Construction and appurtenants

of concrete dam
APPURTENANTS
Concrete Gravity dam
• The quality of dam is a function of the quality of the ingredients:
• Concrete Ingredients:
– Natural gravel and sand are better only if such natural gravel of need
size are not avail we use crushed one
• Quality of cement :
– The cement used be of low heat of hydration
– Under stringent case in need of control of heat, cement of 70
calories/gram for 7day or 80 calories /gram for 28day be used
– Or cement of less heat of hydration will be used
– Use of less cement with pozzolans, pipe cooling, specify maximum
heat of hydration at placement
– Developing an ideal particle size curve which enable to get a mix of
least cement content but with good workability
 Concrete dam
• Admixtures:
– air entraining agents, accelerators, water reducing and set
controlling
– Air entraining is used to increase strength of concrete
during cyclic change of temperature help to work under hot
temp.
– Pozzolans helps to reduce heat of hydration without
affecting latter strength of the concrete
• Water used:
– be free of silt, salty and alkaline, organic chemicals/matters
 Concrete dam
• Placing and curing
– Placing will be done at concrete lift of 1.5 -2m with a layer of
30-50cm at a time and
– it will be done while the bottom is plastic to provide good
bonding by vibration
– Minimum time to be elapsed b/n lifts will be 72hrs
– Curing is used to get good quality concrete and it reduces
freezing
 Concrete gravity dam
• Controlled testing during construction:
– Test for compression , tensile stress, density and dynamic and static
moduli
– After certain placement of concrete for every 300 to 500-600cmumec,
– Seven day compressive strength of fresh concrete and aggregates test are
most important
– Other test 28, 90 and 365 day compressive strength are common tests
 Concrete gravity dam
• Cracking :
– It happens as micro cracks b/c of limited shrinkage
of concrete in a concrete mass
– it will be reduced by: use of less cement content,
pre cooled aggregates
 Concrete gravity dam
• Shrinkage: loss of volume due to heat change in the
concrete
• Creep: is change in volume due to loading /stress which is
reducing with time
• Their effect is difficult to separate but their combined
effect has contraction on a dam which is significant in thin
dams like arch dam but not that important in gravity dam
 Consideration in design of concrete gravity
dam
• Drain hole/ galleries
– Drain holes are developed in the foundation 20-40% of the reservoir depth or
35-75% of the grouting curtain depth
• Dam profile: it will be fixed by stress stability analysis .
– In general the (k=H/B) varies between 0.75 to 0.85.
– Gravity dam have vertical u/s face but some use curved to benefit stability from
arch action
• Contraction and construction joints:
– reduce crack propagation and formation due excessive heat generated and
volume change during hardening
– Contraction( transverse joints) 15-18m spacing
• Other ways to minimize cracking :
– Lower lift of poured concrete (<=2m for big dam)
– Used of low heat generating cement, or low cement content concrete
– Use of pre-cooled aggregates
 Joints
• Cracks
– Occur as a result of stress more
than allowed tensile stress level
– Most often it happens b/c of
restrain against volumetric change
due temperature
– Joints are designed cracks to
control undesired cracks which
could destroy monolithic nature
of dam
– Joints are:
• Contraction (transverse, u/s to d/s
through out the height of the dam
with 15-18m spacing)
• Construction
 Gravity dam foundation treatment
• Excavation
– The top weak part of foundation will be excavated to the bottom firm part
– In case if it ends in fractured bottom shattered or inferior rock extending to that depth then
the weak material will be excavated and refilled by concrete called dental treatment
• Foundation grouting
– To block seepage and followed by consolidation
• Consolidation grouting
– Done to fill pores or cracks and increase strength of foundation:
– It will be done from heel to toe with 3-6m apart 45mm diameter and 10-15m deep wells for
a dam over 30 m height, with cement : water 8:1 to 5:1m in case if there is big crack sand
could be used
• Curtain grouting:
– High pressure grouting to block the seepage . Starts 10-12 m apart holes and going inward,
– It could be ascending or descending, usually ascending; grouting deeper part using packer
at top of grout thickness is used
– Depth will be 30-40 % of the head or under permeable foundation 70-100% of the head
Gravity dam foundation treatment

• Drain well
– Provided d/s of the grout curtain with 3-5m
spacing and one or more lines of 75-100mm dia.
wells
– Depth of 20-40% of reservoir level or 35-75% of
the high pressure curtain depth
 Galleries
• Drainage gallery • Inspection galleries have limited to 1.2

– 5-10m d/s of the u/s face or d/s of the to 2m diameter to avoid stress

water stops concentration

– General thumb rule 1/10 of the water • Drain galleries could be wider

depth at the gallery elevation

– 20-30 m interval b/n horizontal

galleries

– It also serve as an access for

inspection , grouting, control of gates…