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Conference Proceedings and Events

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https://hdl.handle.net/10217/100282
Colorado State University hosts conferences and events from all disciplines across campus. These digital collections include materials presented at various conferences and events held at CSU.

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Browsing Conference Proceedings and Events by Subject "ACB"

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    ACB armoring potential failure modes at dam embankments and spillways
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Schweiger, Paul, author; Shaffer, Darin, author; Nadeau, Jim, author; Colorado State University. Department of Engineering, publisher
    Over the past 26 years numerous embankment dams and earth-cut spillways in the United States have been armored using Articulating Concrete Blocks (ACBs) to provide erosion protection. Several dams and spillways armored with ACBs have been overtopped and performed satisfactorily with overtopping flow depths and velocities approaching 4 feet and 30 feet per second, respectively. Over the same period, some ACB overtopping applications have failed and others have experienced damage requiring maintenance to make the ACB system functional again. Much has been learned about what works and what does not work. Of the ACB installations that have failed or experienced damage, the underlying issues have been attributed to one of several potential failure modes that may not have been understood or adequately addressed during the design. The purpose of this paper is to share information on several recent ACB embankment armoring and spillway armoring failures, and to describe the specific failure modes associated with these incidents. Suggestions for incorporating design features to address these potential failure modes are also provided. This information is important for engineers to consider during their designs, and for regulators reviewing ACB armoring designs, so that future failures and unnecessary damage resulting in costly maintenance can be prevented.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Lessons learned from articulating concrete block (ACB) field installations
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Nadeau, J. A., author; Colorado State University. Department of Engineering, publisher
    Articulating Concrete Blocks (ACBs) have been a popular choice for high performance erosion control applications and shoreline revetments for well over 35 years and continue to grow in popularity. Estimates point to over 200 dam embankments and emergency spillways having been armored with ACBs in the past 30 years. As a result of these applications, as well as the thousands of other projects not specific to dams, much has been learned from a theoretical as well as practical application standpoint of properly utilizing ACBs in the field. This presentation will provide information concerning ACB Factor of Safety (FOS) determination, briefly review the ACB testing protocols and data analysis, and discuss the practical uses and limitations of ACB applications. New installation techniques that show promise for improving ACB performance will be discussed. ACBs are a proven cost effective erosion countermeasure, however experience and attention to detail during the design and installation of systems is of paramount importance for expected performance.