Chapter Two:

Design Principles of Dams

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2.1 Concrete Dam
Gravity dam
 Is type of dam constructed of mass concrete or stone masonry or both
which is entirely dependent upon its own mass for stability

 the gravity dam is mainly subjected to the following main forces;

Wind load

Wave load

Water load

Silt load Self weight (w)

Earth quake load

Uplift load
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 2.1.1. Force Acting On Concrete Dams
 As per the degree of relative importance loads on the dam
can be classified as:
primary loads:- Major important loads irrespective of the
dam type;
1) Self Wight load,
2) water load &
3) Uplift/seepage load

Water Load
W

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Uplift force
 Cont’d….
 Secondary loads:- Universally applicable loads, even
though there magnitude is less;
4) Silt load pressure,
5) Wave pressure,
6) Ice pressure,
7) Wind pressure

 Exceptional loads:- loads which has limited

applicability;

8) Tectonic load or Earth quake (or seismic) forces

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Loads & their centroidal location in gravity dams
i) WATER PRESSURE
Case _1 Up stream vertical face

1
PH   w H 2
H
@ 3
from the base of the dam.
2
1
PH '   w H ' 2 @ H ' from the base of the dam.
2 3
Ap b
H w Pv
PH
H
H’ Ap’
3 PH ' Through the centroid of
 wH  wH '
Trapezoidal, with out
 wH  w  H  H ' drainage gallery)
U *B @
2 [ i.e. Z  5H  2 H
] '
3( H  H ' )
U
W   c Ap @ Through the centroid of
x-sectional area Ap
B 1
Pv   wb * H ' @ b from the toe of the dam.
2 3
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 Case – 2 Upstream face inclined
 When the u/s face is partly vertical and partly inclined, the resulting water face
can be resolved into horizontal component and vertical component.
1
the horizontal component Ph   w H 2 at H/3 from the base; and
2

the vertical component is equal to the weight of the water stored in column
ABCDA and act at the center of the area from toe

Similarly, if there is tail water on the d/s side, it will have horizontal and vertical
components.

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 ii) SELF WEIGHT OF DAM

 is given by the product of the cross-section of the dam and the unit
weight of the construction material, i.e. concrete or stone masonry,
and it acts vertically down wards at the centroid of the cross-sectional area, AP,
of the dam profile.
Pm   C AP [kN / m]
 C unitweightofconcrete, assumedas23.5kN / m3
 For a gravity dam the weight of the dam is the main stabilizing force, and hence
the construction material should be as heavy as possible. Thus, in order to get
heavier, the coarse aggregate should have greater specific gravity.

 For convenience, the cross-section of the dam is divided into simple geometrical
shapes, such as rectangles and triangles to compute its weight.

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 iii) Uplift pressure with drainage gallery and tension cracks
 Uplift pressure resulting from head water and tail water exists through
cross sections with in the dam, water seeping at the interface between
the dam and the foundation, and with in the foundation below the base.

 This pressure is present within the cracks, pores, joints, and seams in the
concrete and foundation material (pores, fissures and cracks).

 Uplift pressure is an active force that must be included in the stability and
stress analysis to ensure structural adequacy.

 The pressure acts in all direction, but the pressure acting upwards is
important for the design of the dam, as it reduces the effective weight of
the dam.

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 Con’t…
 Cut-off wall or grout curtain close to the u/s face, of the dam and extending it for
considerable depth in the foundation and drains are formed trough the body of the
dam, to reduce the uplift pressure, this make the intensity of the uplift pressure to be
differ from the full concrete dam.

Drainage gallery
H '

H H

H’ H’ H’
B
H ' B
H '
H H
 1 
  H ' ( H  H ' )
 3 

Fig. Uplift pressure diagram when there is drainage Fig. Uplift pressure diagram when there is no drainage
gallery gallery

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 a) Wave Pressure (hydrodynamic wave load)
 Waves are generated on the reservoir by the blowing winds.
Generally, the wind
pressure is not significant
Pwave for the design of gravity
hw dams and is therefore
neglected.

hw  0.032 UF  0.763  0.271 ( F )3 / 4 if  F  32km

hw  0.032 UF if  F  32km
Where:
hw = height of the wave, from
crest to trough in Km
U = wind velocity in km/hr Dam
F = fetch length, in km

Reservoir surface area

Pwave 2.4 whw @ 0.375hw above the stilled water level.

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 b) Earthquake force

 Earthquake force may move in any direction, but for the sack of design
purpose it has to be resolved in to vertical and horizontal components.

 The values of these horizontal (αh) and vertical (αv) accelerations are
generally expressed as percentage of the acceleration due to gravity i.e. 0.1g
or 0.2g, etc.
Vertical acceleration (αv) The contact b/n the foundation and the dam
will increase, hence the effective Wight
of the dam will also be increase
The contact b/n the foundation and
W the dam Will decrease, which is the
worst case!!

Dam foundation
Down ward vertical movement.
W
Effective weight of the dam W  * v
g
Upward vertical acceleration
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 P=W*Kh
Horizontal acceleration(αh)
Reading assignment,
Hydro-dynamic pressure.
Reference, P.Novak and S.K. Garg
Horizontal Inertia force.

Fe H
4H
3

4H
Fe  0.555 h w H 2 acts @ from the base of the dam.
3
Von – Karman formula

There is also a hydrodynamic formula developed by Zanger, but for average ordinary
purposes, the Von-Karman formula is sufficient.

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c) Sediment load

N.B it is usual practice to assume the value of hs equals

to the height of dead storage.

 s' hs 2 hs above the base of the dam.

Psh  K a @
2 3
Psh
Ka=coeff. of active earth pressure of silt
hs

The submerged unit weight  s ' and the active lateral pressure coefficient Ka
is given by Where  is the angle of internal friction (the
1  sin s
 s '  s  w Ka  angle of shearing resistance of the sediment)
1  sin s
Value of and  = 300.
where
s is the angle of shear resistance. Reading assignment
s is sediment saturated unit weight. -Loading combinations in dams
Reference, Novak

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d) ICE PRESSURE
• Ice load can be introduced in circumstances where ice sheets
form to appreciable thickness and persist for lengthy periods.

• In such situations, ice pressures may generate a considerable

horizontal thrust near crest level.

• An acceptable initial provision for ice load, Pice here considered

necessary is given by Pice = 145 kN/m2 for ice thickness in excess
of 0.6m (USBR, 1976).

• Where ice thicknesses are unlikely to exceed 0.4m and/or will be

subject to little restraint, as on sloping face, ice load may be
neglected. [Contraction and expansion due to change in
temperature cause ice pressure]

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 2.1. 2 Design and analysis of gravity dam
Gravity dam may fail in the following way:
By overturning rotation about the toe;
By sliding
By over stress and material failure.

1- Over turning stability

To make the structure of the dam stable from rotational or overturning failure
the following governing criteria should be satisfied

F0 (factor of safety against over turning) should be greater than 1.5

Fo 
 M  ve
> 1.5……………(safe against overturning)
M  ve

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1.Overturning

B
 2. Sliding/Shear failure

 Occurs when net horizontal force (∑H) > frictional resistance force (μ∑V)
 To avoid sliding (∑H) < (μ∑V) or  * V
1
H
 * V
Fss 
H
Fss=factor of safety against sliding

But for high dams safety for friction and shear

resistance at the joints should be checked

 * V  B * q
Fss 
H  B= width of dam at joints
 q= average shear strength of the joints and varies
between 1400-4000KN/m^2
 μ varies from 0.65 to 0.75
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2.Sliding

B
 Hydraulic structure I
3. Compression/ Crushing

The failure of the dam material may cause dam fail.

The dam material might crushed due to high impact
If the compressive stress introduced in the dam is greater
than its allowable stress ,the dam may fail.
A positive normal stress is called compression, or
compressive stress.
 If the compressive stress introduced in the dam is greater than its allowable stress ,the
dam may fail.

Case I Full Reservoir


Normal pool level
V  6e 
Pmax  1
B  B 
Reservoir full H Resultant
force
condition V

Pmin 
 V  6e 
1
B/2 B/2 B  B 

Where;
Pmin + compression Pmax e = Eccentricity of the resultant force
from the center of the base

+ compr. V  Total vertical force

Pmin -
B = Base width
Tension
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Hydraulic structure I
Case II Reservoir Empty
 Hydraulic structure I
4.Tension
It is not needed because it cause cracking in the body of the dam.

For very high gravity dams, certain amount of tension may be

permitted under severest loading condition(Occur only for short time)

 Maximum allowable tensile stress500kN/m2

  Because of the gravity dam materials can not sustain tensile stresses, it should be
designed for certain amount or no tension should develops anywhere in the body of
the dam.

The maximum permissible tensile stress for high concrete gravity dams, under worst
loadings, may be taken as 500 KN/m2 (5kg/cm2).

Pmin 
V 1  6e   0
B  B 
NB! A tension crack by itself does not fail the structure, but it leads to failure of the
structure by producing excessive compressive stresses.
 In order to ensure that no tension is developed anywhere, the amount of Pmin should
at most equal to zero. e  B
6

The maximum value of xeccentricity, that can be permitted on either side of the center is
_

equal to B/6 ------- “ the resultant must lie within the middle third”.
The resultant distance from the toe of the dam ( ) is given by

x
M Allowable compressive stress of
V concrete=3000 KN/m^2
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Principal stress

P
P’
B

Pvmin c A

Pvmax

 B   pv sec2   p' tan 2 

 For  to be maximum, p’ should be
zero.

c A

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 Hydraulic structure I

With tailwater

P’ should be Zero if there is no tailwater

If the hydrodynamic Force is considered due to earthquake the

Normal stress intensity/Principal stress is given as:
Toe

Heel
 Hydraulic structure I

Shear stress at the bottom

With tailwater

P’ should be Zero if there is no tailwater

If the hydrodynamic Force is considered due to earthquake the Shear

stress is given as:

Toe

Heel
Example For the dam depicted on the figure, examine the
stability of its section at the base. Calculate the
involved stresses, safety factors. Take unit weight
of water and concrete as 10KN/m3 and 24KN/m3
,respectively. Consider empty & full reservoir
cases. Take a unit length of dam. Assume uplift
pressure acts over 60% of the area of section.
Take allowable stresses for Compressive stress =
3000KN/m2 and Tensile stress = 450KN/m2
Take earthquake forces may be taken as
equivalent to 0.1g for horizontal forces and 0.05g
for vertical forces.
Solution
Step -1 Identification of the problemm (i.e., Full
reservoir case or empty reservoir case).

In this case we start with the empty reservoir case

When the reservoir is empty various forces are worked out in the
figure above
 Horizontal earthquake forces acting towards u/s are considered
 Stability is examined for two sub-cases:
1)when vertical earth quake forces additive to weight of dam
2) when vertical earth quake forces subtracts from weight of dam
Step -2 Partition of the Dam profile in
several regular shapes :
 Triangle and Rectangle
Step -3 Calculate Forces (Horizontal and vertical forces)
 Step -4 : Calculate the moment

90/2=45m

60/3=20 80/3=26.67m
 7/2+56=59.5

2*56/3=37.33

6/3+7+56=65
Step -4 Calculate the moment about the toe

Step -5 Calculate the Sum of Horizontal Forces, Vertical Forces and Moment
 Step -5 Calculate eccentricity

Step -5 Calculate stresses and check safety

against allowable stresses

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 Case II-When the reservoir is full

The forces or loads to be considered when reservoir is full:

1) Weight of dam
2) Hydrostatic pressure/water pressure
3) Uplift forces (U1 and U2)
4) Earthquake loads Horizontal (0.1W1,0.1W2,0.1W3)
Vertical forces (0.05∑W)
Hydrodynamic force
5) Wave load
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 Weight Force

7/2+56=59.5

2*56/3=37.33

6/3+7+56=65
 Forces on the Faces of the dam
Rectangle

Traingle

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 Uplift Pressure: Rectangle and triangle

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 Reference S.K. Garg

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