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Austin Dam, Pennsylvania: The Sliding Failure of a Concrete Gravity Dam

2005; Geological Society of America; Volume: 11; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2113/11.1.61

1558-9161

Daniel F. Martt, Abdul Shakoor, Brian H. Greene,

Geotechnical Engineering and Underground Structures

Research Article| January 01, 2005 Austin Dam, Pennsylvania: The Sliding Failure of a Concrete Gravity Dam DANIEL F. MARTT; DANIEL F. MARTT 1A.G.E.S., Inc., Southpointe Business Park, 4 Grandview Circle, Canonsburg, PA 15317 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar ABDUL SHAKOOR; ABDUL SHAKOOR 2Department of Geology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar BRIAN H. GREENE BRIAN H. GREENE 3U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Geotechnical Branch, 1000 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (2005) 11 (1): 61–72. https://doi.org/10.2113/11.1.61 Article history first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation DANIEL F. MARTT, ABDUL SHAKOOR, BRIAN H. GREENE; Austin Dam, Pennsylvania: The Sliding Failure of a Concrete Gravity Dam. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience 2005;; 11 (1): 61–72. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/11.1.61 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyEnvironmental & Engineering Geoscience Search Advanced Search Abstract The Austin Dam, a concrete gravity structure, failed catastrophically on September 30, 1911, less than 2 years after its construction. Several engineering evaluations of the failure have been made since immediately following the disaster. Engineers involved in the construction of the dam recognized early on that the dam failed by sliding on its rock foundation. The dam was constructed on interbedded sedimentary rock, and its foundation was taken to a depth of approximately 4 ft (1.2 m). Although studies of the orientation of the failed blocks of the dam and other site evidence pointed to a sliding failure, no detailed quantitative studies have been done. Recent test pit excavations showed that the critical interface for sliding was a sandstone/shale contact located at a shallow depth below the base of the dam. Stability analyses based on shear-strength tests of the different interfaces of the foundation (concrete/sandstone, sandstone/sandstone, sandstone/shale, and shale/shale) showed that the dam was safe against a bearing capacity failure, but unsafe with respect to sliding and overturning. The lowest factor of safety of 0.6 corresponded to the sandstone/shale interface, as stated above. The major factors believed to have contributed to the failure include low shear strength of the foundation materials, inadequate provisions for reducing the uplift pressure, and weak concrete. The project stands as the sixth worst dam failure in U.S. history in terms of loss of life, and this case history provides numerous lessons with regard to dam safety. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.