Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
3&4
pp. l2lto 136
Abstract
Until mid-90scoLentional sejsnic refractionmethodwas the onty subsurface gophysicalinvstigarionin
hydropowerprojectsof Nepal. Usuallylroposed study areaslie in rhe nountain ard are inacessible for
vehiculd transportarion.
Ve.y high hererogeneitr
of surfacemaleria.lcreatespoor energycouplingfor both
sourceandreceiverBecauseofrhehiSh,enefgy contentud easyhdsportability,exptosives weretheprefered
sourcefor the generationofseismic waves. Dle to the rebl activitiesin rhe recentyears,lowever, the
governmenthas tigbtened.egulalionson transporlingdd using explosives_ This siluationhas forced the
lyd.opower prcjectsro searchfor alrernativegeophysicatmethodsin ptaceof seismicrefractjon.Etectrical
resistivity tomoglaphy(ERT) was setecredas a possibtereplacemenrnerho<I. In rhe iniriat stageof the
applicationof ERT,variousetecrrodearraysanddaraacquisitionapproaches wereevatuatedfor dataqualiry
andsubsu.face resolution.Experiencein differenrprojecrsrevealstbat the pole_dipoleelecriodeuangement
witb datalevelsat differenlelectrodespacingissuitableforbette.lesolution of the subsurfacemateriat.orber
geoelectrical
methodsthatusedto studythe snbsurface arethe self-potenrial(Sp) andmise-6_masse merho.ls.
SP methodwasusedto localizerheleakageandou!flow areajntheexistingdamandmise_t_masse memoowas
usedb assessrhe groundwaterflow vflocity in the proposeddm area,The resultsof the invesligation
indicaiesthat thesemethodscan furnishmostof ihe subsufface
informationneededfor a hydrolowerproject
Introduction
sf sa'
-l!0J.g-
FiE.l . Location Mp shtt,'ing rhe studt arca t and i sct nnp in the lel
glacierDueto lhestress releaseol rockmassof thevalley seismicreftaction method was consideredthe only
flanks, collapsedrock rndSsmay have buried the paleo geophysicalmethodfor siie invesiigation.In rhoseearly
valleys. Theserafls of coilapsedrock massesare found days engineersand geologistswere in chargeof rhe
usuallysandwiched betweentwo alluvialdeposjts.The geophysicalmethods. Mise-d-la-masse andself-poteniial
flanl$ of thelaleo-river or paleo-glaciervslleyscould be methodwereneverconsideredto be usedfor hy&opower
gravitafionallydeformedand may containrockslides. projects. Previousstudiesindicare rbat in all cases
Theseslopes could wrongiy be idanrified as inract interyretationof the seismicrefracrion darawas guided
bedrock.Granularmatedalson the surfaceof river valleys by borcholeinfomation. However,a client alwaysdesircs
are loose,heterogeneous andhavelessmoistureconteni. that geophysicalinGrpretationshouldbe independentof
boreholeinformaiior. Thedisciepanciesin borcholeresult
lr r\ impo-lanrro e\aluarelhe geohdzard\ rh.t could andseismicrefracrionweremostly in rheriver valleys.In
damagehydropower planr during consrructionahd tbe prevailing geologicaland hydrogeologicalcondiiion
operation.Usually the hazardsthat ale far ftom rhe plant of the river valieyspenelrationof the seismicwaveswere
area are not taken seriouslyduring feasibility study. limited due to the ptesenceof highly contrastinglayels
Howeverevaluationof the geohaz.rdsin upstreamis nearthe surface.Both souces and sensorswere kept on
impotant before the start of ihe project. In Nepal these the surface.Becauseof the unfavorablesurfacecondition
hazardsaremostly associatedwiih the glacier lakesin rhe usuallyenergycouplingwaspoor Otherd;sturbingfacrors
catchments areas-About I 8 percentof Nepalis covered wereshallowgroundwatertablesandFesenceof boulders.
by snowandice.Therearelargenumbrsof activeglaciers
in the Himalayaihat ,re rerreaiingvery fast. Mosr of the E lectric ol r esistivit! tono gruph!
mountainglacierslre formeddudng rheLittle Ice Age. In
Nepal glacier lakes are abovethe elevarionol 3900 m. In Nepal the applicationof lD electricalsounding
These glacien are contributing to the dischargeio rhe sianedinmid seventies. Theseapplications werelimired
downsEeam.The catasftophicdischarge,glacier lake mainly to groundwaterexplomion h KathmanduVallev
outburstflood (GLOF), of large volumesof water is (PaDt.2003)andGrai Plain.ln Lhemid+ightieslD elecaichl
commonphenomenonin this region. GLOF desrroy soundlngmethodwas usedfor iandslideinvesrigation
hydrcpowerplani, roadsandbridges rhatare i)r the river (Pant,2001).Lateralheterogeneity ard surfaceropography
valle]s.Its impactson rhe economyof the countryare introduceinaccuracyin the interpreradonof lD eiectrical
huge.Expertssaythatsomeofthe.GLOFeventcouldser soundingscanied out in the regions of the iandslide.So
back the developmentof rhe country !o decade.Glacier far accurateinterpretatlonof lD elecrricalsounding
lal(esin thisregioncouldbe danmedby moraine.ice cored geological and hydrogeologicalconceptsare imporrant.
noraineor ice-Moat of the damsareice coredmoraine Such conceptscan be formulatedblr using borehole
dam.Detectionof the ice anddeprhto the ice from ihe inibmation and suface geologjcal observaiion(Pani er
sudaceis very importantfor theevaluationoi rhesrabiliiy al,2002).Recentdeveloprnent of eciuipment for highquati!,
of the glacierlake dam. The end morainesand laterat data acquisition and daia processingsoftware have led
rnorainesarelooseandheterogneous. andpredominanrly electricalresistivity meihod fbr 2D jnaging and its
successtulusein thefield of engineeiingsiteinvestigation.
2D-ERTis one of ihe geophysicalnefiods, which is
Conventionalsiteinvestigationmethods capableto makecontinuouscoverageof rhesl$sudace
alongthe line ofmeasuremenl.2D-ERTsecronssnow
ln Nepal popularconventionalsiie investigarion smooth variation in lhe subsuface resistiviiy.
methodis boreholemeihod.Althougb boreholemethod Compafedto lD electricalsoundingsection2D-ERT
cannol chanclerize 3D nature and conrinuouscoverage secaions seemto be morereaiisric. In an ERT secrion
ol rhe subsu.face,it is prefered by the geologistsand laleral and topographiceffcts on rhe measurements
engineers.The obsessionof some geologistsand canbe removedor canbereducedor atieastrecognized.
engineersis that it is the methodfree from any mistakes. 2D-ERTseciionscan provideboth naterial properties
However. the interpretationof the borehole core is not and structure infomation. In Nepal 2D-ERT has been
straightforward in a geologicalsituationprcvailing in the applied to explore subsurfaceof glacier lake dams(Pant
river valleys of Nepai. In Nepal boreholemethodsare andReynolds.2000),landslides(Pint, 2003: Panr,2001),
mostly used in areas accessiblero vehicular groundwater.esourceevaluation (Pant. 2003) and kart
transportation. In Nepal before mid,g0s convenrional shdy (Gautamet al. 2000).
SurendraRaj Pant
t24
acquisitio,,
Dqta il:i#:1"','#r1#*HH:i:ftilr:':il#'fi'Ti;
rheequipmen,usedfor2D-ERrdaraacquisirionra(;,*""tti.im;t*"'1H'j.'ff;"':#
srtr$*:**ffi
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*l,l,TilliiT,l"lfi,i;)"X111.i,i"i !in""'r"e*rogi"ur't'o'*esale.controned
the' t.rnnel depth level' So'
frt"v u'" aipping'at
acquisitionnumber of curreni "t""ooo"t "' "i"""oi "n"pfy
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o .t interpretadon
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ai ttre tunnel arignment. Measuremeni
rn
I r*s';*hT+si*is*;"*".""
l#irti-silm:*:'i,::
por{rP:::
::::i:.:;";;;:; i.version rnethodusing RESIX IP2DI
*':ilI:T:Hff'"*'ff
m:t*r*t*-ii!liiiljll'1"#,':rt,.,'Jtl$'ft.'::
eaverhe impres'ionof u'ing uideband-metn*'.1: :^::-'","::;,i".*ri." Jrrangemenr'
ana* erectvoae
profiles
$?';'
Hi:ix;ru1ir:::i::.;T::*:'*:nf##Jffi
,.#Tts*":f tlt tJi"t grot" of electical resistivitv of
""it"ion
orinvestisation
Depth *k*,*ru::::-tt -l;tr'fJ'J#.:HT-':""i
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Geoelectrical
soundings
for hyd.opowe!
projecrs
of Nepal r25
4170
4150
4130
4110
I I : I II IIII
1000 3000 5000 7000 9000
I-1 III II I 50m
11000 13000 15000
Reaistivityin ohm.m UnttEleclrodeSpacing=s.om
and "b" lateral mora.ine
""Fis.2.A. Glacie; lake dan "a" Hunnnclq teiain of ie''orcdnoraine
' 'i.li-iir'i,tt",.tons
H nmoctq tenain oJ ice'corcr norade' on isneatthe shoretineaf
the lake and 320m is tov'ar^ the downstream'
EIITI'II
*rnstivitg in ohtr,. utrir !1.ctrods rg.clig - ..r! ,.
FiB.3. ERT applicationfol the dam site in)estigation i Sa ja HJtbopowq project, etedricat tomosrum on the
lefr and its interyrctattue crcss section on the riRht
"*'i*l.v'"
t :
III'-'II-IEI
r0 30
IIIIr iEqqlq',dEtrdi4rsra
Fig.4. Application ol ekctrical resistirity in Upper Manyangdi hrdroelectn. ploject. (o) Resisnviry distribution
(b) the cotespon l.ine eafih section
I
."1fi";f*5*'l
I',=-=ff.i*-'.'*
=:--::5't l **-*'-.
:3=='*|-''*-"-
Fis.s. A2D-ERT secnon(apper) and its interprctati|e cross-section(lower) in the penstockand surge tank area
aJ lttiddLeMa^rangdi hJdrceleLnt. prcjett
^"1rq
,-]
".1
FiE.6. 2D ERT s Ners along(upper)and acrcss (Lower)the tid]e in the Porrerhousearea oJKulekhani-Ill
hrrboeleclic project
This efiect is from bedrock(slightly weathercdro fresh).A acrossthe idge. The Powerhouse is plannedat depth
relalivelylow resistivityzonewithin thefifth layerjs fomed of morethan200 m from the surfaceof the ridge top.
dueto tbe fracturedbedrock.Thesefindings of the major The cavernfor the powerhouseis plannedto be in
profile were also supponedby othercmssingprcfiles dolomitebed.To mapthe dolomitetwo profilesof 2D-
exceptat the end of the profile in surgelank area.Low ERT were plannedone along the ridge (npperpart of
resistivityzoneat depth(surgerankarea)at lhe edgeof Fig. 6) andofter acrossthendge (lowerpartof Fig-
the profile is most likely to be the combinedeffectsfrom 6).In bothprofiles dolomite beds are indicated by very
metalsthat areusedfor supportin valve chamberandthe high electrical resistivity. The tomograms indicate that
fractued bedrock in the fifth layer. This low resistiviry the dolomirebed extendsar least 150 m. The differences
feature is noi seenin the crossingprofiles of the surge in the resistivity for dolomire bed for rwo
crossingprofiles are mainly attributed ro t]le anisohopy
eftect of foliation planes and litde to 3D effecis of the
Underground powerhouse rjdge.
4,0 i*l 5
t----@rrr- .! I
1@ toD
E- I-
l7c,
ll
lm
I I
litrE
tu,id,ini,lru
!tt& &5ti - 5Io r.
e=: El=* E**_...*,,**
FiB.7.2D-ERT section (Lelt) along Line 15 and Seologicalcrcss section@gh, obtained ar- intetpretation in
powe*ouse arca of Mewa Khola snall htdropolr'er pnject, Eastem Napal Line 14 c.ossin7 is powefiouse site
lrdltLr6 n S.mr-la
2Ot 40O 60o 80! rm
85!.1
0.51
slrl .9s
82ri $
.9
8r!l c
8J3J o
III'I!!II
900 7E m [00
II-:IITII t::9 -r*u4bdnie:r F::jl s.rar.dn'b.r l- &de
lJo ltm lt00 1900
R..bfiVtr.hr' tLI lf!.!id. grr||a . JjO n"
Fie.8. 2D-ERT section(Lefr) alonq Line 17 and geolo|ical crcss"section(igh, obtainedo)- interpretation in
powerhousearca of Mewa Khola snall hrbopo!)er project, Easkm Nepal. Line 14 crossin| is powerhousesite
Resultsof Mise-6-la-masse
method
Mise-a-la-masse methodwas usedto aestihe flow Resultsof monitoringof theequipotentiallinesfor DVI
direction andvelocity in the dam;ite of Mai Hydropower andDV2 arepresentedin gmphical ,I forms in Fig. 9 and
Proje4 nham, EastemNepal.Shallowsubsurfaceofthe Fig. 10respectively.ThesFiguresindicatethatthe major
weir areawasexploredby resrpits. They indicatethat the flow direction of the groundwateris in lhe southwest
predominatingmaterialis coa$e sandmixed with gavel. direction. Taling into considrationof the major flow
The testswere ca.riedout in Pit No.2 (DVI) andPit No.3 direction time-distancecurve has been plotted. The
(DV2). The elevationsof the water level in thesepits ale velocity of lhe groundwaterfu DVI and DV2 are as
311.036rn and 310.503m rcspectively. The horizontal follom:
distance of separation betweentwopitsis 42.885m. DVI
is on the Foposed Weir Axis andDV2 is further towards Inpit DVI
the do\lnstream.Unsatuated coaxsesandand gravel in Velocity of goundwaterflow at around2 m depth= 16.14
this areahaselectricalresistivity nore than 1000Ohrn.n cnl/houror 3.87m/day
and saturatedcoarse sand and $avel has arcund 500
Ohm.m.The electricalresistivity of water in DV 1 ar the In pit DV2
depthlevel;of 1.4m is 67Ohm.mandin DV2 it is 83Obm.n Velociryof groundwaterfloir at around1.5m depth=
at the depthlevel of I m. By usiry Archie's rclation one 34.09cln/houror 8.l8 nvday
can dete.minethe effectiveporosity.Taking the value of
the cementationfactor as2 the effectiveporositiesof the The relationshipbetweenthe hydraulic conductivity
materialsin DvI andDV2 are31qoand4l qaftspectftely. a.rdthe groundwatervelocity is given by the rclation
Geoelect.icalsoundingsfor hydrolowerprcjectsof Nepal 131
(b)
60
a
B
940
a
V e l o c i t y =1 6 . l 4c o t l l o u r
- 5lu
E
0
Fig.g. (a) Montunnq of equipotentialline, pit Dvland (b) time disttnce rclationshipfor theflorv
in south'|ert .lircction
t
e- !
,..gl
". iE
5P
,.,"
I ii
" . ti
lorcLrity.frrt vi4 th. todL 6 dir|.d.lca Y$.!
+ cnMisanoq Frh
JF33
100 JS76
120
80
100
. 60
o- eo
(/,40 o-
@60
20
40
0 Dam 2A
10 20 30 40
(m)
Dislance 10 20 30 40
Dlstance(m)
Fig. 11. SPprofile owr dimaqed portion of the HDPE line. crcaterl.Lueto the ouflo|, of Brcwdwater
Jm-62 Jr||.63
30
32
20
228
910
a- 24
a (0-/ ) 0
20
16 -10
12
Dam
10 20 30 40 10 20 30 40
Oistance
(m) Dislance(m)
Fig.l2. SP Profrle wherc teatuge is suspectedat diffe.ent depth te1lelslikely
to be belo|| ,hefoot o1the dah
130
l60
t50
130
120
110
100
s0
80
1o