Investigating the vertical displacement of Duhok embankment Dam: A 31- Years Case Study

Abstract

The paper studies the long-term settlement behaviour of more than 30-year of the Duhok dam. The dam uses as the major lake for water supply to the city of Duhok and nearby areas. High-precision levelling was used to measure the deformation of the dam to monitor vertical displacements. Five survey campaigns were conducted over 30-year duration: 1988, March 1990, June 1999, March 2017 and February 2019. Analysis of the results found that the highest downward displacement of roughly 20.4 cm was witnessed between 1988 and 2019 for a monitoring point (BM24) located centrally along the bank of the dam. On the other hand, the highest vertical movement of roughly 1.5 cm was estimated between 1990 and 2019 at the monitoring point (BM27) on the west side of the dam. The monitoring point (BM24) had the highest average absolute movement of about 6.0 mm (per year) over the 31 years. Detailed results and analyzes are presented in this article.