1. INTRODUCTION.

The formation of ravines in any type of terrain indicates an advanced degree of erosion.
water; and its rehabilitation through silt control dams requires strong
expenditures due to high investment costs. In addition, within the works of
soil and water conservation, controlling this form of water erosion constitutes the
non-profitable part of agricultural engineering works, due to the fact that costs are almost always
construction exceeds the value of the land. However, this type of control justifies the
protection of lowlands, necessary in many cases when the works of
Hydro-agricultural infrastructure demands high maintenance costs.

Gabions function as filtering dams that allow normal water flow and the
retention of sediments are also flexible dams and can suffer deformations without losing
efficiency. Because the gabion boxes form a single structure, they have greater
resistance to tipping and sliding. They also effectively control erosion in
ravines of different sizes. They have relatively low costs, compared to the
masonry dams. They have high efficiency and durability (greater than 5 years).

Gabion dams are permanent, flexible, and permeable structures built to

base of rectangular prisms made of galvanized wire called gabions, which are
they fill with stone with the purpose of forming the body of the work that constitutes the dam of
control.
The wire mesh that forms the gabion is in the shape of a hexagon.
intertwined with triple twist and constant weight per cubic meter of gabion.

Gabion dams are recommended for gullies with a minimum width of 2 meters.
and a depth of 1.5 meters, due to their high cost, as well as the fact that they require a
specific engineering calculation to ensure stability in large constructions
magnitude. Figure 1 shows the diagram of a gabion dam in a section of a
slump

Illustration 1. Gabion dam.

The structure of the dam is formed by a series of gabions arranged
conveniently and joined together by means of wire ties. The gabions
they are a box in the shape of a parallelepiped, constructed with triple twist wire mesh
galvanized. In this way, a gabion is defined by its dimensions
(length, width, and height), the size of its mesh and the thickness of the wire that constitutes it. The
the dimensions of the gabions are variable, but in general, they are used more often
frequency as shown in Table 1.

2. OBJECTIVES.

Reduce the speed of runoff and its erosive power.

Reduce water erosion.
Retain azolves.
Stabilize the bottom of the ravine as it prevents its growth in depth and
width.
Prevent the silting of storage vessels, channels, and other works.
hydraulics located downstream of the dam.
Favor the retention and infiltration of water and the recharge of aquifers.
 3. DESIGN.

The design of gabion dams aims to understand the most appropriate sizing.
suitable for the networks that make up the body of the work and their stability.
The following points are basically considered for the design of the dam:

1. Determine the cross sections of the gully where you want to carry out the
Construction. These should preferably be drawn to a scale of 1:100.

2. Determine the area and capacity curve in order to quantify the volumes of
water and sediments that will be stored upstream of the dam.

3. Estimate the maximum runoff that occurs in the catchment area of the gully (area of
reception) in order to design the maximum capacity of the spillway.

4. Design the spillway to meet the discharge capacity of the runoff.

maximum.

5. Consider the maximum permissible embedments on both banks of the gully

in order to prevent possible leaks that could weaken security
works.

6. Provide a cushioning mattress in order to avoid the impact of the water falling on
the floor downstream of the work at the time of pouring the water, avoiding this
way the undermining of the bed and the deterioration of the side walls.

7. Consider the total volume of excavation that the construction requires, as well as the
soil hardness and the physical conditions of the bed of the gully.

3.1. Distance between dams.

El espaciamiento entre dos presas consecutivas depende de la pendiente de los sedimentos

deposited, of the effective height of the dams and the treatment that is intended in the
Control. The spacing is determined based on the following relationship.

H
E= ×100 (1)
Pc −Ps

Where:

E = Spacing between two consecutive dams (in m)

H = Altura efectiva de la presa (en m)
PcSlope of the gully (in %)
Ps Compensation slope or sediment slope (1 and 3%) (in %)

In my case, the following is true:

H= 3.55 m
Pc= 32.68 %
Ps= 1.8 %
E= 11.495 m

3.2. Slope of the gully.

The slope of the gully (PcIt is determined with a mounted level and/or clinometer using the
next relationship:

Dn
Pc = ×100 (2 )
L

Where:

PcSlope of the gully (in %)

DnDifference in height between two considered points (in m)
L Horizontal distance between two points (in m)

Dn= 2.85 m
L= 8.72 m

Pc= 32.68 %

3.3. Pending compensation.

The compensation slope (Ps) is also known as landing slope,

this value is always less (PcIts value is determined based on the laws of
maximum sediment transport. For practical purposes, it has been determined that (Pstake the
following values, 1 % < Ps< 3.0 % (1.5 % practical value).

According to equation (1), unit spacing criteria can be adopted and

double spacing.

The unit spacing considers the construction of the dam based on the equation
(1), see figure 5.
 E

PS

PC

Figure 5. Unit spacing considered in gabion dams.

Double spacing considers the construction of the dam based on equation (1)
multiplied by two. See figure 6.
2E

Figure 6. Double spacing considered in gabion dams.

In my case, it will be 1.4%.

3.4. Reservoir area.

The reservoir area is determined by any surveying procedure. This is

will later be used to determine the curve of areas and volumes of sediment that
will be captured by the dam. A graph of the reservoir area and a curve of areas and
volumes of sediment

Table for the calculation of areas and volumes of sediment in gullies.

Elevation Area (m²)2) Area Equidistance Volume Volume
(m) accumulated a (m) partial (m3) total (m3)
a (m2)
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.00
0.5 12.3 12.3 0.5 6.15 6.15
1.0 18.4 30.7 0.5 15.35 21.50
1.5 29.7 60.4 0.5 30.20 51.70
2.0 41.8 102.2 0.5 51.10 102.80
2.5 50.4 152.6 0.5 76.30 179.10
3.6 70.6 223.2 1.1 234.36 413.46
 3.5. Maximum design flow.
A quick and simple procedure to determine the maximum flow rate for the design of the
The spillway of gabion dams is the method of section and slope.

This method determines the maximum runoff based on the maximum footprint
observed on the margins of the gully left by surface runoff.

The method is based on the continuity equation, which is written as follows:

Qmax.= A × V (4)

Where:

Qmax= Maximum design expenditure (in m)3s-1)

A Hydraulic area of the pit (in m2)
V Streamflow velocity (in m s-1)

The hydraulic area is determined based on the cross-section of the site where it
It intends to locate the work. The cross-section is obtained by any procedure.
topographic and is represented on graph paper scale 1:100. In this way, it is obtained

MD
MI

A B

A1 A2 A3 A4 A5

the hydraulic area determined by known geometric shapes

The flow velocity is estimated based on the Manning equation, as

1
V = S1/2R2/3 (5)
η
follow:
Where:

V = Speed (en m s -1)

S = P cSlope of the gully (in m m-1)
R = Radio hydraulic = A/Pm en m)
= Coefficient of roughness of Manning
A = Hydraulic area (in m2)
PmWet perimeter (in m)

A= 1.554 m2
v= 2.30 m/s

Qmáx= 3.58 m³/s

η= 0.03 step
S= 0.013 m/m
r= 0.47 m
v= 2.30 m/s

From now on, only the results will be given assuming that we master the
respective theory.

3.6. Design of the spillway.

The spillway is designed based on the maximum expenditure. In gabion structures, walls
dry and hydraulic masonry use rectangular weirs with thick crests
whose formula is written as follows, see figure 10.

Qmax= C LH3/2…………………......................................................................... (6)

Y A

Qmax
H

Figure 10. Sizing of a rectangular weir with a broad crest

used in the design of a gabion dam.

Where:

Qmax = Runoff maximum (en m3 s-1)

C = Roughness coefficient, dimensionless = 1.45
L = Length del converter (en m)
H = Load on the converter (en m)

As the value of (Qmax) is known, as it was determined by the section method and
pending, values of (L) and (H) can be proposed to obtain the dimensions of
converter. Equation (7) shows the calculation of (H) proposing any given value of
(L).
2/3

[ ]
Q max
H= (7)
CL
 Qmáx= 3.58 cubic meters per second
Cv= 1.5 step
L= 3.00 m
H= 0.86 m

3.7. Design of the placement of the gabions.

Finally, the placement of the gabions is determined based on the section.

transversal of the gully, as well as the number of gabions and their size.

Number of Gabion size (m) VOLUME COST COST

gabions long wide thickness (m3) TOTAL UNIT ($)
($)
4 3.0 1.0 0.6 6.6 275.00 1100.00
13 1.5 1.0 1.0 19.5 150.00 1950.00
6 3.0 1.0 1.0 18.0 450.00 2700.00
3 2.0 1.0 1.0 6.0 300.00 900.00
26 50.1 6650.00
Projected volume = 50.10m 3
Apparent volume = 16.70m3
Abundance coefficient = 0.33m3 Real volume = 66.80m3
spread WIDTH HIGH (Y) LENGTH (Z) VOLUME
(X) (m) (m) (m) (m³)

TVI 4.0 1.0 1.0 4.0

TVD 3.0 1.0 1.0 3.0
T3 8.0 1.0 1.5 12.0
T2 6.0 1.0 2.0 12.0
T1 5.0 1.0 2.5 12.5
T0 3.0 0.6 4.0 6.6
TOTALS 50.1
 3.8. Centroids.

LAYING V(m³) X (m) Y (m) Z (m) V*X (m⁴) V*Y (m⁴) V*Z (m⁴)

TVI 4.00 2.00 4.00 0.50 8.00 16.00 2.00

TVD 3.00 8.50 4.00 0.50 25.50 12.00 1.50
T3 12.00 5.00 3.00 0.75 60.00 36.00 9.00
T2 12.00 5.00 2.00 1.00 60.00 24.00 12.00
T1 12.50 5.50 1.00 1.25 68.75 12.50 15.63
T0 6.60 5.50 0.25 2.00 36.30 1.65 13.20
TOTAL 50.10 258.55 102.15 53.33
 3.9. Line of action of the weight (P).

LAYING Vol. Y (m) Z (m) VY (m⁴) VZ (m⁴)

Unitary
(m³)

T3 1.5 3.00 0.75 4.50 1.13

T2 2.0 2.00 1.00 4.00 2.00
T1 2.5 1.00 1.25 2.50 3.13
T0 2.0 0.25 2.00 0.50 4.00
TOTAL 8.0 11.50 10.25

3.10. Sheeting

q = h' b w

Its lever arm with respect to point (A) of figure 13 is:

b
ΧΧ (q )=
2
 h'= 1.00 m
b= 1.00 m
a= 1.00 m
w= 1.30 t/m³
q= 1.30 t
X(q) = b / 2 = 0.5 m

3.11. Wet surface.

HNAME= 3.55 m
a= 1 m
S= 3.55 m²

3.12. Center of gravity of the wet surface.

HNAME= 3.55 m
h= 1.78 m

3.13. Hydrostatic push.

E=S*h*w
S= 3.55 m²
h= 1.78 m
w= 1.30 t/m³
E= 8.19 t
Where:
E= Hydrostatic thrust (t)
S = Wet surface (m²)
h=center of gravity of the wet surface (m)
Specific weight of water with sediments (t/m³) = 1.2 t/m³

3.14. Calculation of unit section weight.

 P=V∗γ
scu 0

Vscu= 8.00 cubic meter

γ0= 0.90 t/m³
P= 7.20 t

3.15. Calculation of the condition of the central core.

XE) ≤ (2*(q+P)*B)/3
q(Xq) + P(Xp) + E(
q= 1.30 t
P= 7.20 t
E= 8.19 t
Xq= 0.50 m
Xp= 1.44 m
XE= 1.00 m
B= 4.00 m

19.19 ≤ 22.67

And the previously given condition is met.

3.16. Safety factor for displacement.

FSD = (q + P)≥* μ E

Where:
FSD = Safety condition for
displacement
Weight of the water sheet
maximum slope (t)
μ=Coefficient of friction
corresponding to stone upon stone
0.75
P = Weight of the section
unitary critic (t)
E= Thrust
hydrostatic (t)
q= 1.30 t
μ= 0.85 step
P= 7.20 t
E= 8.19 t
FSD= 7.23
 7.23 ≥ 8.19

The initial condition is met.

3.17. Safety factor for overturning.

MPB P∗Zp'
FSV=ME E∗Y
= ≥1
'B

Where:
FSV = Safety condition for overturning
MPB = Movement of (P) with respect to the support point (B) = (P * Zp')
MEB=Movement of (E) regarding the support point (B)=(E*Y')
P = Weight of the unit critical section (t)
Zp'= Distancia de (P) respecto al punto de apoyo B (m)
E= Hydrostatic thrust (t)
Y' = Distance from [E] to the support point B (m)

MPB= 19.58 t.m

MEB= 9.69 t.m
P= 7.2 t
Zp'= 2.72 m
E= 8.19 t
Y'= 1.18 m

2.02 ≥ 1

The established condition is met.

3.18. Verification of the resultant forces.

 E= 8.19 t
P= 7.2 t
Y'= 1.18 m
Zp= 1.28 m
B= 4.0 m

And to meet the stability criteria, the following is required:

2B/3 > total displacement

B/3 < total displacement
Z' + Zp = 2.63
2B/3= 2.67
B/3= 1.333

The practice meets the stability criteria, given that 2B/3 > Z'+Zp > B/3.

So my proposed gabion dam is stable.