A generalized, comprehensive approach to geotechnical design of earthen dams of dry flood-control reservoirs is developed. It consists of three steps:•In Step 1 three-dimensional (3D) model of terrain and dam subsoil is created. The arrangement of geotechnical layers is reconstructed based on results of geotechnical investigation using geostatistical interpolation, namely, kriging.•Step 2 involves 3D finite element (FE) analysis of transient groundwater flow through the subsoil. Anti-filtration barrier extent is determined by appropriate parametric analysis and the condition of critical hydraulic gradients is verified.•Step 3 concerns deformation assessment and stability analysis. Computations are carried out for selected cross-sections of the dam. At this stage transient coupled problem of deformation and groundwater flow is considered. Stability is assessed with the use of shear strength reduction technique. The proposed approach enables verification of all relevant conditions of limit states. Furthermore, it has been developed in such a way as to enable computationally efficient analysis of considered phenomena. The method constitutes a general framework of design procedure. It can be easily adapted to conform any standard requirements, e.g., by taking adequate values of partial safety factors. Moreover, design solutions can be optimized through parametric analyzes.
Keywords: Computer aided design of earthen dams of dry flood-control reservoirs; Flood protection; Geotechnics; Hydromechanical coupling; Hydrotechnical structure; Numerical analysis.
© 2023 The Author(s).