2009 – Lessons learnt on design, manufacture and placement of filter materials

Jonathon Reid, Chris Kelly, Bob Wark

One of the most important aspects in the construction of an embankment dam is to be confident that the filter materials placed meet the design intent. The design methodology for filters is now well documented.

However, all too often during construction the filter material, as placed, does not comply with the specified requirements and all parties are faced with costly decisions and delays to the works to determine correction measures and whether the work completed meets the design intent. This paper shares the knowledge gained over a number of projects the authors’ have been involved in and the methods used to improve the properties of the placed filters taking into account some of the practicalities of having these materials produced and placed in a commercial environment

Keywords: filters, specifications, manufacturing, construction, quality assurance.