GRAVITY DAM

GRAVITY DAM
• A GRAVITY DAM DEFINED AS ‘ALL EXTERNAL FORCES WHICH ARE ACTS ON THE
DAM ARE RESISTED BY IT’S OWN WEIGHT.
• MADE UP OF MASONRY OR CONCRETE.
• THE HIGHEST GRAVITY DAM IN THE WORLD IS GRAND DIXENCE DAM IN
SWITZERLAND(284M).
• 2ND HIGHEST - BHAKRA DAM IN HIMACHAL PRADESH(226M).
• SARDAR SAROVAR DAM IN GUJARAT(163M).
A TYPICAL CROSS SECTION OF CONCRETE GRAVITY DAM
 FORCES ACTING ON GRAVITY DAM
1. WATER PRESSURE
2. UPLIFT PRESSURE
3. PRESSURE DUE TO EARTHQUAKE FORCE
4. SILT PRESSURE
5. WIND PRESSURE
6. ICE PRESSURE (IN COLD REGION)
7. WEIGHT OF DAM (STABILISING FORCE)
 1.WATER PRESSURE

• WATER PRESSURE CALCULATED AS PER HYDROSTATIC LOW.

• WATER PRESSURE IS THE MAJOR EXTERNAL FORCE EXERTED BY THE WATER
STORED IN THE RESERVOIR ON THE UPSTREAM FACE OF THE DAM.
 2.UPLIFT PRESSURE

• ACCORDING TO U.S.B.R. RECOMMENDATION

 3. EARTHQUAKE FORCE

• CONSIDERATION OF EARTHQUAKE FORCE DEPENDS ON DAM LOCATION

WHICH SUSCEPTIBLE TO EARTHQUAKE OR NOT.
• IN INDIA ,ENTIRE COUNTRY HAS BEEN DIVIDED IN 4 SEISMIC
ZONES(ACCORDING TO IS:1893(P-1) 2016).
• DEPENDING ON THAT EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT STRUCTURE HAS DESIGNED.
• EARTHQUAKE WAVE HAVE TWO COMPONENT OF ACCEERATION.
I. VERTICAL ACCELERATION.
II. HORIZONTAL ACCELERATION.
 WEIGHT OF THE DAM

• THE WEIGHT OF THE DAM PER UNIT LENGTH IS GIVEN BY THE PRODUCT OF THE AREA OF
CROSS-SECTION OF THE DAM AND SPECIFIC WEIGHT OF THE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS,I.E
CONCRETE, AND IT ACTS VERTICALLY DOWNWARDS AT THE CENTRE OF GRAVITY OF THE
SECTION

• WEIGHT OF ANY PART OF DAM=CROSS SECTIONAL AREA OF THAT PART×SPECIFIC WEIGHT

OF MATERIAL
 SILT PRESSURE

• PRACTICALLY ALL STREAMS CARRY SILT ALONG WITH WATER WHICH DURING FLOODS MAY
BE IN ENORMOUS QUANTITY. THE SILT LOAD GETS DEPOSITED TO AN APPRECIABLE EXTENT
WHEN DAM IS CONSTRUCTED.THE DAM IS THEREFORE, SUBJECTED TO SILT PRESSURE ADDITION
TO THE WATER PRESSURE.
• DETERMINING THE SLT PRESSURE RANKINE FORMULA MAY BE USED.
• REFERENCE
• S K GARG
• WIKIPEDIA
 MODES OF FAILURE OF GRAVITY DAM

• OVERTURNING
• SLIDING
• CRUSHING
• TENTION
 OVERTURNING
• THE DAM MAY FAIL BY OVERTURNING ABOUT ITS TOE OR ABOUT THE DOWNSTREAM EDGE OF
ANY HORIZONTAL SECTION, IF THE RESULTANT OF THE FORCES ACTING ON THE DAM, PASSES
OUTSIDE THE BASE OR TOE OF THE DAM.
 SLIDING
• THE HORIZONTAL FORCES ACTING ON THE DAM TEND
TO SLIDE THE ENTIRE DAM AT ITS BASE OR A PART OF
THE DAM LYING ABOVE ANY HORIZONTAL SECTION
OVER THE LOVER PART.
• THIS TENDENCY TO SLIDE IS RESISTED BY THE SLIDING
RESISTANCE DEVELOPED AT THE SURFACE OF SLIDING.
• THE RESISTANCE TO SLIDING IS DUE TO FRICTION AT
THE SURFACE OF SLIDING AND COHENSION INHERENT
IN THE MATERIALS AT CONTACT VIZ. CONCRETE AND
FOUNDATION
ROCK.
 CRUSHING OR COMPRESSION

• A DAM MAY FALL BY THE FAILURE OF ITS

MATERIALS, I.E. THE COMPRESSIVE STRESSES
PRODUCED MAY EXCEED THE ALLOWABLE
STRESSES, AND THE DAM MATERIAL MAY
GET CRUSHED.
 TENSION

• MASONRY AND CONCRETE GRAVITY DAMS ARE

USUALLY DESIGNED IN SUCH WAY THAT NO TENSION
IS DEVELOPED ANYWHERE IN THE DAM.
• IF SUBJECTED TO SUCH STRESSES, THIS MATERIALS
MAY FINALLY CRACK.
• IF NO TENSHION IS TO BE PRODUCED AT ANY POINT
ON THE BASE OF THE DAM, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN
THE CENTRE OF THE BASE AND THE POINT AT WHICH
RESULTANT CUTS THE BASE SHOULD NOT EXCEED
ONE-SIXTH OF THE BASE LENGTH.
PRINCIPAL STRESSES
SHEAR STRESSES
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