SMALL DAMS PETITS BARRAGES

During the life of the dam the potential hazard due to developments in the dam break flooding
area can change. Upgrading to a higher Potential Hazard Classification (PHC) class is then
necessary.
5.3 HOMOGENOUS AND ZONED EMBANKMENTS DESIGN
Essentially, designing an earthfill dam embankment primarily involves determining the
cross section that, when constructed with the available material, will fulfill its required function
with adequate safety at minimum cost.
Where considerations is given to the possible loss of life, to the possibility of costly
property damage, and to the waste of money incidental to the failure of a dam, ample
justification is provided for conservative procedures. For small dams, where the cost of
explorations and laboratory testing of the embankment material for analytical studies together
with the cost of the engineering constitutes an inordinate proportion of the total cost of the
structure, the practice of designing on the basis of successful structures and past experience
becomes even more appropriate.
In China, for instance, as can be seen in publication [1], the dam slopes are to be
determined mainly based on the nature of the foundation, the strength of soil material, the dry
density, the dam height and the downstream drainage condition. But for small dams (H