Large Permeameter for Continuing Erosion Filter Tests

摘要

The Continuing Erosion Filter (CEF) test and criteria were developed by Foster and Fell toassess severities of internal erosion of an existing embankment dam whose filter does notsatisfy modern filter design criteria developed by Sherard and Dunnigan. Those criteria weredeveloped from laboratory tests on materials that may not be directly applicable to the widelygraded filter materials. To address this issue, a large diameter (300 mm) rigid-wall permeameterwas constructed to assess the internal erosion of zoned embankment dams constructedof widely graded filter materials. The large permeameter allows for testing of embankmentdam fill materials up to a maximum particle size of 37.5 mm. A commissioning test programwas conducted to verify the test equipment and testing methodology used in this study. TwoCEF test results from the test program are reported in this paper to demonstrate the novelfeatures of the permeameter cell design and its test setup. These features include a split-celldesign for ergonomic function, real-time outflow rate measurement, inflow and filter specimenwater pressure measurements, and erosion loss measurement. A wet method to estimate erosionloss was proposed as an alternative to the traditional oven-drying method.