Dams

INTRODUCTION

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
 For navigational facilities
 Other additional utilization is to develop fisheries

TYPES OF DAMS

GRAVITY DAMS:
These dams are heavy and massive wall-like structures of concrete in which the whole weight
acts vertically downwards

Bhakra Dam is the highest Concrete Gravity dam in Asia and Second Highest in the world.

The construction of this project was started in the year 1948 and was completed in 1963 .

In a gravity dam, the force that holds the dam in place against the push from the water is Earth’s
gravity pulling down on the weight of the dam itself. 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.
The dam will not overturn provided that the moment around the turning point, caused by the
water pressure, is smaller than the moment caused by the weight of the dam .

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ARCH DAM :-

Arch dams are built across narrow, deep river gorges, but now in recent years they have been
considered even for little wider valleys. An arch dam is a type of dam that is curved and
commonly built with concrete. The arch dam is a structure that is designed to curve upstream so
that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch,
compressing and strengthening the structure as it pushes into its foundation or abutments. An
arch dam is most suitable for narrow gorges or canyons with steep walls of stable rock to support
thestructureandstress.

EARTHDAMS:

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by

the emplacement 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.
 They are mainly built with clay, sand and gravel, hence they are also known as Earth fill
dam or Rock fill dam
 Earth dams are constructed where the foundation or the underlying material or rocks are
weak to support the masonry dam or where the suitable competent rocks are at greater
depth.
 Embankment dams are made from compacted earth, and have two main types, rock-fill
and earth-fill dams.
 Embankment dams rely on their weight to hold back the force of water, like the gravity
dams made from concrete.

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TYPES OF EMBANKMENT DAMS

 Simple Embankment (homogeneous throughout)

 Impervious Foundation
 Impervious Core (Zoned embankments)

DISADVANTAGE:

Water can easily pass through it and less durable than other type dams.
The height of this dam is less

SELECTION OF SITES

1. Topographically:-

 Place must be suitable.

 Narrow gorge or small valley with enough catchment areas.

2. Technically:-

 Should be strong, impermeable, and stable.

 Strong rocks leads to better designs.
 impermeable sites ensures better storage

3. Constructionally: -

 Should be not far off from deposits of materials which would be useful for construction
 Natural materials of cons. Like earth, sand, gravel,
and rock should be easily feasible or the cost will increase.

4. Economically: -

 Benefits arising should be realistic and justified in terms

of land irrigated or power generated or floods averted or water stored.

5. Environmentally: –

 The site of the dam should not involve ecological disorder (in the life of plants, animals
and man).
 The fishes in the streams are also affected, so things should also be considered.

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  The dam and the associated reservoir should become an acceptable element of the
ecological set up of the area.

GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERS FOR INVESTIGATION

1. Geology Of The Area

The area should reveal the following:-

 Main topographic features

 Natural drainage patterns
 General characters and structures of rock formations such as their stratification , folding
and faulting.

2. Geology Of The Site

 Lithology

* This is the most imp feature that must be known thoroughly at the site all around and
below the valley.

* Surface and subsurface studies using the conventional and latest techniques of
geological and geophysical investigations are carried out.
This is of great significance as it reveals what type of rocks make up that area: igneous,
sedimentary or metamorphic.

Structures

This involves detailed mapping of planes of weakness like bedding planes, cleavage,
joints, folding, fault zones because each one of these features modifies the
engineering properties of the rocks to a great extent.
Shear zones must be treated with caution. In some cases these may develop to such an
extent that it has to be treated by backfilling , grouting

 Dip And Strike

* The strength of the sound, unfractured stratified rocks is always greater when the
stresses are acting normal to the bedding planes than if applied in other directions.

* As such, gently upstream dipping layers offer best resistance forces in a dam.

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FAULTS

* Faulted rocks are generally shattered along the rupture of the surfaces

* Different types of rocks can be present on either side of a fault plane. Hence it requires
a great caution in building the dam because if these faults get overlooked then the
stability of the dam gets endangered.

* Dams founded on the beds traversed by fault zones and on major fault zones are more
liable to shocks during an earthquake.

* It is, therefore, always desirable to avoid risk by rejecting sites traversed by faults, fault
zones and shear zones for dam foundation.

FOLDS
* The most notable effects of folds on rocks are: shattering and jointing along the axial
planes and stressing of the limbs.

* Dams aligned along axial regions of folds would be resting on most unsound rocks in
terms of strength.

* In synclinal bends dams placed on the upstream limbs would run the risk of leakage
from beneath the dam.

JOINTS

* No sites are free from jointing.

* However, the detailed mapping of all the aspects and characters of jointing as
developing in the rocks of the proposed sites has to be taken up with great caution.

* Occurrence of micro joints should be dealt with great care. Because if it is left
untreated, could become a source of many risk

FORCES ACTING ON A DAM

1. Weight Of The Dam

 In gravity dams and embankment dam the weight of the dam is the major force acting for
holding the water back on the upstream side.
 The forces arising due to the weight of the dam are compressive in nature.

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2. Water Pressure
 The dam is required to resist horizontal forces acting due to weight of the water
impounded on it.

 This water pressure can be calculated by hydrostatic pressure distribution.

3. Uplift Pressure

 It is almost impossible to make a dam impervious structure.

 Many minute cracks and pores are left in the dam and the foundation body.
 Water is likely to find its way into these minute openings through seepage and
gradually fill them up.
 It exerts an upward pressure on the body of the dam which is, in no case,
unimportant.

4. Earthquake Forces

 The disturbance in dams is highly dangerous because they store huge volumes of water.
 Dams built in the areas known to be seismically active must be designed to withstand
additional forces that are likely to arise in a future shock.

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 5. Some Of The Additional Forces Are:-

 Forces developing due to vertical acceleration of the ground both in upward and
downward direction
 Forces arising due to the horizontal acceleration when the reservoir behind the dam is
empty.
 Horizontal forces arising when the reservoir is full.

SPILLWAY

A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into
a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as
overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or
even destroy the dam. Except during flood periods, water does not normally flow over a
spillway. In contrast, an intake is a structure used to release water on a regular basis for water
supply, hydroelectricity generation, etc. Floodgates and fuse plugs may be designed into
spillways to regulate water flow and dam height. Other uses of the term "spillway" include
bypasses of dams or outlets of a channels used during high-water, and outlet channels carved
through natural dams such as moraines.

IMPACT

ASSESSMENT

Impact is assessed in several ways: the benefits to human society arising from the dam
(agriculture, water, damage prevention and power), harm or benefits to nature and wildlife
(especially fish and rare species), impact on the geology of an area - whether the change to water
flow and levels will increase or decrease stability, and the disruption to human lives (relocation,
loss of archeological or cultural matters underwater).

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Reservoirs held behind dams affect many ecological aspects of a river. Rivers topography and
dynamics depend on a wide range of flows whilst rivers below dams often experience long
periods of very stable flow conditions or saw tooth flow patterns caused by releases followed by
no releases. Water releases from a reservoir including that exiting a turbine usually contains very
little suspended sediment, and this in turn can lead to scouring of river beds and loss of
riverbanks. A large dam can cause the loss of entire ecospheres, including endangered and
undiscovered species in the area, and the replacement of the original environment by a new
inland lake.

Large reservoirs formed behind dams have been indicated in the contribution of seismic activity,
due to changes in water load and/or the height of the water table.

DAM
FAILURE

A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or slows down the flow, often
creating a reservoir, lake or impoundments. Most dams have a section called spillway or weir
over which, or through which, water flows, either intermittently or continuously, and some have
hydroelectric power generation systems installed.

Dams are considered "installations contain dangerous forces" under International Humanitarian
Law due to the massive impact of a possible destruction on the civilian population and the
environment. Dam failures are comparatively rare, but can cause immense damage and loss of
life when they occur.

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MAIN CAUSES OF DAM FAILURE

Common causes of dam failure include:

 Sub-standard construction materials/techniques

 Spillway design error
 Geological instability caused by changes to water levels during filling or poor surveying
 Sliding of a mountain into the reservoir
 Poor maintenance, especially of outlet pipes
 Extreme inflow
 Human, computer or design error
 Internal erosion, especially in earthen dams.

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 CONCLUSION

India is a agricultural country so the basic need for the agriculture is water and due to the reason
drought in some area it is necessary built up the dams and the selection of dams in rural areas are
the earthen dams due to the funding. Dams such as gravity or arch require high initial cost and
the construction process requires big time.

Due to some of the carelessness while the construction it hampers the life and strength so it is
necessary to study the basic concept of the dams.

Utilization of dam water also promotes the production of the hydroelectricity.

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 REFERANCE

 www.wikipedia.com
 www.enotes.com
 www.damsafety.nsw.gov.au

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