Progress in Rockfill Dams

Karl Terzaghi, a major contributor to progress in embankment dams, made significant contributions to the understanding of properties of rockfill and to the improvement of design of the concrete-face rockfill dam. His contributions are noted and followed by a history of parallel development of earth core and concrete-face rockfill dams and the impact of compacted rockfill on the concrete face rockfill dam. Emphasis in this paper is directed towards the concrete face type of rockfill dam, since the earth core type is already well-covered in the literature. Recent progress in the design and construction of the concrete-face rockfill dam is outlined and documented. Design trends and performance data are presented.