TAPPING THE FLOW

A Presentation On Dams



Nilanjana Bhattacharya 09CE3003
Nagoji Srichandana 09CE1001
Debadrita Das 09CE3006
Harshita Das 09CE1045
Alla Siri Chandana 09CE3005
Teegala Shivani 09CE1030
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
Introduction

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or
underground streams.


Dadin Kowa Dam, Gombe, Nigeria
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
Tracing Back in Time :






Most early dam building took place in
Mesopotamia , Middle East and Egypt.

Earliest known dam : Jawa Dam in Jordan

Rome : Ancient standard designs like
embankment dams and masonry gravity dams
were used.

Iran : Bridge dams like Band-e Kaisar used to
provide hydropower through water wheels.

Netherlands : Dams used to block rivers to
regulate water level and prevent sea from
entering marsh lands.
Sadd-el-Kafara, Egypt
Remains
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Jawa Dam, Jordan
Remains
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Roman Dam
Cornalvo, Spain
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Harbaqa Dam, Syria
21 m high, 365 m long
Band-e Kaiser, Iran
Remains of the Dam
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Grand Anicut,
Kerala, India
Back
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment

The Physics behind Dams :

A dam basically creates partial or complete
obstruction in the path of water flow.

Results in creation of a reservoir behind
the dam.

Dams are made from a variety of materials
such as rock, steel and wood.



E.g. Gravity dam is the typical choice for a shallow, wide
canyon
E.g. Arch dam is most appropriate for construction in a
high, narrow gorge
Non-overflow dam - Water level reducing during floods,
usually by pumping. Outlet structures are absent.
Overflow dam Block water in a stream. Level of the
water in the reservoir regulated by a series of sluice
gates, spillways, or outlet tunnels
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
Design depends on :
Purpose of the Dam
Configuration of the site
Typical Concrete Dam Arch Dam Plan
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
Steps of Construction :
Diversion /Stopping of water flowing through the site
Excavation, cleaning, and repairing of rock in the foundation
Construction of forms along edges of each section of dam
and rebar placed inside the forms.
Filling the reservoir to evaluate stresses on the dam. Early
performance observed
Erosion protection on the upstream (water) side of the dam
(and sometimes downstream at the bases of outlet
structures) installed.
Pouring or pumping in of concrete
Instruments along the crest (top) of the dam, roads, side-
walks, streetlights, and retaining walls set up.
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
Types
By Size
By Structure/Material
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
By Size
Saddle Dam
Overflow Dam
Check Dam
Wing Dam
Dry Dam
Diversionary Dam
Saddle dam : Auxiliary dam constructed to confine the reservoir created
by a primary dam.

Check dam : Small dam designed to reduce flow velocity and control soil
erosion.

Dry dam : A dam designed to control flooding.

Diversionary dam : A structure designed to divert all or a portion of the
flow of a river from its natural course.

Wing dam : A structure that only partly restricts a waterway, creating a
faster channel that resists the accumulation of sediment.



Overflow dam : Built with a crest to allow the overflow of water. Also
known as overfall dam, spillway dam

Weir : Small overflow dam that are often used within a river channel
to create an impoundment lake for water abstraction





By
structure /material
Masonry and
Concrete
Dams
Arch Dams
Constant
Angle
Constant
Radius
Gravity Dams
Hollow
Solid
Timber Dams Steel Dams
Embankment
Dams
Rock - Fill Earth - Fill
Asphalt
Concrete Core
ARCH DAMS
In the arch dam, stability is obtained by a combination of arch and gravity
action

Firm reliable supports at the abutments are more important for this dam

The safety of an arch dam is dependent on the strength of the side wall
abutments

Arch dams are of two types:

Constant-radius
Constant-angle
Gordon Dam , Tasmania
Single Arch Dam
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Daniel Johnson Dam, Quebec, Canada
Multiple Arch Dam
The constant-radius type employs the same face radius at all elevations of the
dam, which means that as the channel grows narrower towards the bottom of
the dam the central angle subtended by the face of the dam becomes smaller.

Jones Falls Dam, in Canada, is a constant radius dam

In a constant-angle dam, also known as a variable radius dam, this subtended
angle is kept a constant and the variation in distance between the abutments
at various levels are taken care of by varying the radii. Constant-radius dams
are much less common than constant-angle dams.

Parker Dam is a constant-angle arch dam
Parker Dam
Constant-angle Dam
GRAVITY DAM

In a gravity dam, stability is secured by making it of such a size and shape
that it will resist overturning, sliding and crushing at the toe.

For this type of dam, impervious foundations with high bearing strength
are essential.

Gravity Dams are classified into two types based on their structure.

Solid Gravity Dam
Hollow Gravity Dam

Solid Gravity Dams

They are made of solid concrete. They withstand the pressure, or push, of
water by their weight. In cross section, they are like a triangle, broad at the
base and narrow at the crest.


Hollow Gravity Dams

A fixed gravity dam, usually of reinforced concrete, constructed of inclined
slabs or arched sections supported by transverse buttresses.

Gilboa Dam, Catskill Mountains, New York State
Solid Gravity Dam
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Hollow Gravity Dam
EMBANKMENT DAMS

Embankment dams are made from compacted earth.

Rock-fill dams

Rock-fill dams are embankments of compacted free-draining granular earth
with an impervious zone made of masonry concrete, plastic membrane, steel
sheet piles, timber or other material.

Rock-fill dams are resistant to damage from earthquakes.

An example of a rock-fill dam is New Melones Dam in California.

San Luis Dam, Los Banos, California
Embankment Dam
New Melones Dam, California
Rock-Fill Dam
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Earth-fill Dams

They are also called earthen, rolled-earth or simply earth dams.
They are constructed as a simple embankment of well compacted earth.
They can be very cost-effective .

Asphalt-Concrete Core Dams

The majority of asphalt concrete dams are built with rock and/or gravel as
the main fill material.
The flexible properties of the asphalt make such dams especially suited in
earthquake regions.

TIMBER DAMS
Timber dams were widely used in the early part of the industrial
revolution due to ease and speed of construction

They are rarely built in modern times by humans because of relatively
short lifespan and limited height

They must be kept constantly wet in order to maintain their water
retention properties

Two common variations of timber dams were the crib and the plank.





Timber crib dams were erected of heavy timbers or dressed logs in
the manner of a log house and the interior filled with earth or rubble

Timber plank dams were more elegant structures that employed a
variety of construction methods utilizing heavy timbers to support a
water retaining arrangement of planks



Timber Crib Dam
STEEL DAM
A steel dam is a type of dam briefly experimented with in around the
turn of the 19th-20th Century which uses steel plating (at an angle) and
load bearing beams as the structure.

Steel dams were an experiment to determine if a construction
technique could be devised that was cheap.
Red Ridge Dam, Michigan
Steel Dam
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Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
Purposes of Dam Creation


Hydroelectric
Power Plants
Water supply
Stabilize water
flow / irrigation
Land reclamation Water diversion
Navigation
Recreation and aquatic beauty
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
Hydroelectric Power Generation :


19% of the world's electricity,
and over 63% of renewable energy.
Does not involve fuel gas emission
More predictable load factor, compared to
wind energy
Operating labour cost is also usually low
Multi-use hydro dams also control floods,
benefitting neighbouring communities.
Working of a Hydro Dam
Hydroelectric Dam Line Diagram
Long Distance
Power Lines
River
Intake
Reservoir
Penstock
Powerhouse
Generator
Turbine
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Itaipu Dam, Parana River, Brazil Paraguay
Largest Power Plant in the World

Tarbela Dam, Indus Valley, Pakistan
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Hoover Dam , United States
Installed capacity of up to 2,080 MW
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Ffestiniog Power Station
360 MW within 60 seconds of demand
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Introduction
Dam Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
Land Reclamation :


Known as DYKES or LEVEES
Used to prevent ingress of water to an
area that would otherwise be submerged
Levee
Sacramento, USA
Introduction
Dam Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment
Water Supply :


Water abstracted from rivers pent up
behind low dams or WEIRS.
Several urban areas of the world served
St. Johns Lock on River Thames
London, UK
Selection of Site for
Dams
Good topographical
location along the path of
river
Right geological
structure
Availability of
sufficient water
Effect of the
earthquake
Human
displacement
The topographical location should be chosen according to our
requirements.

The rock structure on which the dam will be constructed should be
strong enough to sustain the weight of dam and water stored in it
and should be waterproof.

The flow of water where dam is constructed should be sufficient
enough to fill the reservoir.






The site of the dam, and also its adjoining areas should not be prone
to any earthquakes.

While designing the dam, the engineers should see that there is
minimum human displacement.


Tehri dam, Uttaranchal
Built in a major geological fault zone
in the Himalayan foothills
Hiracud Dam
Orissa , India
Bhakra Nangal Dam
Himachal Pradesh , India
Najargunasagar Dam
Andhra Pradesh , India
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment



Large areas of land submerged due to the
requirement of a reservoir
Habitat defragmentation of surrounding
areas
Disruptive to surrounding
aquatic ecosystems both upstream and
downstream
Methane emission from reservoirs (in power
plants)
Environmental Hazards :
Introduction
Dam Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment



40 80 million people around the world
displaced due to dam construction
Loss of valuable archeological and cultural
sites
Case : Three Gorges Dam, China
Human Social Impact :
Introduction
Dam
Construction
History
Types of
Dams
Purposes of Dam
Creation
Impact
Assessment



Design Errors
Geological instability caused by changes to
water levels during filling or poor surveying
Poor Maintenance
Dam Failure
Causes :
Effect :
Some of the largest man-made disasters in
history have been due to dam failures.
Historically, dams are one of the earliest known
societal structures that developed over time,
with both pros and cons, to be one of the most
prominent civil engineering structures in the
world.