and the south-west branch, forming the "northern divergence zone of Tanzania",
as shown in the next figure.
Figure 2 Relationship diagram of east African Rift Valley (Red star is the dam site)

According to the preliminary data, the geological structure of the project area is mainly in the NW
direction (see next figure). The Tagalala fault located about 15km northeast of the dam site is the only
active fault in the field, and the seismic activity of the fault zone was before the tertiary period. This
fault forms a typical cliff steep wall, and there are some hot springs distributed at the lower part of
the steep wall. Fresh indentation without weathering is developed on the steep wall. Observation
along the surface rocks of the fault usually shows that the fault layer is filled with rock blocks, which
are breccified and consolidated and have weathering effects. All the evidence indicates that Tagalala
fault is the only active fault in the field.
Figure 3 Geological structure diagram of the project area

2.1.3. SEISMOLOGY

The east African rift valley is the largest continental rift system on earth, and the region with the most
frequent and intense earthquakes in Africa. East African rift valley is divided into two branches, the
Middle East branch rift valley is the main rift valley, from lake Victoria, to northward through
Tanzania, central Kenya, through the Ethiopian plateau into the red sea, then, from the red sea to NW
extend to Jordan valley, the total length is more than 6000 km, the nearest to the power station about
250km.The western branch starts from Lake Nyasa and connects Lake Rukwa, Lake Tanganyika,
Lake Kivu, Lake Edward, Lake Albert and other bead-like lakes in the direction of NW, and ends at
the vicinity of nimulai with a length of about 1700km and a distance of about 330km nearest to the
power station. The earliest rift valley movement occurred in Miocene, the period of great dislocation
was pliocene, and lasted to the middle pleistocene. Regional seismic structures are shown in the next
figure.
Figure 4 Diagram of seismic structure in the Engineering area

Africa that south of 10°north latitude, its earthquake activity is mainly controlled by the east African
rift valley. South of the east African rift valley 5 north latitude is divided into two branches, west the
rift valley along the Tanganyika Lake until Lake Nyasa, while the east rift valley (Gregory) stretch
from Lake Victoria in the SE direction Rufiji river basin. The Gregory rift valley is most closely
related to earthquakes in the project area. East African seismographic data show that there are 4,069
seismographic data in total (see next figure). Magnitude 7 earthquakes are distributed in the Gregory
rift zone, while the largest earthquakes in the upper Rufiji river basin have magnitude 5~6. The site
with the most recent high frequency of seismic activity is 500km away from the project site.
Figure 5 Seismic distribution map of Tanzania

2.2.GEOLOGY OF THE DAM SITE

2.2.1. TOPOGRAPHY

The Stigler’s Gorge is located in the middle reaches of the Rufiji River. The Rufiji River as a whole
flows from SW to NE into the Stigler’s Gorge. The Stigler’s Gorge makes a great turn, and after
reaching the exit of the valley, the River flow turns to SE.
The overall flow direction of the river ranges from N65o to 75o E, river bed surface elevation of about
65 m ~ 70 m, the water surface elevation 70 m, the river surface is 80 m wide, depth of 3 m ~ 5 m,
large river gradient, fast-flowing, part of the bedrock exposed (see next figure).
Figure 6 Typical topography and Landform of Dam site

The topography of the dam site area belongs to the low mountain and hilly topography, the peak
elevation of both sides is 250m~300m.The elevation of both sides of the dam site above 160m is
usually a continuous low mountain and hilly landform with little topography fluctuation and sparse
distribution of trees and weeds. Below elevation 160 m is "U" sharp canyon morphology, relatively
narrow valley, cutting depth of about 100 m, on both sides of the basic symmetry, gully development,
steep slow, local development, steep hills 110 m ~ 160 m elevation period is nearly vertical more
steep; below 110 m elevation is generally for slope topography, natural slope is commonly 40 ° to
45°.

2.2.2. STRATIGRAPHIC LITHOLOGY

The outcrops in the dam area are Karro series and the 4th series (Q) strata. The bedrock on both sides
of the dam site is obviously exposed. The overburden is mainly exposed on the riverbed and the slope
foot on both sides and the top of the slope above 160m.
1) Quaternary (Q) strata: the quaternary strata are mainly composed of fluvial alluvial, residual
slope and colluvial layers, of which the fluvial alluvial layer is mainly distributed in the
riverbed, the riverbed flow is rapid, and the bedrock of both sides of the riverbed is exposed.
It is speculated that the fluvial alluvial layer in the riverbed is mainly gravel with a thickness
of less than 3m; Residual slope alluvial layer is mainly distributed in the gentle slope zone of
the mountaintop on both sides of the river. It is mainly composed of sandy clay and silty clay
with crushed stone. The thickness of exploration exposure is generally 1m ~4m, and the local
thickness can reach 5m. the colluvial layer of colluvial landslide is mainly distributed in the
gentle slope are under the steep wall on both sides of the Taiwan strait, which is mainly
composed of blocks of stone, crushed stone and clay. A large number of colluvial stones can
 be seen on both sides of the river (see next figure). It is estimated that the thickness of colluvial
landslide is generally 4m~6m, and the local area can reach 12m~15m.
2) Karroo formation: all the strata in the dam site are composed of arkose and sandy mudstone.
Arkose is mostly thick layer-very thick layer (see next figure),

Figure 7 Thick layered Arkose Sandstone protruding from the steep wall of the rigid bank of the dam site
and sandy mudstone is mostly thin layer (next figure)
Figure 8 Thin Layer Sandy Mudstone exposed on the rigth bank of the dam site

2.2.3. GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE

Dam site area nearly horizontal strata occurrence, according to the scene reconnaissance, strata
occurrence N30 ~ 40°E, NW <0 ~5°and overall tendency on the left bank rock upstream. The
geological structure of dam site is mainly fault and fissure.
According to the bidding documents, faults in the dam site area are mainly NW-oriented, basically a
series of parallel NW-oriented faults, with a small number of NE-oriented faults locally distributed.
Most of the faults are characterized by breccia, cementation, calcium and barite filling and
cementation. The geological structure of the dam site is shown in next figure. Faults are characterized
by 1m~30m wide fracture zones, mostly distributed as breccia, and smooth fracture surfaces are
found. These indicate that horizontal movement is often accompanied in the fault process. Most faults
tend to be SW, and horizontal movement tends to be NW. There is no evidence of recent movement
of faults.
Figure 9 Main fault distribution map of dam site area

Based on the results of preliminary exploration and field reconnaissance, the dam site area main
developmental fracture in the 2 groups were (see Figure 10), the first set of fissure to 320°~340°,
nearly erect, riverbank weakly weathered rock mass cranny rough surface flat, open degree is
generally less than 1 mm, fracture surface iron embroidered dye, crack spacing 10cm~21cm, connect
rate of 95% ~ 100%;Another group of fissure to 30°~50°, nearly erect, weakly weathered rock mass
of fracture surface of ups and downs along the river roughness, spacing of 16 cm~ 28 cm, ups and
downs about 7 cm/m, a single 0.5 m ~ 7 m long, connect rate of 50% ~ 60%.
Figure 10 Distribution of cracks in riverside at the dam site

2.2.4. HYDROGEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

The rock layers on both sides of the dam site are nearly horizontal, the cracks in the rock mass are
developed, the thickness of the riverbed and the overburden on both sides is relatively thin, and the
bedrock is exposed obviously. The groundwater of dam site is mainly composed of overburden pore
water and bedrock fissure water. According to the early exploration results, the ratio of the
groundwater level between the two sides of the river is relatively small. The groundwater level of the
borehole at the 106m elevation of the right bank is generally 70m~75m, and the groundwater level
rises to 85m in the rainy season.
3. DESIGN METHODOLOGY

For the realization of the dam, it will be necessary to carry out a re-profiling of the rock walls. The
following chapter considers all the families of discontinuities present and their possible interference
with the slopes.

3.1.OPEN-PIT EXCAVATION

Open-Pit excavation requiere specific attention in terms of overall stability.

The slope stability in soil and rock should be analyzed in order to design the necessary stabilization
system. In the case of soil slopes, the stability of the most critical section (the highest) againts sliding
must be verified. In the case of rock slopes, all must be analyed, since the sliding mechanism are
related to the inclination and orientation of the slope and the geometric configuration of the
discontinuities, as well as the resistace parameters of the discontinuities.
The following section presents the general assumptions and criteria adopted for slope verification.

3.1.1. ANALYSIS METHODS FOR SOIL SLOPES

Global stability will be verified with conventional limit equilibrium methods, for this purpose the
software SLIDE (v6.0 Rocsciende) will be used. This software allows to apply different methods of
limit equilibrium analysis. Typical methods of analysis include “Bishop simplified” and Janbu
corrected”, these methods considere potential sliding of circular surfaces, which is divided into
several segments (“slices”). The safety factor is calculated by applying conditions of limit equilibrium
to the acting forces in each segment or “slice”.
Factor of safety for slopes other that slopes of dams should be selected consistent with the uncertainty
involved in the parameters such as shear strength and pore water pressure that affect the calculated
value of safety and the consequences of failure. When the uncertainty and the consequences of failure
ara both small, it is acceptable to use small factor, on the order of 1.3 or even smaller in some
circumstances. When the uncertainties or the consequences of failure increase, larger factors of safety
are necesary. Large uncertainties coupled with large consequences of failure represent an
unacceptable condition, no matter what the calculated value of the factor of safety.
• Static analysis: performed with characteristic resistance parameters of soil, minimum safety of factor
FS ≥ 1,5.
• Seismic analysis: performed with characteristic resistance parameters of soil, minimum safety of
factor FS ≥ 1.1.
Values of FS are defined according to EM 1110-2-1902
Parámetros geotécnicos
Los parámetros del terreno se definirán de acuerdo al criterio de Mohr-Coulomb.

3.1.2. ROCK SLOPES

3.2.COFFERDAM SLOPES

Minimum required factors of safety for design of new earth and rock-fill dams are given in the next
table. The factors of safety are based on USACE practice, which includes established methodology
with regards to subsurface investigation, drilling and sampling, laboratory testing, field testing, and
data interpretation.
Table 1 Minimum required factors od safety:New earth and rock-fill dams (Table 3-1 EM 1110-2-1902)
Analysis Condition1 Required Minimum Factor of Slope
Safety
End-of-Construction (including 1.3 Upstream and Downstream
2
staged construction)
Long-term (steady seepage, 1.5 Downstream
maximum storage pool, spillway
crest or top of gates)
Maximum surcharge pool3 1.4 Downstream
Rapid drawdown 1.1-1.34,5 Upstream