State assessment of rocks in foundation and boards of Shah-wa-Arus Dam using modern techniques

Abstract

Shah-wa-Arus Dam is currently being built on Shakardara river, in northwest of Kabul province, 22 km from Kabul city, Afghanistan. The dam is erected using roller compacted concrete (RCC), its height is 77.5 m. The dam is multipurpose, designed for irrigation water storage, mitigation of floods and energy generation. The dam is located in active tectonic zone, and tectonic activity has a very significant effect on the state of its foundation and boards. The rocks are highly-fractured in this region. For such critical facility, detailed study of the state of rock masses is of great importance and a detailed survey was conducted for this purpose. This article presents a state assessment of dam site rocks according to DMR classification, based on the overview of complete geotechnical investigations and complementary field observations made by the authors.