The differential settlement induced by discontinuous gradient of bank slope is one of the main reasons for transverse cracking in earth core of high dams. A series of centrifuge model tests were performed to investigate transverse cracking using mixed core soils of the Nuozhadu dam. Transverse cracks leaded by the abrupt change of the gradient of the bank slope are observed in the centrifuge model tests. Then the experimental results were analyzed with three numerical methods commonly used in earth core dam engineering: deformation gradient method

Leonards-method and finite-element method. The results show that the first two methods are applicable only when sufficient measuring data are obtained; the finite-element method is more efficient for transverse cracking analysis in earth core dams.