Dam Site Assessment and Selection of dam Type

1. In general large dams and reservoirs require rigorous study. Various stages in dam
appraisal and project development are shown in Fig??.

Fig. Stages in dam site appraisal and project development

2. The activities of Dam Site Assessment

a. Geological and geotechnical investigations

Scope

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 Assessment of geological structures, stratigraphy, faulting, foliation, ground water
conditions
Objective
- determine Engineering parameters for stability, settlement, deformation, seepage patterns
- Confirm the containment of integrity of reservoir and stability
- Confirm suitability of construction materials
Procedure
i. Logging natural and excavated exposures, boreholes,
ii. Coorelating the logged data
iii. Excavation of additional trail pits

b. Foundation Investigations
iv. Assess the stability in terms of
o Load carrying capacity
o Compressibility or deformability
o Permeability
Investigations differ for different types of geological formation

c. Materials for dam construction

d. Selection of Dam Type
Criteria for Selecting Dam Types
i. Topographical Conditions
Thumb Rules:
Narrow Valley Concrete Dams
Wide Valley Embankment Dams
Assess through Canyon Shape factor, L/H, with L as valley length, H- Height of the
valley up to dam crest

Canyon Shape Factor (L/H) Dam Type

1.5 – 5.0 Arch dam
> 5.0 Concrete Gravity
10-15 Rockfill/Earthfill ( > 50% compacted soil in
Earthfill)

Despite the possibility of economy, embankment dams (earthfill dams) are not suitable
in narrow valley because of the significant differential settlements.
ii. Geological Conditions
• Sound rock at foundations for concrete dams- (no rock –no concrete dams)
• Sound rock both at foundations and abutments for arch dams (ER << ECON) NOT
ACCEPTABLE for concrete dams
• If the valley is wide, geological conditions at foundation/ abutment t do not matter

Also Refer the following examples ( Fig and Table)

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Fig. Illustrative examples of dam type in relation to valley profile
Table : Dam Type and Respective Characteristics

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iii. Material Availability
• Rock material of acceptable quality- for concrete dams mainly for strength and
durability of concrete, pH factor important
• Rock material in abundant quantity – for rock-fill type dams. Usually any type of
rock is acceptable
• Impervious material such as clay in vicinity is required for Rockfill and especially
for earthfill dams. In case of unavailability of core material, CFRD may be
preferred.
• Sand/silt and soil of any type may be used for hydraulic fill earth dams,
iv. Layout Possibilities of major structures
• River diversion possibilities
• Spillways
• Outlets
• Combination of structures
v. Technological Conditions (Technical +Technological)
• Availability of experience and construction infrastructure
• Appropriate technology
• Capital intensive vs labor intensive
• Schedule of construction –e.g Tiansinkyao Dam in China –CFRD completed one
year earlier compared to the schedule of conventional RF dam.