Contact Effect on the Dam Core Dimensions (Case Study in Algeria: El-Izdihar Dam)

The stability of an earth dam with thin core is ensured by the upstream refills massifs. Earth dams with thin cores are lightened by the contact effect with refills massifs. A study of mechanic behavior taking into account the contact effect was performed for El-Izdihar earth dam without reservoir water effect which permits to predict its behavior and estimate the core thickness beyond which the contact has no effect. The finite element method was chosen as a method for the modeling.