Dam: Introduction

Dam classification and their usage based on functionality, acting forces,

and construction material; selection of dam based on construction
material, topography, economy and purpose – optimum height of dam

Sanjeeb Baral
JS, MoEWRI
Dam: Introduction
• Dam is a barrier across the river to store water in upstream side and
to raise water level.
• Dams and weirs are primarily intended to divert the river flow into
the water conveyance system leading to the powerhouse.
• Dams also produce additional head and provide storage capacity.
Hence the dam fulfils two fundamental functions, namely it
• Develop a reservoir which has a capacity to store water and
• Builds up head and thus, potential for the river water
• The choice of dam type depends largely on local topographical and
geotechnical conditions.
 Dam classification
• Dams may be classified in various ways such as
I. Function : storage dam, diversion dam, detention dam, debris dam
and coffer dam.
II. Construction material : Concrete dam, Earthen dam, Masonary dam,
Steel dam, Timber dam, Rubber dam
III. Structural load transfer mode: Gravity dam, Arch dam, Butress dam
IV. Hydraulic condition : overflow dams, nonoverflow dams.
V. Based on Rigidity: Rigid dams, Non- rigid dams
Classification based on its function
Based on the function, the dam is classified as
• storage dam,
• diversion dam,
• detention dam,
• debris dam and
• coffer dam.
 Function: Storage dam or Conservation dam
• Storage dams are constructed to impound water during periods of surplus
supply for use during periods of deficient supply. These periods may be
seasonal, annual, or longer. Many small dams impound the monsoon (excess)
runoff for use in the lean season. In the upstream of this dam a big reservoir
is formed.
• Storage dams may be further classified according to the purpose of the
storage, such as water supply, recreation, fish and wildlife, hydroelectric
power generation, irrigation, etc or multipurpose.
• Storage dam are usually high height and they may be constructed by
concrete, stone, earth and rockfill.
 Storage dam or Conservation dam
Advantages
• The dam height is very high; hence it can be stores enough water can be used as
multipurpose projects.
• The dams are usually permanent as they are mostly made of concrete or masonary.
• Provision of overall spillway at crest is possible as it is made of concrete. Extra cost of
separate spillway construction is saved.
Disadvantages
• Cost of construction is very high. So, in the country like Nepal, building a large number
of such dams is very difficult.
• Strong foundation for such heavy structure is not always available in dam site.
• Risk of the foundation failure due to earthquake or overturning during reservoir full
condition is always there.
• High dam always submerges a wide area; rehabilitation of people living upstream is
required.
• Due to submergences imbalance, environmental pollution etc are likely to occur.
 Function: Diversion dam
• Diversion dams are ordinarily constructed to provide head (raise water
level) for carrying water into ditches, canals, or other conveyance
systems.
• The height of this dam -relatively small as no reservoir is to be formed to
store water.
• The advantages of diversion dam are
• No possibility of submergence upstream as the dam has no storage.
• Cost of the construction is low.
• Risk of flooding is nil, as the overflow is regulated.
• The disadvantages of diversion dam are
• It is not suitable for non- perennial river because seasonal storage is required for
such river.
• It cannot be used as multi-purpose projects.
• Diversion canal occupies an extra valuables land
 Flood peak

Function: Detention dam

without dam

Reduction of flood
peak

• Detention dam is constructed to store and detain

Discharge Q
Flood peak with
detention

flood water temporarily and to release it when

flood subsided
• it retard flood runoff and minimize the effect of Time

sudden floods.
Two types of Detention dams :
• Type 1-the water is temporarily stored and released through an outlet
structure at a rate that does not exceed the carrying capacity of the
channel downstream.
• Type 2- the water is held as long as possible and allowed to seep into
pervious banks or into the foundation. The latter type is sometimes
called a water-spreading dam or dike because its main purpose is to
recharge the underground water supply.
• Debris dams:
• detention dams that are constructed to trap sediments- are called
debris dams.

• Coffer dam:
• Coffer dam are temporary dam constructed to divert water to
construct the main dam.
Classification based on the construction
material
Based on the material used for construction, the dam may be classified as
• Concrete dam
• Earthen dam
• Masonary dam
• Steel dam
• Timber dam
• Rubber dam
• Concrete dams: They are made either from plain cement concrete or reinforced
concrete. They may be gravity dams or may be in form of arch, buttress or any other
form of dams.
• Earthfill dams: Earthfill dams are the oldest types of dams. This dam structure consists
of local soil mainly. This dam is not 100% impervious. Water percolates through the
body of the dam but rate of percolation is kept under check and percolation line of
hydraulic gradient line of percolating water is not allowed to get exposed anywhere.
This dam does not require much of skill. They also prove economical as mostly local soil
is used in their construction. The biggest drawback of these dams is that they cannot be
constructed in large heights.
• Rockfill dams: These dams mostly comprise rock boulders. Only boulders cannot
prevent the flow of water and as such some impervious layer is laid on the upstream
face of the Dam, which may be in form of cement concrete slab or earth fill covered by
rip rap or any other arrangement. Rockfill provides the stability whereas impervious
layer provides imperviousness to the dam to prevent flow of water through them.
These dams are not much in use.
• Masonry dams: They are made from stone masonry in cement mortar. They are mostly
gravity dams.
• Steel dams: They are not used much. They are used for secondary purpose small dams.
• Timber dams: They are also of secondary nature and used for storing small amounts of
water temporarily.
Classification based upon the structural load
transfer mode
On the structure of the dam, different forces are acting on it. The
foundation on which they are constructed are all together different and
hence, structural design is different and thus, they are classified as
• Gravity dam
• Arch dam
• Butress dam
 Gravity dam
• It is a solid concrete or masonary dam in which all the pressure (water, wave, uplift) are resisted
by weight or gravity forces.
Advantages
• It is a strong and stables dam.
• It can be used as overfall spillway to dispose of excess flood water safety. (spillways can also be
installed in the dam section itself)
• They are especially suitable for deep steep valley conditions where no other dam is possible.
• It can be constructed to greater height if foundation is suitable to resist its load. Height of other
dam has limitation.
• It can be constructed in the area of heavy downpour. Other dams maynot be suitable as slope
may be washed by heavy downpour.
• Maintenance cost is very low.
• Its failure is not sudden. Sufficient time is possible for evacuation during failure.
• Gravity dam can provide deep scouring sluices to dispose sediment downstream.
• Although initial cost of construction is higher, considering its useful life span, benefit- cost ration
is higher and it becomes cheaper in the long run.
• Drainage galleries are possible in gravity dam.
• They are not affected by very heavy rainfall. (In Earth dams -heavy erosions due to heavy rainfall).
Gravity dam
Disadvantages of gravity dam are as follows
• Gravity dam can be best if constructed on rock foundation. It is not suitable
for weak and permeable foundation even with foundation treatment.
• If funds are limited, gravity dam cannot be constructed as initial cost of
construction is quite high although life is long.
• Construction requires transporting heavy mechanized plants, concrete i.e
stone chips, cement, sand etc. if it is very difficult to transport those heavy
materials for the construction, more time will be spent in construction,
• It requires skilled labour and mechanized plants for construction.
• Subsequent rise of the dam cannot be made unless some provisions are
kept in initial construction.
Arch dam
• An arch dam is curve in plan, arching between two abutments of the
river with convex face towards the flow of water.
• Self weight of this dam is quite less compared to the gravity dam and
hence water pressure on upstream face is resisted to a major extent
by the arching action of the abutments.
• Type of arch dam
• Constant radius arch dam
• Variable radius arch dam
• Constant angle arch dam
Advantages of arch dam
• It is suitable in deep gorges where depth is quite high compared to its width.
• As the thickness of the dam is much less than its height, a substantial saving in
concrete makes the dam quite cheaper. If properly designed, the ratio of
thickness ‘t’ to the height ‘h’ may be reduced to 0.03.
• Because of less base width, uplift force in arch dam is less and usually neglected
in design.
• An arch dam is suitable in moderate foundation since all small part of water
pressure in transferred to the foundation by cantilever action.
Disadvantages of arch dam are:
• Specialized design, skilled labour and sophisticated form work are necessary in
the construction.
• Construction time is normally higher.
• To resist arch thrust, strong abutments on solid rocks are necessary. Hence it is
not suitable if such solid rocks are not available.
Buttress dam
• This dam consists of a number of piers that divide the total length of the dam into a
number of spans.
• All the spans are then covered either with inclined concrete slab or arches on the
upstream side of the piers.
• If spans are covered with flat inclined slab it is known as deck type buttress dam.
• If spans are covered by arches the resulting dam is known as multiple arches buttress
dam.
• The elements of this dam are the sloping slab, buttress, mat foundation, and lateral
braces.
• Braces are provided to reinforce the buttress. HFL

• Cut-off walls may also be provided to prevent

Butresses
seepage.
HFL
RCC Facing Slab

Buttress
Deck Slab
Second Stage
Foundation Slab

First GL GL
Stage
GL
 Advantages of buttress dams
• They can be constructed on weak foundation because they are less massive than gravity
dams.
• The load of water lying on the inclined deck slab adds to the vertical component, of the
dam and as such helps in increasing the stability of the dam. The factor of safety in case
of buttress dams is far greater than for gravity dams.
• Since ice tends to slide over the inclined U/S surface, ice pressure does not carry any
significance
• Height of buttress dams can be increased by extending both buttresses and deck slab
• Power houses or other plants can be located in the empty space between buttresses.
• They require only half to one-third amount of cement concrete in relation to the
concrete required for gravity dam for the same height.
• Because of space between buttresses, it is possible to reach at the bottom and periodic
inspection of foundations can be carried out.
• Since exposed surface of concrete is more but volume of concrete is less than the
gravity dam, heat dissipation during construction is achieved better.
Disadvantages of buttresses dam
• More skilled labour is required.
• Shuttering cost is more.
• The slab being very thin. Its face in contact with water is likely to
deteriorate and cause damage to the dam.
• It is more susceptible to deliberated damage. It is so because
thickness of slab is very small and also there is approach to reach
back of the slab through the space between buttresses,
Classification based on the hydraulic design
• Based on the hydraulic design of dam, dams may be:
• Overflow dam
• Non overflow dam
• Overflow dams are designed to carry discharge over their crests or
through spillways along the crest. Concrete is the most common material
used for this type of dam.
• Non-overflow dams are those designed not to be overtopped. This type
of design extends the choice of materials to include earthfill and rockfill
dams.
• Often the two types are combined to form a composite structure
consisting of, for example, an overflow concrete gravity dam with
earthfill dikes.
 Classification based upon the head
• In run off the river type of hydropower plant, the head is gained by virtue of
the topographical condition of the project area. Powerhouse is usually located
far behind from the intake structure. For such projects, low height dam or weir
is constructed.
• But in valley type of plant, the head is created by virtue of the height of the
dam and powerhouse is located immediate downstream of the dam. For such
projects, high dam are constructed.
• If the head thus created is,
• < 15 meter – it is low head plant
• 15 – 50 meter – it is medium head plant
• > 50 meter – it is the high head plant
• According to the ICOLD (International Committee of Large Dams), a dam is
considered "small" when its height, measured from its foundation level to the
crest, does not exceed 15 m, the crest length is less than 500 m and the stored
water is less than 1 million cubic meters. These parameters can be important,
because of the complicated administrative procedures often associated with
the construction of large dams.
Classification based on rigidity
According as rigidity, the dam may be
• Rigid dams: Rigid dams are those which are constructed of rigid
materials like concrete, masonary, steel or timber.
• Non- rigid dams: The dams made from materials like earth, rockfill etc
are known as non – rigid dams.
 Selection of type of the dam
Deciding criteria for the selection of the type of dam
• Topographical condition
• geological and foundation conditions,
• availability of materials,
• suitable site for the location of spillways,
• Availability of materials,
• labour, equipment required and availability,
• accessibility of site
 Selection of type of the dam
The most common physical factors :
• Materials of construction. Dams require very large quantities of construction materials. Only that dam may prove
economical whose materials are available locally or in vicinity of the site. If gravel, sand and crushed stone are available
locally, concrete gravity dam may be most suitable. If only fine and crushed grained soils are available earth dam may
prove suitable.
• Geological conditions. If available foundation is solid sound rock, having no faults or fissures, any types of dam can be
constructed on it. If rocks are available but they have faults or fissures, they will have to be grouted first before founding
gravity dam over them.
• Poor rock or gravel foundations are suitable for earth or rockfill dams but not for gravity dams. Deep cut- offs may be
constructed under such conditions of foundation to check the seepage.
• Fine sand or silt foundations are suitable only for either earth dam or for low gravity dams but not for rockfill dams. Gravity
dams and rockfill dams, but only after giving proper treatment.
• Topography. This is one of the most important considerations for selection of types of dam. In narrow deep valley gravity
dam is appropriate while in wide valley, embankment dams are preferable. If however the width of the valley at top is less
than about one fourth the height and separate site for spillway is available, arch dam may be suit best choice.
• Canyon shape factor (L/H) is calculated and if
• L/H = 1.5 – 5.0, suitable for arch dams
• L/H > 5.0, suitable for concrete gravity dams
• L/H> 10-15, suitable for rockfill / embankment dams
• Embankment dams arenot suitable in narrow deep valley, because of the significant different settlement across the slope
leading to the formation of cracks.
 Selection of type of the dam
• Spillways. For the safety of the dam, safe and efficient disposal of flood discharge is very essential. This
requires a suitable site for the spillways. If the large spillway discharge is required, an overflow concrete
gravity dam may be adopted. If separate site for spillway is available and spillway capacity is also small,
earth dam should be preferred. If no separate site is available for spillway and it has to be accommodated
in the dam proper, then concrete gravity dam may be most preferred choice. Sometimes even earth dam
may be constructed but some part of the dam which is to be used as spillway may be constructed of
concrete.
• Roadway over the dam. If a roadway is to be passed over the top of the dam, it can be none else than
earth or gravity dam.
• Life and height of the dam. If length of the dam is quite large, but height may not much, an earth would
be the best choice. On the other hand if the length is small but height is more gravity dam should be the
only choice.
• Life of dam. If the of the reservoir has to be very large, concrete or gravity dam should be adopted. Earth
dams and rock fill dams require constant supervision and in long life they prove uneconomical.
• Generation of hydroelectrical power. In this case dams are exclusively made of concrete or masonry
gravity dams. Earth dams, being not very high, do not develop sufficient head for running the turbines.
• According to the climatic condition
• According to seismic condition: If the dam lies in an area that is subject to earthquake shocks, the design
must provide for the added loading and increased stresses.
• According to the diversion condition
• According to the environmental and ecological condition
 Selection of dam site
• Dam site should be selected in a narrow valley to reduce the length of the dam.
• For safe and cheap construction, good foundation at moderate depth should be available at the dam site.
• Bed and sides of the river should be fairly water tight and basin should be cup shaped as far as possible.
• the materials of construction are locally available.
• A good transport communication to dam site is essential.
• A healthy climate at dam site, spacious accommodation for laborers, staff quarters are necessary.
• For large capacity of storage, dam site should be at the confluence of two rivers (sufficient inflow capacity)
• For diversion dam, site should decrease the length of conveyance of water as no storage is required.
• Minimum submergence.
• Catchment should be non- erodible upstream of the dam - to reduce silting of the reservoir. (avoids or excludes
water from those tributaries which carry a high percentage of silt)
• Location of suitable spillway should be available.
• Dam site should be such that it Dam site should provide deep reservoir with small water surface to reduce
evaporation loss and submergence area and control weed growth.
• Before finalization of the dam site maximum discharge of the catchment should be worked out by the available
method where this discharge will serve the purpose of the project for which it is constructed.
 Concrete Vs Embankment dam
World wide, embankment dams are the more common partly due to the following characteristics, which they possess:
• Can be adapted to a wide range of foundation conditions.
• Construction uses natural materials, which can often be found locally, limiting needs for long transportation.
• The construction process can be continuous and highly mechanized.
• The design is extremely flexible in accommodating different fill materials.
• Disadvantages with embankment dams are that they are sensitive to overtopping and leakage, and erosion in the dam body and its foundation. There is a higher
mortality rate among embankment dams as compared to concrete dams.
Drawbacks of Concrete dams compared to the pros of the embankment dams:
• Require certain conditions with respect to the foundations.
• Require processing of natural materials for aggregate at the site, hauling of large quantities of cement and has a labour intensive and discontinuous construction
process, leading to large unit costs.
• Concrete dams have several advantages:
• They are suitable for most ranges of topography that is for wide and narrow valleys, provided that foundation conditions are right.
• They are not very sensitive to overtopping.
• A spillway can be placed at the crest, and if required over the entire length of the dam.
• Chambers or galleries for drainage, tubing and ancillary works can readily be housed within the dam body.
• Powerhouses can be placed right at the toe of the dam.
The development of the Concrete Faced Rockfill Dam (CFRD) neutralizes many of the drawbacks with core-type embankments. In particular, sensitivity to leakage and
erosion is reduced, and dependence of good core material is removed.
The development of the Roller Compacted Concrete Dams (RCC-dams) introduces a continuous, highly mechanised construction process and low unit costs. New large
dams are almost always CFRD and RCC designs.
 Dam height optimization
• For fixing the dam height, area elevation curve and storage elevation curve can be
developed from a contour plan which helps in fixing the maximum operating level of
the reservoir and thus fixing the height of the dam.
Area elevation curve
• A contour plan of the proposed area of reservoir is prepared. Considering from the
bottom, let A1, A2, A3………An be the areas of successive contours.
• These areas can easily determine with the help of planimeter or using computer
application such as Autocad, GIS. The value of area A1 is minimum at the base of the
basin.
• As elevation of the contours increases, the area under them also increases.
Storage elevation curve
• The volume of storage corresponding to different contours can be calculated either by
using prismoidal formula or trapezoidal formula.
• We have seen that area of the contours goes on increasing as we proceed from bottom
of the reservoir towards top. Consequently volume of storage also goes on increasing
as we proceed from bottom of the reservoir towards top. The volume of storage for
different contours may be calculated plotted.
• The optimum or economic dam height is that height, corresponding to
which the dam per unit of storage is minimum.
• This requires estimation of construction cost for several heights of dam and
also corresponding storages in reservoir. For each dam height, the reservoir
storage is known. Draw the curve between dam heights and their
corresponding costs of construction.
• Now, the construction cost per unit cost per unit storage for all the dam
heights can be calculated and plotted. The lowest point on this curve gives
the height if dam for which the cost per unit of storage is minimum and
hence adopted as the most economical.
Cost of construction

Cost per unit storage

Dam height
Dam height

Most economic height

• Or the cost and benefit from the reservoir is calculated separately for different height of
the dam.
• For cost part, increasing dam height, the length of the dam, cross section, inundation
area increases. The increase in inundation area result in loss of land, forest, different
cultural sites, build up area, infrastructure increases. Hence increasing height the cost of
dam in totality increases.
• But increasing the dam height, the annual storage volume of water increases, more
regulation of the river occurred, more flood control benefit achieved, other (irrigation,
recreation, fisheries) benefit can be obtained. Hence increasing the dam height the
benefit also increased.
• The net benefit (benefit – cost) from reservoir can be calculated for different height of
dam can be calculated. The height of dam having maximum net benefit is called
optimum dam height.
Some Questions
• What are the key features to be considered for the selection of site of
Dam?
• What are the deciding factors for the selection of types of Dam?
Explain in detail with some examples.
• Classify dam based on different aspects.
• Compare concrete gravity dam and embankment dam highlighting
the suitable site for construction of each and from other aspects.
• How do you calculate the optimum dam height? Explain the
procedure.
Thank you!