Let us see what happened to a

dam ????
305’ height 3200’ long
27 km
length of
water
spread
v
• Why this happens???
– Hydrological design failure
– Structural design failure
– Investigation failures
– Poor construction
– Poor quality assurance
• All are due improper understanding of the
subject
 Dams
• Hydraulic structure constructed across a river to
store water on its upstream side (u/s) side

• After construction of dam,

– Water level in the river on the u/s side is increased
resulting in the formation of a reservoir

– Water then utilized as and when needed depending

upon the purpose for uses such as
• Irrigation
• Hydroelectric power
• Water supply
• navigation
 Classification of Dams
• Dams may be classified depending upon

– Their function

– Hydraulic design

– Materials used for construction

 Based on Function
• Storage Dams
– Store river inflow water during monsoon for use
throughout the year depending on water demand for
irrigation, hydroelectric power, etc.

• Diversion Dams
– Essentially raise water level in the river in order to
provide necessary head for diverting water into canals,
e.g. weir and barrages

• Detention Dams
– Store water during floods and release it gradually later
when the flood recedes
Based on Material of Construction
• Rigid Dams
– Constructed using rigid materials
• Concrete ~ Concrete Dams
• Masonry~ Masonry dams
• Steel ~ Steel Dams
• Timber~ Timber Dams Out Dated

• Non-rigid Dams
– Constructed using non-rigid materials
• Earth ~ Earthen Dams
• Rock-fill~ Rock-fill Dams
 Based on Hydraulic Design
• Non-Overflow Dams
– Which do not allow surplus discharge
to escape from the top of dam
– For this purpose, the top of dam is
kept at a higher elevation than the
maximum water level in the reservoir

• Overflow Dams
– Designed to carry surplus discharge
over the crest portion of the dam
called spillway
• Gravity Dams

• Arch Dams

• Buttress Dams
 Gravity Dams
• Depends on its own weight for stability
• Generally, trapezoidal section with a
straight base
• Advantages
– Simplicity in analysis of its structural
behaviour
– Besides in construction, it does not require
skill of the degree as needed for a buttress
and arch dams
 Forces Acting on Gravity Dams
• Self weight

• Hydrostatic pressure

• Uplift pressure

• Earthquake forces

• Ice pressure

• Wave pressure

• Silt pressure
http://simscience.org/cracks/advanced/grav_fbd1.html
• Self Weight of Dam

– Major resisting force

– Numerically
• Product of the volume and the specific weight of the
material comprising the dam

– For a dam cross section

• It is calculated by dividing the c/s into several
components of rectangles and triangles
• Finding weight of each of the component and
compounding different weights to get the weight of
the dam
• This force is considered to act at the centroid of the
section
• Hydrostatic Pressure
– Major force acting on the dam
– May act on both the u/s and d/s faces of the dam
– With the u/s face partly vertical and partly horizontal
– There are three places where water force are to be
calculated 2
– Horizontal component u/s P  wH 1
1
2
– Vertical component (P3) = self weight of water in the u/s
battered portion
wH 22
– Horizontal component d/s P2 
2
These forces acts at centroid of their respective pressure
diagrams on the dam.
• Uplift Pressure
– The upward pressure of water as it finds its way between the dam
and its foundations
– Magnitude of the force depends on the character of the foundation
and the method of construction
– Assumed that, it varies linearly from full hydrostatic pressure at
the u/s face (heel) to full hydrostatic pressure at the d/s face (toe)
– On this assumption, uplift force Wu is

H1  H 2
Wu  w A
2

– Where A is the area of the base of dam

– The uplift force will act at the centroid of the uplift pressure
diagram
• Earthquake Pressure
– Due to earthquake, primary and secondary waves are set
up in the earth’s crust

– The waves impart acceleration to the foundation under

the dam which produces an inertia force in the body of
the dam and sets up stresses initially in the lower layers
and gradually in the whole body of the dam.

– Though earthquake wave may travel in any direction

• It is usual to resolve acceleration into horizontal and vertical
directions
• Of these, the vertical acceleration is generally not considered in
the design of the dam since it does not pose any serious
damaging force
• The u/s slope provided in the dam section being sufficient to take
care of adverse effects likely to be produced
• The horizontal acceleration produces the following
effect
– Inertia force in the body of the dam

W
Ei  g   w.
g

where.,
Ei = Inertia force
α = Acceleration coefficient
g = Acceleration due to gravity

• The usual value of α for Indian condition is 0.1 – 0.2

• The inertia force is considered to act at the centroid
of the mass of dam
– Hydrodynamic Pressure of Water

• The horizontal acceleration of the dam and foundation causes

oscillatory increases and decreases in the hydrostatic pressure on
the face of the dam
• According to Von-Karman,
– The hydrodynamic pressure variation is assumed to be parabolic and
computed from the equation
Pe  0.555wH 12
– Acting at a height 4H1/3 from the bottom of the reservoir
• Ice pressure
– Important for dams constructed in cold countries

– Ice pressure at the water surface of reservoir is subject to

expansion and contraction due to temperature variation

– The coefficient of thermal expansion of ice being 5 times

that of concrete

– Dam has to resist the forces due to expansion of ice

– It acts linearly along the length of the dam at the reservoir

level

– Its magnitude varies from 2.5 – 15 kg/cm2

– Generally an average of 5 kg/cm2 allowed under ordinary

condition
• Wave Pressure
– Waves are generated on the reservoir surface because of wind blowing over it
– The height of waves is calculated by Molitor’s formula

• For Fetch F less than 32 km

H w  0.032 V .F  0.763  0.2714 F

• For F greater than 32 km

H w  0.032 V .F
• Where, Hw = height of waves (m) V = Wind velocity (km/hr.)
F = Fetch or straight length of water expanse (km)
• The pressure intensity due to waves is given as

p w  2.4 wH w

3
• Acting at 8 H w above still water level

• Assuming that the pressure distribution is

5
triangular with height equal to H ,w the total wave
3
pressure is given as:
1 5
Pw  2.4 wH w   H w
2 3
 2 wH w2
• Silt Pressure

– With sedimentation in the reservoir

– The pressure exerted on the face of the dam which is calculated by

use of Rankine’s formula

– The surface of silt or earth is assumed horizontal and parallel to the

bed of reservoir
ws H s2  1  sin  
Ps   
2  1  sin  
– Where
– ws = unit weight of silt or earth submerged in water
– β = angle of internal friction, generally taken as 30o for sand, gravel,
clay and silt
– Hs – height of silt in the dam
Some of the famous and
important Arch dams
Roosevelt dam in USA
Dimensions
•Structural Height ................................ 108 m
•Hydraulic Height ................................ 76 m
•Crest Length ....................................... 220 m
•Crest Width ....................................... 6.6 m
•Base Width ......................................... 56 m

Hydrology
•Drainage area ............................ 14,924 sq km
•Volume ....... ………………………3667 Mm3
•Peak inflow ................................ 654,000 cfs
Hoover dam, Colorado river
• Height - 221.4 m
• Base Width –
200 m
• Top width – 15 m
• Volume 35200
Mm³
Glen canyon dam, Colorado River
Glen canyon dam, Colorado River
Glen canyon dam, Surplus flow
Glen canyon
dam, Surplus
flow
Gordon Dam
in Tasmania
Parkar dam, Colorado river, Concrete
gravity arch dam
Inguri Dam, Georgia, Worlds
highest arch dam
El Atazar Dam, Madrid, Spain
About Idukki dam in Kerala
idukki-cheruthony-arch
U/s view
The picture can't be display ed.

Idukki arch dam on the Periyar

Impounds Periyar River

Creates Idukki reservoir

Locale Kerala, India

Maintained by Government of Kerala

Height 169.16 m

Construction began 30 April 1969

Opening date February 1973

Reservoir information
3
Capacity 2000 M m
2
Catchment area 60 km
The Idukki Dam is built on the Periyar River, in the ravine between the Kuravan
and Kurathi Hills in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

At 167.68 meters, it is one of the highest arch dams in Asia.

It started generating power on 4 October 1975.

Technically, the dam type is a concrete double, curvature parabolic, thin arc
dam.

This dam was constructed along with two other dams at Cheruthony and
Kulamavu.

The three dams have created an artificial lake that is 60 km² wide.

The stored water is used to produce electricity at the Moolamattom Power

house, which is located inside nearby rocky caves.

The Government of Canada aided in the building of the dam with long term
loans and grants.