How Dams works?

By
Awais Ali Bsme01163155

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D A M S

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Contents
 Dams
 Types of dam
 Selection of dam site
 Selection of dam type
 Determination of dam height
 Instrumentation
 Inspection of dam
 Components of earth dam
 Design criteria for earth dam
DAMS
 Components of a water
power scheme
 Essentials of general plant
layout
 General types of plant layout
 Surge chambers
 Governing of an impulse
turbine

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 DAMS
DAM
 Dam is constructed to create a reservoir (permanent or
temporary)
 Purpose of dams:
 To divert water from a stream (Diversion dams)
 For navigation (Navigation dams)
 For hydropower generation (Power dams)
 Store water for municipal/industrial use, irrigation, flood control,
river regulation, recreation, (Storage dams)

A dam serving two or more purposes is a multipurpose dam.

The dam should be economical and the material used for construction
should be easily available.
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 DAMS
Dams are classified based on their purpose, shape, material used
and mode of construction

TYPES OF DAM

 Embankment Dams
 Concrete Dams
 Composite Dams

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 DAMS
Embankment Dams

 Earth fill Dams

 Rock fill Dams

Types of Earth fill Dams

 Homogeneous earth fill

 Modified Homogeneous
 Zoned earth fill
 Hydraulic fill Dams

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 DAMS
COMPOSITE DAM
 This dam is a combination of embankment and concrete dam.
 It generally consists of concrete gravity or buttress sections in
combination with earth fill or rock fill sections.
 The concrete dam portion helps to pass flood flows over or through
the section during construction, and act as the spillway after
construction. The earth or rock fill section take advantage of low
cost construction and local materials.
EARTH DAMS
 Earth dams have been used for water storage since early
civilization.
 Earth dams may be built of rock, gravel, sand, silt or clay in various
combinations.
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 DAMS
 Earth dams are constructed with an inner impervious core with
upstream and downstream zones or more pervious materials,
sometime including rock zones.
 Earth dams limit the flow of water by the use of fine-grained
soils. Where possible, these soils are formed into a relatively
impervious core.
 In sand or gravel foundation, the core may by connected to
bedrock by a cutoff trench backfilled with compacted soil.
 If such cutoffs are uneconomical because of the great depth of
pervious foundation, then the central impervious core is
connected to a long horizontal upstream impervious blanket that
increases the seepage path. The impervious core is encased in
pervious zones of sand, gravel, or rock fill for stability.
 Transition zones prevent the core material from being
transported into the pervious zones by seeping water.
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 DAMS
 When pervious soils are scarce, the entire dam may be a
homogeneous fill of relatively impervious soil.
 Downstream pervious drainage blankets are provided to collect
seepage passing through, under, and around the abutments of
the dam.
 Materials can be obtained from excavation for the dam and from
borrow area. Rock fill is generally used when large quantities
are available or when soil borrow is scarce.
 Earth fill embankment is placed in layers and compacted by
sheep-foot rollers or heavy pneumatic-tire rollers.
 Moisture content of silt and clay soils is carefully controlled to
facilitate optimum compaction.
 Sand and gravel fills are compacted in slightly thicker layers.
Rock fill is placed in layers 1-3 ft deep.
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 DAMS
SELECTION OF DAM SITE
 This depends upon hydrologic, topographic, and geologic
conditions; storage capacity of reservoir; accessibility; cost of lands
and necessary relocations of prior occupants or uses; and proximity
of sources of suitable construction materials.
 For a storage dam the site should have the desired amount of
storage to be economically developed. Power dams must be
located to develop the desired head and storage.
 For a diversion dam the site must be in conjunction with the location
and elevation of the outlet canal or conduit.
 Site for navigation dams involves factors such as desired navigable
depth, channel width, slope of river channel, natural river flow,
amount of bank protection, amount of channel dredging, approach
and exit conditions for tows, and locations of other dams.
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 DAMS
SELECTION OF DAM SITE…
 Topographic characteristics include width of the flood plain,
shape and height of valley walls, existence of nearby saddles
for spillways, and adequacy of reservoir rim to retain impounded
water.
 Geologic conditions include the depth, classification,
engineering properties of soils and bedrock, occurrence of
sinks, faults, and major landslides at the site or in the reservoir
area.
 The elevation of ground water table influence the construction
operations and suitability of borrow materials.
 The reservoir water recharges the ground water and have
adverse effects on mineral resources.

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 DAMS
SELECTION OF DAM TYPE
 It depends on the estimated costs of various types.
 Important factors are topography, foundation conditions and
the accessibility of construction materials.
 A hard-rock foundation is suitable for any type of dam,
provided the rock has no unfavorable joints, no movement in
existing faults, and seepage is controlled at reasonable cost.
 Rock foundations of high quality are essential for arch dam
because the abutments receive the full thrust of the water.
 Rock foundations are necessary for all concrete dams.
 An earth dam may be built on almost any kind of foundation if
properly designed and constructed.

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 DAMS
SELECTION OF DAM TYPE…
 An embankment dam is most economical if large spillway and
outlet capacities are required and topography and foundation
are favorable.
 In a wide valley a combination of an earth embankment dam
and a concrete section containing the spillway and outlets is
economical.
 A concrete dam requires adequate quantities of suitable
aggregate and availability of cement, while an earth dam
requires sufficient quantities of both pervious and impervious
earth materials.
 If enough rock is available, a rock-fill dam with an impervious
earth core may be the most economical.
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DETERMINATION OF DAM HEIGHT
 The dam must be high enough to
1 Store water to the normal full pool elevation
2 Provide for the temporary storage needed to route the
spillway design flood through the dam
3 Provide sufficient freeboard to assure an acceptable
degree of safety against possible overtopping from waves
and run up.
 Physical characteristics of the dam and reservoir site or
existing development within the reservoir area may impose
upper limits in selecting the normal full-pool level.
 Freeboard is the distance between the maximum reservoir
level and the top of the dam. Usually 3ft or more of freeboard
is provided to avoid overtopping by wind generated waves.
Additional freeboard may be provided for possible effects of
surges induced by earthquakes, landslides etc,. 14
 DAMS
INSTRUMENTATION
 Instruments are installed at dams to observe structural
behavior and physical conditions to check safety, and for
design improvement.
 In concrete dams instruments are used to measure stresses.
 Plumb lines are used to measure bending, and clinometers to
measure tilting.
 Contraction joint openings are measured by joint meters.
Temperatures are measured either by embedded electrical
resistance thermometers or by adopting strain, stress, and
joint measuring instruments.
 Water pressure on the base of a concrete dam is measured by
uplift pressure cells.
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 DAMS
 Measurements are made to determine horizontal/vertical
movements; strong-motion accelerometers are installed on
and near dams in earth-quake regions to record seismic data.
 Piezometers determine pore water pressure in the soil or
bedrock during construction and seepage after reservoir
impoundments.
 Settle mental gages determine settlements of the foundation
of the dam under dead load.
 Vertical and horizontal makers determine movements,
especially during construction.
 Inclinometers determine horizontal movements along a
vertical line.

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 DAMS
INSPECTION OF DAMS:
 Failure of dam may result in loss of life or property in the
downstream area.

 The design of dams should be reviewed to assure

competency of the structure and its site, and inspection should
be made during construction to ensure that the requirements
of the design and specification are incorporated in the
structure.

 After completion and filling, inspections should be regularly

scheduled. The objective is to detect symptoms of possible
distress in the dam at earliest time.
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 DAMS
INSPECTION OF DAM
 These symptoms include slides in embankments; piping or
boils; abnormal changes in flow; increase in seepage
quantities; changes in pore water or uplift pressures;
movement or cracking of embankments/abutments;
cracking of concrete structures; appearance of sinkholes
near foundations; excessive deflection, displacement
erosion, vibration of concrete structures; movement,
deflection or vibration of spillway gates; or any other
unusual condition in the structure or surrounding terrain.
 Detection should be followed by an investigation of the
causes, probable effects, and remedial measures
required.
 Systematic monitoring of the instrumentation installed in
dams is essential to the inspection program.
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 DAMS
Components of an Earth Dam

Transition section
Transition section
Pervious shell

Pervious shell

Rip Rap
Rip Rap
D/S
U/S
Impervious core

Cutoff

Toe drain
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It is an impervious element which intends
upwards from the base of the dam to the top
DAMS
practically always constructed of impervious soil
and may simply be an extension
Components of Earth
of an the cutoff
Dam
wall upwards to the top of dam. Although core
wall is often located on the longitudinal centre
Transition section
line of the dam, which may be located anywhere Transition section
Pervious shell
on the upstream side of the centre.
Pervious shell

Rip Rap
Rip Rap
D/S
U/S
Impervious core

Cutoff

Toe drain
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It is a relatively impervious element which
extends down wards through the foundation soil
DAMS
from the base of the dam. The function is to
reduce the amount of seepageofwater
Components flowing
an Earth Dam
through the foundation. This cut-off wall should
be carried down to section
Transition solid rock or other very
impervious material. Its effectiveness is greatly Transition section
Pervious shell
reduced, if it extends only part way and seepage
Pervious shell
water may flow beneath the cut off wall. It may
be made of steel sheet pile or clay or reinforced
cone or fineRip
grained
Rap
impervious soil. Rip Rap
D/S
U/S
Impervious core

Cutoff

Toe drain
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 DAMS
Components of an Earth Dam
It is made up of pervious
Transition section
material. The u/s shell section,
provide protection
Transition section against rap
Pervious shell
draw down which causes
rotational type ofPervious shell
failure of u/s
slop. The d/s sheet provides
protection against Rip Rapout drop of
Rip Rap
seepage. D/S
U/S
Impervious core

Cutoff

Toe drain
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 DAMS
An intermediate grade of
Components of an Earth Damis provided to from the
material
section placed between the
Transition section
core Transition
wallssection
and previous shell.
Pervious shell The material function like a
filter, prevents Pervious shell desilting or
lateral movement of practical
from the core walls.
Rip Rap
Rip Rap
D/S
U/S
Impervious core

Cutoff

Toe drain
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 It is placed on the u/s face as DAMS
protection against wave wash
and on the d/s slope for
Components
protectionof an Earth rains.
against Dam It
comprises of a 3-5 ft. thick
layer of big stones
Transition section
(rock
Transition section
Pervious shell fragment and boulder).
Pervious shell

Rip Rap
Rip Rap
D/S
U/S
Impervious core

Cutoff

Toe drain
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 To protect a dam from the effects of seepage
drains are provided. The drains provided DAMS
completely intercept the seepage and the
down stream zone is kept free of saturation.
The mostComponents commonly usedof anmethods.
Earth Dam Are as
follows:-
Transition section
• Longitudinal drains and blankets Transition section
• Chimney drains extending upwards into the
Pervious shell

embankment Pervious shell

• Toe drains
• Relief wells Rip Rap
Rip Rap
D/S
U/S
Impervious core

Cutoff

Toe drain
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