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Salt tracer experiment through an embankment dam

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Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Civil Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this study, inorganic sodium nitrate salt (NaNo3) was used as the tracer and BX2 piezometer was selected as an injection point and 10 other piezometers were selected as sampling points. After conducting the tracer test and sampling from piezometers and transferring all samples to the laboratory, the electrical conductivity of the samples was measured. After analyzing the results, two possible routes were identified for the leakage from the body and abutment of Shahghasem dam. The results show that the main pathway of the leakage flow was diagnosed toward the right abutment and the reason may be due to dissolution and formation of limestone holes and karstification phenomenon. Finally, it can be concluded that the sodium nitrate as tracer moved in the body and abutment of Shahghasem dam and was not adsorb by clay and silt materials; therefore, it is suggested for future tracer works.

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Abbreviations

V :

Tracer velocity (L/T)

L :

The distance between the injection point and the sampling point (L)

t :

Time (T)

\(V_{\max }\) :

Maximum flow velocity (L/T)

\(T_{1}\) :

The time from injection to the first arrival (T)

\(V_{{{\text{ave}}}}\) :

Average flow velocity (L/T)

\(T_{p}\) :

The peak time of the breakthrough curve (T)

C :

Concentration (M/L3)

\(I_{1}\) :

Integral (M/L3)

\(I_{2}\) :

Integral (MT/L3)

\(I_{3}\) :

Integral (MT2/L3)

\({\text{Tr}}\) :

The mean tracer residence time in the dam (T)

\(\sigma^{2}\) :

The variance of the concentration—time diagram

D :

The hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient (L2/T)

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their deepest gratitude of Yasouj University for the financial support and Kohgiloyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Water Board Authority, for the technical support of the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

    Saeed Noraee-Nejad & Manosur Parvizi

  2. Soil Science Department, College of Agriculture, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

    Mohammad Sedghi-Asl

  3. Chemistry Department, College of Science, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

    Ardeshir Shokrollahi

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  1. Saeed Noraee-Nejad
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  2. Mohammad Sedghi-Asl
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  3. Manosur Parvizi
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  4. Ardeshir Shokrollahi
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Correspondence to Mohammad Sedghi-Asl.

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Noraee-Nejad, S., Sedghi-Asl, M., Parvizi, M. et al. Salt tracer experiment through an embankment dam. Iran J Sci Technol Trans Civ Eng 45, 2787–2797 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40996-021-00714-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40996-021-00714-8

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