Sustainable design consideration in the construction of earth dams in Lebanon

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the suitability of use of solid waste in the construction of earth dam. The main objective of the present paper is to investigate the benefits of use of tire bales as substitute material in the construction of embankment earth dam to minimise the required quantities of fill materials, and to assist in mitigating the waste problems in Lebanon. Two theoretical cases of the design were analysed and compared. The first design case was performed with a section of only clay and the second design case was computed considering a mixed section of clay and tire bales. In both cases, we performed a slope stability check, a seepage analysis, a settlement study, and a seismic check in addition to providing protection against overflow and erosion.

The results of the theoretical analysis show that the use of tire bales in the construction of dam’s embankment improved the stability of the dam. The paper ends with assessing the benefits of tire bales in the construction of earth dams and slopes.

KEYWORDS:

• Earth dam
• tire bales
• structural and Seismic analysis
• benefits

Disclosure statement

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.