1IGS Education Committee Mini-lecture Series on Geosynthetics: Geosynthetics in dams Lecture Notes

Among the various types of large man-made structures (with containment function), dams have surely the most important impact on the environment, due not only to the size of the structure itself, but also to the creation of water storage reservoirs, often of very large size. In the past 40 years, a wide variety of geosynthetics have been used, with different functions, in virtually all types of dams, both for new construction and rehabilitation purposes. The different types of geosynthetics and biodegradable natural products included in the enclosed Table have been defined by Cancelli and Cazzuffi (1994). This lecture is dedicated to a review of geosynthetic applications in dams, according to the performed functions, i.e. barrier (to fluid), drainage, protection (of geomembranes), filtration, reinforcement and surficial erosion control; in the frame of each function, the review will consider the different types of dams in which geosynthetics have been used, i.e. embankment dams (both earth and rockfill), concrete and masonry dams, and roller compacted concrete dams, respectively. BARRIER (TO FLUIDS