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STABILIZATION OF AN EMBANKMENT DAM CASE OF THE

MEMVE’ELE HYDROELECTRIC DAM

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 3

Energy is the basis of all development. The availability of this energy is essential for
the satisfaction of all basic human needs, water, food, health and education. For all developed
or developing countries without energy there would be no drinking water, no hospitals, no
schools, no housing, no means of transport...etc. Faced with a significant energy deficit,
Cameroon in its emergency policy by 2035 has launched the construction of several
hydroelectric dams to solve this problem, including the Memve'ele hydroelectric dam. This
project is part of the government's commitment to increase the supply of electricity to address
the country's deficit and the poor performance of existing installations. The Memve'ele
hydroelectric project and its 211 MW capacity will contribute to Cameroon's additional
supply of electricity.

The construction of dams faces some difficulties generally related either to the quality
of the foundation or to defects in implementation. In the main components of the Memve'ele
hydroelectric project is an embankment dam which has an average height of 14 m and 1800
m long. Built in 3 phases due to the long length of the dam, many difficulties were
encountered during its construction. The main difficulty that threatened the stability and
durability of the dam was found in its foundation, which had many cracks and fractures,
making the foundation very permeable. The problem here is the instability of the Memve'ele
hydroelectric dam. Several stabilization methods can be used to solve this problem. However,
in the stabilization of backfill dams on rock foundations, the most commonly used
stabilization method is cement grout injection, which has proven its worth in structures
around the world. This method has been used in the Alicurá dam in Argentina, the Tavera
dam (Dominican Republic), the Almendra dam in Spain, the Yuracmayo dam in Peru, the
Aabach dam in Germany and in many other dams with a permeability problem in the rock
foundation.

The main objective of this work is to stabilize the Memve'ele hydroelectric dam. To
achieve this objective, our work has been structured around five chapters. The first is based on
By BEDIANG A RIM Daniel Boris, MEng V GC option geotechnics
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a literature review of dams where the two main types of dams will be presented, namely backfill
dams and concrete dams. The second chapter will consist of a literature review on the different
existing soil stabilization techniques, namely stabilization methods with additives, stabilization
methods without additives and reinforcements. The third chapter, will focus on the working
methodology implemented to appropriate our case study it will have three parts, a recognition
of the site through a documentary research, a visit of the site and a data collection. The fourth
chapter will present the results of the methodology applied and their interpretation. The last
chapter will focus on the application of the chosen stabilization method and the verification of
its effectiveness from GeoStudio 2018 R2 software.

By BEDIANG A RIM Daniel Boris, MEng V GC option geotechnics

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RÉSUMÉ 3

L’objectif général de notre étude était de proposer une méthode de stabilisation du

barrage hydroélectrique de Memve’ele. Après une revue de littérature basée sur les barrages
d’une part et les méthodes de stabilisations des sols d’autre part, la méthodologie utilisée pour
mener à bien ce travail a été articulé en trois grands axes. Une recherche documentaire a permis
la connaissance générale de notre zone d’étude, une visite du site a permis de faire des
observations spécifiques ainsi que la découverte d’autres facteurs à travers un questionnaire que
nous avons préalablement préparé. Une collecte des données géométriques et géotechniques a
permis la connaissance parfaite du projet de construction du barrage hydroélectrique de
Memve’ele. Par ailleurs, l’utilisation des dites données a rendu possible l’analyse numérique
par GeoStudio 2018 R2 de la méthode d’injection de coulis de ciment que nous avons choisis
pour la stabilisation du barrage. Les résultats obtenus mettent en exergue une forte amélioration
de certains facteurs de comportement du barrage notament,la perméabilité de la fondation qui
a considérableblement diminué passant d’une valeur de 25 Lu à 4,3 Lu conférant ainsi une
fondation quasiment étanche au barrage. D’un autre côté, la stabilité des talus du barrage à
travers le facteur de sécurité a été évaluée. En effet, les facteurs de sécurité obtenus lors des
différents cas d’exploitation du barrage après stabilisation ont été largement satisfaisants.

(1) Le cas fin de construction du barrage a donné un facteur de sécurité de 4,596 en amont et
4,535 en aval du barrage largement au-dessus des recommandations évaluer à 1,3 ;

(2) Le cas de la retenue normale du réservoir a donné un facteur de sécurité de 4,354 en aval ;

(3) Le cas de la retenue maximale du réservoir a donné un facteur de sécurité de 4,352 en aval;

(4) Le cas de la retenue critique du réservoir a donné un facteur de sécurité de 4,351 du côté
aval du barrage ;

(5) Le cas d’une vidange rapide du réservoir a donné un facteur de sécurité de 2,76 en aval du
barrage.

Les résultats ainsi obtenus ont permis de conclure à la stabilité du barrage hydroélerique
de Memve’ele.

Mots clés : Barrage en remblai -stabilisation-Injections de coulis de ciment-Fondation -Analyse

numérique

By BEDIANG A RIM Daniel Boris, MEng V GC option geotechnics

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GENERAL CONCLUSION 3

At the end of this work, the main objective was to stabilize the Memve'ele hydroelectric
dam. The stabilization method chosen for this purpose was cement grout injections in the dam’s
foundation, the effectiveness of which was evaluated on the basis of a numerical analysis by
GeoStudio 2018 R2 and the tests carried out after the injections.

In order to achieve this objective, our work has been structured around five chapters.
The first was a literature review on dams, presenting the two main groups of dams, namely
concrete dams and embankment dams. The second highlighted the different soil stabilization
methods listed in three subgroups, namely, stabilization methods without additives,
stabilization methods with additives and soil reinforcements. The third chapter, entitled
Methodology, which consisted of a working approach designed to suit the case study, consisted
first of all of a reconnaissance of the dam site through physical and socio-economic parameters,
then a visit to the dam site during which a survey and observations of the site were carried out
and finally the collection of geotechnical and geometric data relating to the Memve'ele
hydroelectric dam. The penultimate chapter focused on the presentation and interpretation of
the results obtained from the investigation methodology applied to our case study. The last
chapter highlighted the results of the application of cement grout injections in the dam’s
foundation and the effectiveness of this stabilization method.

The stabilization work undertaken at the dam foundation surface, namely sludge
excavation, cleaning, foundation remodelling and cement grout injections using the GIN
method, was very decisive for the implementation and sustainability of the dam. The treatment
of the surface foundation improved the contact between the dam and its foundation by providing
a healthy and uniform foundation for the dam. The deep treatment considerably reduced the
permeability of the foundation from 25 Lu to 4,3 Lu, making the foundation almost watertight,
but also increased the foundation's shear strength, reduced percolations into the foundation, and
provided protection against groundwater erosion from the dam. The numerical analysis of the
dam phase 3 by GeoStudio 2018 R2 gave very conclusive results in view of the expectations
regarding the dam's stability. Indeed, the results obtained guaranteed the stability of the dam
through different operating cases, namely, at the end of the dam's construction, in the event of
normal reservoir retention, in the event of maximum reservoir retention, in the event of critical
reservoir retention and during rapid reservoir emptying.

By BEDIANG A RIM Daniel Boris, MEng V GC option geotechnics

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The main points that appear to us as limits in this work are, the non-participation in the
realization of the Lugeons and RQD tests which a failure hindering our understanding of the
results was obtained. The GIN injection method was not really developed in depth in this work,
and only phase 3 of the Memve'ele hydroelectric dam was studied during this work.

Several research perspectives can emerge from this work. The ones we have selected concern
the study of the behaviour of an embankment dam based on auscultation data, the study of
injections by the GIN method as stabilization on embankment dams in Cameroon, the use of
reinforcements in the stabilization of embankment dams and the establishment of a catalogue
on embankment dams auscultation in Cameroon to ensure inspection and monitoring of the
dams because they are often subject to numerous damages sometimes causing their failure such
as Maga’s dam in 2013 in the far north of Cameroon. These prospects would be of significant
benefit to civil engineering and Cameroon's development.

By BEDIANG A RIM Daniel Boris, MEng V GC option geotechnics

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