Deformation behaviour of Talbingo Dam

Abstract

Talbingo Dam is a well instrumented, 162m high rockfill structure with an upstream sloping silty clay core, located in the southern New South Wales, Australia. A non-linear finite element analysis of its behaviour was carried out under plane strain conditions, simulating its construction, reservoir filling and steady seepage loading stages. Material parameters are determined from triaxial tests on the rockfill, core, filter and transition materials, compacted to field dry density and moisture content. All materials show non-linear stress–strain behaviour, with rockfill exhibiting work softening at large strain. Mohr envelopes for rockfill are slightly curved but linear approximations are acceptable. When compared with stresses and deformations at maximum cross section, the analytical results show good agreement in most areas. A non-linear model for pore pressure response is used successfully to predict the high pore pressures in the lower region of the core. A stability analysis performed for the end of construction stage, based on finite element stresses, shows that the design safety factors are slightly conservative.