Two white papers on dams and civil structures, Materials for Embankment Dams and The Aging of Embankment Dams, are available on HydroWorld.com under the Dams & Civil Structures topic center.

These white papers were prepared by the U.S. Society on Dams, an organization of professionals dedicated to advancing the role of dams for the benefit of society. The papers are non-commercial in nature and are intended to help dam owners and developers ensure safety of their structures.

Materials for Embankment Dams provides an outline of important points that need to be recognized and understood when selecting material for use in embankment dams. It cover soil materials, rockfill materials, granular filters and drains, asphalt concrete as a water barrier, concrete facing rockfill dams, geosynthetics, reinforced fill, upstream slope protection, material for watertight cutoffs and construction issues.

The Aging of Embankment Dams points out that there are aging processes, and a project may be developing aging characteristics that need to be examined, studied and remedied to preclude a safety issue. For designers of new dams, the white paper provides a checklist of conditions that could lead to early aging becoming a safety issue and for which designs could be developed to preclude or mitigate the effects of aging.

Access to the white papers is free. Viewers simply need to click on the paper title at www.hydroworld.com/dams-and-civil-structures.html and register for access.