DAMS - GENERAL

• Dam is a solid barrier constructed at a suitable location across a river valley to store
flowing water
• Storage of water is utilized for following objectives:
• Hydropower
• Irrigation
• Water for domestic consumption
• Drought and flood control
• navigational facilities
• Dis-advantages of dams:
• Large area under submergence, relocation
• River flow is affected
• Risk of flood due to breaching / dam break
 TYPES OF DAMS – 1. GRAVITY DAMS
• A dam constructed of concrete and/or masonry, which relies on its weight and internal
strength for stability
• Solid gravity dams resist the overturning moments due to all external forces (such as
water pressure, slit pressure etc) by its own weight only
• Such a dam is very strong and rigid and requires least maintenance
• Suitable for steep valleys
• Surplus water can be discharged through spillways
• Can built for large heights
• Does not fail suddenly
• Least maintenance
• High initial cost
• Construction period is high, skilled labor is needed
• Need strong foundation
TYPES OF DAMS – 1. GRAVITY DAMS
 TYPES OF DAMS – 2. ARCH DAMS
• A concrete or masonry dam, which is curved
upstream so as to transmit the major part of the
water load to the abutments
• Hydrostatic force presses against the arch,
compressing and strengthening structure as it
pushes into its foundation or abutments
• Most suitable for narrow canyons or gorges with
steep walls of stable rock to support the
structure and stresses
• Since they are thinner than any other dam type,
they require much less construction material,
making them economical and practical in remote
areas
 TYPES OF DAMS – 3. BUTTRESS DAMS
• A dam consisting of a watertight part
supported at intervals on the downstream
side by a series of buttresses
• Buttress dam can take many forms, such as a
flat slab or a massive head buttress
• A buttress dam in which the upstream part is a
relatively thin flat slab usually made of
reinforced concrete – Amursen dam
• Most buttress dams are made of reinforced
concrete and are heavy, pushing the dam into
the ground
• A buttress dam is a good choice in wide valleys
where solid rock is rare
 TYPES OF DAMS – 4. EMANKMENT DAMS
• Uses locally available material for dam construction
• Any dam constructed of excavated natural materials or of industrial waste materials
• An embankment dam in which more than 50 % of total volume is formed of compacted
earth material – Earthen Dam
• An embankment dam constructed of materials, often dredged, which are conveyed and
placed by suspension in flowing water – Hydraulic fill dam
• An embankment dam in which more than 50 % of total volume is made of compacted or
dumped cobbles, boulders, rock fragments, or quarried rock – Rockfill dam
TYPES OF DAMS – 4. EMANKMENT DAMS ..
 GRAVITY DAMS – FORCES ACTING
• Forces Acting on Gravity Dam
External forces
• Water Pressure
• Uplift Pressure
• Pressure due to Earthquake forces
• Silt Pressure
• Wave Pressure
• Ice Pressure

Internal forces
Weight of the dam itself
 1. Forces on Gravity Dams - WATER PRESSURE
• Also known as hydro-static pressure
• Water Pressure (p) is the most major external force acting on a gravity dam.
• The horizontal water pressure, exerted by the weight of the water stored on the upstream
side of the dam
• It can be estimated from rule of hydrostatic pressure distribution which is triangular in
Shape
• When the upstream face is vertical, the intensity is Zero at the water surface and equal to
γwH at the base (γw is the unit weight of water, and H is the depth of water)
• The resultant force due to this external water • P= ½ γwH2 , acting at H/3 from base
 1. Forces on Gravity Dams - WATER PRESSURE ..
• When upstream face is partly vertical and partly
inclined, resulting water force can be resolved into
horizontal (Ph) and Vertical components (Pv)
• The Horizontal Component Ph= ½ γwH2 act at H/3
from the base
• The vertical component (Pv) is equal to weight of
the water stored in column ABCA and acts at the
C.G. of the Area.
• Similarly, if there is tail water on the downstream
side, it will have horizontal and vertical
components
1. Forces on Gravity Dams - WATER PRESSURE ..
 2. Forces on Gravity Dams - UPLIFT PRESSURE
• Water Seeps through the pores, cracks and fissures of the foundation material, and also
through dam body and then to the bottom through the joint between the body of the
dam.
• It is the second major external force and must be accounted for in all calculations.
• Such an uplift force virtually reduces the downward weight of the body of the dam and
hence, acts against the dam stability
• Uplift pressure intensities at the heel and the toe should be taken equal to their
respective hydrostatic pressure and joined by a straight line in between
 2. Forces on Gravity Dams - UPLIFT PRESSURE ..
• When drainage galleries are provided to relieve
the uplift, the recommended uplift at the face of
the gallery is equal to the hydrostatic pressure at
toe (γw H‟ ) plus a 1/3rd of the difference of the
hydrostatic pressure at the heel and at the toe
[γwH’ + 1/3 (γw H - γw H’) ]
• It is also assumed that the uplift pressure are not
affected by the earthquake forces.
• Uplift pressure can be controlled by constructing
cut-off walls, by constructing drainage channels
between the dam and its foundations and by
pressure grouting the foundation
 3. Forces on Gravity Dams - EARTHQUAKE PRESSURE
• An earthquake produces waves which are capable of shaking the Earth upon which the
dam is resting, in every possible direction
• The effect of an earthquake is therefore, equivalent to impairing an acceleration to the
foundation of the dam in the direction in which the wave is traveling at the moment,
Earthquake waves may move in any direction and for design purpose, it has to be resolved
in vertical and horizontal components
• Hence, two accelerations, i.e.. one horizontal acceleration (άh ) and one vertical
acceleration (άv ) are induced by an earthquake
• The value of these acceleration are generally expressed as percentage of the acceleration
due to gravity (g) i.e.. ά = 0.1 g or 0.2 g etc.
 3. Forces on Gravity Dams - EARTHQUAKE PRESSURE ..
Effect of Horizontal Acceleration:
• Horizontal seismic coefficient varies linearly from 1.5 αh at top to
zero at the base
• α h variation is of inverted triangle
 3. Forces on Gravity Dams - EARTHQUAKE PRESSURE ..
Effect of Vertical Acceleration:
• Vertical acceleration will change the unit weight of dam material or water
• An acceleration upward results in downward inertia, and hence increases unit weight of
water and dam (advantage)
• An acceleration downward decreases the weights
 3. Forces on Gravity Dams - EARTHQUAKE PRESSURE ..
Hydrodynamic Pressure:
Force exerted by the earthquake force on water
Vonkarman Method
Pe = 0.555 αh γw h2

Zangeer Method
 4. Forces on Gravity Dams - WAVE PRESSURE
• Waves are generated on reservoir due to wind blows
• Wave pressure depends on wave height (hw) generated, which in turn depends on wind
velocity (V) and fetch (F)
Hw= 0.032 √ (V.F) + 0.763 – 0.271 (F)¾ for F < 32 Km
Hw= 0.032 √(V.F) for F > 32 Km
Hw= Height of water from top of crest and bottom of trough in m.
V= Wind velocity in Km/ hr
F= Fetch or Straight length of water expanse in Km
 4. Forces on Gravity Dams - WAVE PRESSURE ..
• Maximum Pressure Intensity due to wave
action is given by
pw= 2.4 γw hw and acts at hw /8 meters above
the still water surface
• The Pressure distribution may be assumed to
be Triangle, of height 5 hw/3
• Hence, the total force due to wave action
(Pw) is given by
Pw= ½ (2.4 γw hw) . 5 hw/3
Or Pw = 2. γ w . Hw2 = 19.62 hw2 KN/m
This force acts at a distance of 3/8 h above the
reservoir surface.
 5. Forces on Gravity Dams - SILT PRESSURE
• Silt gets deposited against the upstream face of the dam
• If hs is the height of silt deposited, then force exerted by this silt in addition to external
water pressure, can be represented by Rankine’s formula
Psilt = ½ γs hs2 Ka and acts at hs/3 from base
Where, Ka is the coefficient of active earth pressure of silt
Ka = (1 - sin Ө) / (1+ sin Ө)
Where Ө is the angle of internal friction of soil, and cohesion is neglected
γs = Submerged unit weight of silt material
hs= height of silt deposited.
5. Forces on Gravity Dams - SILT PRESSURE
 Combination of Forces for Design
Check for the design of gravity dam under TWO cases
Case 1:
• When Reservoir is Full
• Major external forces: Water pressure, Uplift pressure, Earthquake force
• Minor external forces: Silt pressure, Ice pressure, Wave pressure
• Design consideration: Check for the design, when all forces are acting simultaneously
Case 2:
• When Reservoir is Empty
• Major external forces: Tail Water pressure, Uplift pressure, Earthquake force
• Minor external forces: Silt pressure, Ice pressure, Wave pressure
• Design consideration: Check for the design, when all forces are acting simultaneously
 Modes of Failures of Gravity Dam
Modes of Failures of a gravity dam:
1) Overturning
2) Sliding
3) Compression or Crushing
4) Tension

1) Overturning:
• Takes place, when the resultant force at any section cuts the base of the dam downstream
of toe
• If the resultant force cuts the base within the body of the dam, there will be no
overturning
 Modes of Failures of Gravity Dam
1) Overturning ..
• For stability requirements, the dam must be safe against overturning
• FOS against overturning > 1.5

Σ 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 Σ 𝑀𝑅
𝐹𝑂𝑆 = =
Σ 𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 Σ 𝑀𝑂

2) Sliding
• Sliding (or Shear failure) will occur when the net horizontal force above any plane in the
dam (or at the base) exceeds the frictional resistance developed at that level
• The friction developed between the two surfaces is equal to ∑ H < μ ∑ V
 Modes of Failures of Gravity Dam
2) Sliding ..
• Or (μ ∑ V / ∑H ) >1
• μ ∑ V/ ∑ H represents the factor of safety against sliding, which must be greater than unity
• In low dams, the safety against sliding should be checked only for friction, but in high
dams, the shear strength of the joint is also considered
• S.F.F = (μ ∑ V / ∑H ) + B.q
• B= width of the dam at the joints
• q= average shear strength of the joints (1400 KN/ m2 for poor rocks to about 4000 KN/ m2
for good rocks)
• Value of μ generally varies from 0.65 to 0.75
 Modes of Failures of Gravity Dam
3) Compression / Crushing
• A dam may fail by the failure of its material, i.e.. the compressive stresses produced may
exceed the allowable stresses, and the dam material may get crushed
• The vertical direct stress distribution at the base is given by:
• P = Direct stresses + Bending stresses
σ𝑽 𝟔𝒆
• 𝑷𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝒐𝒓 𝑷𝒎𝒊𝒏 = 𝟏 ±
𝑩 𝑩

• + ve for normal stress at toe, - ve for normal stress at heel

• e= Eccentricity of the resultant force from the centre of the base.
• ∑ V=Total Vertical force
• B= Base Width
 Modes of Failures of Gravity Dam
4) Tension
• Concrete gravity dams are usually designed in such a way
that no tension is developed anywhere, because these
materials cannot withstand tensile stresses
• Normal stress at heel is given by

σ𝑽 𝟔𝒆
𝑷𝒎𝒊𝒏 = 𝟏−
𝑩 𝑩

• If e > (b/6), normal stress at heel is – ve (or, tension is

developed)
• For no tension to happen, anywhere in the dam section, e
< (b/6) → middle third rule
 Modes of Failures of Gravity Dam
4) Tension ..
• The maximum permissible tensile stress for high concrete gravity dams, under worst
loading may be taken as 500 KN/ m2
• In a dam, when such a tension crack develops, say at heel, crack width looses contact with
the bottom foundation, and thus, becomes ineffective.
• Hence, the effective width B of the dam base will be reduced. This will increase pmax at the
toe.
• Hence, a tension crack by itself does not fail the structure, but it leads to the failure of the
structure by producing excessive compressive stresses
• In order to ensure that no tension is developed anywhere, we must ensure that p min is
at the most equal to Zero (→ e = b/6)
 Stability Analysis of a Gravity Dam
Analytical Method
1) Consider unit length of the gravity dam
2) Calculate all vertical forces acting (weight of dam, weight of water on inclined faces, uplift
force, inertia force due to vertical acceleration). Get their algebraic sum → ΣV
3) Calculate all horizontal forces acting (hydrostatic forces, wave force, silt force, intertia
force due to horizontal acceleration) → ΣH
4) Find the sum of the overturning moments (ΣM0) and resisting moments (ΣMR) at the toe.
Get the algebraic sum of moments (ΣM = ΣM0 – ΣMR)
ΣM
5) Find the location (distance) of the resultant force, R from the toe → 𝑥ҧ =
ΣV
𝑏
6) Find the eccentricity of the resultant (from centre) → 𝑒 = − 𝑥ҧ
2
 Stability Analysis of a Gravity Dam
Analytical Method ..
σ𝑽 𝟔𝒆
7) Find normal stress at toe of the dam → 𝑷𝒕𝒐𝒆 = 𝟏+
𝑩 𝑩

σ𝑽 𝟔𝒆
8) Find normal stress at heel of the dam → 𝑷𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍 = 𝟏−
𝑩 𝑩

Σ 𝑀𝑅
9) Check for safety against overturning: > 1.5
Σ 𝑀𝑂

𝜇 σ𝑉
10) Check for safety against sliding: σ𝐻
> 1.0

11) Check for safety against compression → Ptoe < Allowable compression strength
12) Check for safety against tension → Pheel >= 0
 Example Problem - 1

A 100 m height concrete dam as show in

located in seismic zone-IV. Unit weight
of dam material is 24 kN/m3 and
modulus of elasticity is 2.05 x 107 kN/m2.
Compute forces induced due to earth
quake, per unit length of the dam using
seismic coefficient method.

Consider αh = 0.1 (based on seismic zone)

Example Problem – 1 ..
Example Problem – 1 ..
Example Problem – 1 ..
Example Problem – 1 ..
Example Problem – 1 ..
 Example Problem - 2

A masonry dam 6 m high is 1.5 m wide

at top and 4.5 m wide at bottom with
vertical water face. Determine the
normal stress at toe and heel under
a) Reservoir empty condition
b) Reservoir full condition

Consider ρ = 2.4 and c = 1

Example Problem – 2 ..
Example Problem – 2 ..
 Example Problem - 3

A masonry dam 10 m high is trapezoidal in shape

with a top width of 1 m and bottom width of
8.25 m. The face exposed to upstream has a
batter of 1:10. Test the stability of the dam

Assume unit weight of masonry = 22.4 kn/m3

Permissible shear stress of joint = 1400 kN/m2
Example Problem – 3 ..
Example Problem – 3 ..
Example Problem – 3 ..
Example Problem – 3 ..