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2 Dam Engineering

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Kakulu Paul Mutatiina
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117 views6 pages

2 Dam Engineering

Uploaded by

Kakulu Paul Mutatiina
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES

DAM ENGINEERING
 A dam is a hydraulic structure of fairly impervious material built across a river to create a
reservoir on its upstream side for impounding water for various purposes.
 A dam and a reservoir are complements of each other.
 Dams are generally constructed in the mountainous reach of the river where the valley is
narrow and the foundation is good.
 Generally, a hydropower station is also constructed at or near the dam site to develop
hydropower.
 Dams are probably the most important hydraulic structure built on the rivers. These are very
huge structure and require huge money, manpower and time to construct.

CLASSIFICATION OF DAMS

Based on function served


 Storage dams
 Detention dams
 Diversion dams
 Debris dams
 Coffer dams - a temp dam constructed for facilitating construction. It is an enclosure
constructed around a site to exclude water so that the construction can be done in dry.

Based on Hydraulic Design


 Overflow dams
 Non-overflow dams
Based on Materials of Construction
 Masonry dam
 Concrete dam
 Earth dam
 Rock fill dam
 Timber dam
 Steel dam
 Combined concrete-cum-earth dam
 Composite dam.
*****And others******
Based on Rigidity
Based on structural action

SELECTION OF TYPE OF DAM


 Selection of the most suitable type of dam for a particular site requires a lot of judgment and
experience.
 It is only in exceptional cases that the most suitable type is obvious.
 Preliminary designs and estimates are usually required for several types of dams before
making the final selection on economic basis.
 Various factors govern the selection of type of dam including:
Topography and valley shape
Geology and foundation conditions
Availability of construction materials
Overall cost
Spillway size and location
Earthquake hazards
Climatic conditions
Diversion problems
Environmental considerations
Roadway
Length and height of dam
Life of dam
Miscellaneous considerations

SITE SELECTION FOR A DAM


 A dam is a huge structure requiring a lot of funds.
 Extreme care shall be taken while selecting the site of a dam.
 A wrong decision may lead to excessive cost and difficulties in construction and
maintenance.
 Various factors should be considered when selecting the site of a dam including:
Topography
Suitable Foundation
Good Site for reservoir – (i) Large storage capacity (ii) Shape of reservoir basin (iii)
Water tightness of the reservoir (iv) Good hydrological conditions (v) Deep reservoir (vi)
Small submerged area (vii) Low silt inflow (viii) No objectionable minerals
Spillway site
Availability of materials
Accessibility
Healthy surroundings
Minimum overall cost
o Other considerations

EMBANKMENT DAM
Is a massive artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex
semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent
waterproof natural covering for its surface and a dense, waterproof core. This makes such a dam
impervious to surface or seepage erosion. The force of the impoundment creates a downward thrust
upon the mass of the dam, greatly increasing the weight of the dam on its foundation. This added
force effectively seals and makes waterproof the underlying foundation of the dam, at the interface
between the dam and its stream bed. Such a dam is composed of fragmented independent material
particles. The friction and interaction of particles binds the particles together into a stable mass
rather than by the use of a cementing substance.
Types
Embankment dams come in two types: the earth-filled dam (also called an earthen dam or terrain
dam) made of compacted earth, and the rock-filled dam. A cross-section of an embankment dam
shows a shape like a bank, or hill. Most have a central section or core composed of an impermeable
material to stop water from seeping through the dam. The core can be of clay, concrete, or asphalt
concrete. This dam type is a good choice for sites with wide valleys. Since they exert little pressure
on their foundations, they can be built on hard rock or softer soils. For a rock-fill dam, rock-fill is
blasted using explosives to break the rock. Additionally, the rock pieces may need to be crushed
into smaller grades to get the right range of size for use in an embankment dam.
CONSIDERATIONS DURING THE INVESTIGATION & EVALUATION OF BOTH
PROPOSED AND EXISTING DAMS

 The embankment must be safe against excessive overtopping by wave action especially during
pre-inflow design flood conditions.
 The slopes must be stable during all conditions of reservoir operations, including rapid
drawdown, if applicable.
 Seepage flow through the embankment, foundation, and abutments must be controlled so that
no internal erosion (piping) takes place and there is no sloughing in areas where seepage
emerges.
 The embankment must not overstress the foundation.
 Embankment slopes must be acceptably protected against erosion by wave action and from
gullying and scour against surface runoff…..Hydraulics
 The embankment, foundation, abutments and reservoir rim must be stable and must not
develop unacceptable deformations under earth quake conditions.

Earth dams
An earth dam is made of earth (or soil) and resists the forces exerted upon it mainly due to shear
strength of the soil. These are the common dams constructed. They are usually built in wide valleys
having flat slopes at flanks (abutments). Can be homogeneous when the height of the dam is not
great and are of zoned sections, with an impervious zone (called core) in the middle and relatively
pervious zones (called shells or shoulders) enclosing the impervious zone on both sides.

N.B: Read about Advantages and disadvantages of earth dams and concrete dams
DESIGN OF DAMS
A survey is done to present on paper a contour map of the reservoir up to and exceeding the
maximum flood level, and to provide details for the location of the embankment, spillway and
outlet works.
From the contour map, the capacity of the reservoir can be assessed for varying dam heights. A
depth-capacity curve can then be drawn up to provide a quick and easy method for the dam
designer to choose the optimum full supply level. A simplified example of a depth-capacity curve
is shown in Figure below.

Catchment Yield, Y
Is based on the expected annual runoff from a catchment and is used in assessing the feasibility of a
dam and in determining the required height of the embankment. The latter is important to allow the
dam designer to size the dam to suit expected inflow and estimate the area that can be irrigated. It is
estimated as follows:

 Where the average percentage of runoff is not known, use as a guide, a figure of 10 percent of
the mean annual rainfall for the catchment area. If more information is known, take the rainfall
on a return period of 1 in 10 years as a guideline.
 Calculate the annual runoff for the catchment, in mm, based on the percentage determined
above. This is ‘Rr’.
 Measure the catchment area ‘A’ in km2, upstream of the proposed embankment. Ignore any
upstream dams (as these may already be full at the time of a flood event – often at the end of a
rainy season – and thus offer no retardation of any flood moving downstream) and calculate
the area of the whole catchment.
 The annual runoff for the catchment (the catchment yield in an average year), Y, in m3, is
given by:
Y = Rr x A x 1000

 Determining the capacity of the reservoir without knowing the area of reservoir
LTH
This is obtained from Q 
6
Where:
Q is the storage capacity in m3 and should not exceed Y above.
L is the length of the dam wall at full supply level (FSL) in m.
T is the throwback, in m and approximately in a straight line from the wall.
H is the maximum height of the dam, in m, at FSL.

 Determining the capacity of the reservoir knowing the area of reservoir


HA
This is obtained from; Q 
3
Where;
Q is the reservoir capacity in m3
A is the reservoir area in m2
H is the maximum depth of the reservoir in m

For example:

Give the maximum depth if 3.25m and areas if 327,000m2, the reservoir capacity becomes 354,250
m3

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