Grout Curtain Construction at Tiddas Dam, Morocco

Maha Ben Tahar (1), Lahcen Bahi (2), Latifa Ouadif (3), Jada El Kasri (4), Mohammed Aqil (5)
(1) 3GIE Laboratory, Mohammadia Engineering School, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
(2) 3GIE Laboratory, Mohammadia Engineering School, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
(3) 3GIE Laboratory, Mohammadia Engineering School, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
(4) 3GIE Laboratory, Mohammadia Engineering School, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
(5) 3GIE Laboratory, Mohammadia Engineering School, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
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How to cite (IJASEIT) :
Ben Tahar, Maha, et al. “Grout Curtain Construction at Tiddas Dam, Morocco”. International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology, vol. 12, no. 5, Oct. 2022, pp. 2039-45, doi:10.18517/ijaseit.12.5.14838.
Dam foundations are generally affected by water leakage and seepage, posing a significant threat to the structure's safety. Such an artificial water reservoir unconditionally assumes a watertight foundation, as perfect as possible, to ensure its stability. This brings us back to thinking about an adequate treatment of the foundation through the injections of the grout curtain, which ensures the watertightness of the ground and a good drainage system, which together improve the unacceptable mechanical and hydraulic properties of the foundation. Our study focuses on the Tiddas Dam, a dam in the region of Khemisset located on the Bouregreg oued, intended to supply drinking and industrial water to the region of Rabat and Casablanca. It has been the subject of several geological and geophysical studies to characterize its foundation and the lithological variety known to the site. Environmental constraints and the development of a network of fractures and faults have made it necessary to think of an innovative solution for the waterproofing of the dam, especially on the right bank, ensured by a grout curtain of well-defined dimensions considering all the factors affecting this bank. The paper presents the particularities of the site, the constraints of the design of the grout curtain of a dam in a fractured environment, the choices of this design and the sizing methods used, as well as the appropriate grouting formula, which together could optimize the consistency of the grouting works.

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