DAMS

CAROLIN ARUL
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
CENTRE FOR WATER RESOURCES
ANNA UNIVERSITY
Definition
 A dam may be defined as an obstruction or
a barrier built across a stream or a river.
 At the back of this barrier, water gets
collected, forming a pool of water. The side
on which water gets collected is called the
upstream side, and the other side of the
barrier is called the downstream side. The
lake of water which is formed upstream is
often called a reservoir.
History of Dam Construction
 First man made dam is at least 3000 -
5000 years old
 Beaver dam - 1.2 m long and weigh up
to 25 to 30 kg (beaver's meadow)
 Kallanai – the pride of Tamil Nadu
Beaver in action
Modern Dams
 First modern dam was constructed on the Nile river, in
Egypt at Aswan (completed in 1902).
120' high dam made of stone.
 The next famous dam of the world was the Roosevelt dam
(completed in 1911) on the Salt River of Arizona (U.S.A.).
Solid Masonry Gravity Dam - 280' high
 Hoover Dam (726' high) - Colorado River – largest dam
 Bhakra Dam (740' high), Sutlej River, Himachal Pradesh,
highest Concrete Gravity dam in Asia and second highest
in the world (completed in 1963).
 Nurek Dam - Vakhsh river Tajikistan – 984’ - highest in the
world.
Dam - Definition
 An impounding structure or "dam" is a man-made
structure.
 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.
 These purposes may be Irrigation, Hydro-power,
Water-supply, Flood management, providing water for
Wildlife habitat, Navigation, Fishing and Recreation,
Reduce sediment and/or debris in runoff waters or
retard flooding, to prevent damage to downstream
facilities, fire protection etc.
 Single-purpose and Multi-purpose Dam.
Parts of a Dam
1. Crest: The top of the dam structure. These may in some cases
be used for providing a roadway or walkway over the dam.
2. Parapet walls: Low protective walls on either side of the
roadway or walkway on the crest.
3. Heel: Portion of structure in contact with ground or river-bed at
upstream side.
4. Toe: Portion of structure in contact with ground or river-bed at
downstream side.
5. Spillway: It is the arrangement made (kind of passage) near
the top of structure for the passage of surplus/ excessive water
from the reservoir.
6. Abutments: The valley slopes on either side of the dam wall
to which the left & right end of dam are fixed to.
Parts of a Dam
7. Gallery: Level or gently sloping tunnel like passage (small
room like space) at transverse or longitudinal direction within the
dam with drain on floor for seepage water. These are generally
provided for having space for drilling grout holes and drainage
holes. These may also be used to accommodate the
instrumentation for studying the performance of dam.
8. Free board: The space between the highest level of water in
the reservoir and the top of the structure.
9. Dead Storage level: Level of permanent storage below which
the water will not be withdrawn.
10. Diversion Tunnel: Tunnel constructed to divert or change
the direction of water to bypass the dam construction site. The
hydraulic structures are built while the river flows through the
diversion tunnel.
Parts of a Dam
Dams


Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Andra Pradesh Bhakra dam, Himachal Pradesh

Idukki Dam, Kerala

Kinds of Dams
 Earth Dams
Foundation is not strong enough to bear the weight of a concrete
dam
Earth is more easily available as a building material
Oroville Dam - earth-fill dam on the Feather River, California,
One of the highest embankment dams in the world. 770 feet high
Banasura Sagar dam – Wayanad in Kerala – Second largest in
Asia

 Rock-fill dams
Loose rocks and boulders piled in the river bed.
A slab of reinforced concrete is often laid across the upstream
face of a rock-fill dam to make it water-tight.
Kinds of Dams
 Solid masonry gravity dams
 Natural foundation is strong enough to bear the weight of the dam
 Hollow masonry gravity dams (35 to 40%)
 Timber dams (30 to 40 years life)
 Rubber dams
 Steel dams (used as temporary coffer dams)
 Arch dams (RCC)
Best suited at sites where the dam must be extremely high and
narrow
Mauvoisin dam on the Drause River in Switzerland (780' high)
Idduki dam, Kerala State, across the Periyar river, double
curvature arch dam, height of about 560'.
Problems in Dam Construction
 Fish Problem - late summer season, fish move from
downstream to upstream to lay their eggs.
Anadromous fish (eg) Salmon, Hilsa
 Submergence Problem / land acquisition
 Failure Problem
Bad workmanship
Faulty design
Occurrence of unanticipated floods
Excessive and unanticipated earthquakes (Koyna Dam,
Maharashtra, India - 6.6 magnitude was at the verge of
failure in 1967)
 Bomb Problem
 Classifications of Dams
 Classification according to the material used for dam construction

 Classification according to use

 Storage Dams
Store water during the periods of surplus water supply, to be used later
during the periods of deficient supply. (navigation, recreation, water supply,
fish, electricity, etc).
 Diversion Dams
 Small dams used to raise the river water level, in order to feed an off-taking canal
and or some other conveyance systems. They are very useful as irrigation
development works.
 Detention Dams
 They detain food-waters temporarily so as to retard flood runoff and thus
minimize the bad effects of sudden flood.
 Detention dams are sometimes constructed to trap the sediment (debris dams)
Classifications of Dams
 Classification According to Hydraulic Designs

 Overflow Dams
Designed to pass the surplus water over their crest.
Often called Spillways.
 Non-overflow Dams
Not designed to be overtopped.
Gives us wider choice of materials including earth-fill and rock-fill dams
Composite single structure – over flow and non-over flow
 Rigid Dams
 Constructed of rigid materials like, masonry, concrete, steel, timber,
etc.
 Non-rigid Dams
Constructed of earth and/or rock-fill.
 Factors Governing the Selection of a
Particular Type of Dam
 “which type will be the most suitable and
most economical?”
 Topography
narrow U-shaped - concrete overflow dam
narrow V-shaped valley indicates the choice of
an arch dam
low, rolling plain country - an earth fill dam with a
separate spillway
○ availability of a 'Spillway Site' is very important
while selecting a particular kind of dam
 Factors Governing the Selection of a
Particular Type of Dam
 Geology and Foundation Conditions
Solid Rock Foundations – fractures must be
grouted and sealed
 Gravel Foundations
Low concrete gravity dams up to a height of
15 m
Suitable cut-offs must be provided to avoid
danger of undermining.
 Factors Governing the Selection of a
Particular Type of Dam
 Silt and Fine Sand Foundations
Earth dams or very low gravity dams
Seepage and settlement problems
 Clay Foundations
Earthen dams after special treatment
 Availability of Materials
 Spillway Size and Location
 Earthquake Zone
 Height of the Dam
 Other factors such as cost of construction and
maintenance, life of dam, aesthetics etc.
Selection of Dam Site
 Suitable foundations
must be available
 Bed level at dam
site should be
higher than that of
the river basin
 Reduce the height of
the dam
 Facilitate the drainage
problem
Construction of Gravity Dam
Earthen dams
 Earthen dams can be easily constructed on earth
foundations.
 An earth dam is made of earth (or soil) built up by
compacting successive layers of earth, using the most
impervious materials to form a core and placing more
permeable substances on the upstream and
downstream sides.
 Earth dam resists the forces exerted upon it mainly
due to shear strength of the soil.
 The earth dams are usually built in wide valleys.
 Local available soil is the main construction material.
 High skill not required.
Earthen dams
Types of Earthen Dams
 The earthen dam can be of the following
three types
Homogeneous Embankment type
Zoned Embankment type
Diaphragm type
Homogeneous Embankment Type

 Large dams are seldom designed as

homogeneous embankments.
 A purely homogeneous section poses
the problem of seepage, and huge
sections are required to make it safe
against piping, stability, etc.
 A homogeneous section is generally
added with an internal drainage system
such as a horizontal drainage filter.
Homogeneous Embankment Type
Homogeneous Embankment Type
Zoned Embankment Type
 The central core checks the seepage. Silts or slity clays
may be used as the satisfactory central core materials.

 The transition zone prevents piping through cracks

which may develop in the core. Transition filters are
provided whenever there is an abrupt change of
permeability from one zone to another.

 The outer zone gives stability to the central impervious

fill and also distribute the load over large area of
foundations. Freely draining materials, such as coarse
sands and gravels, are used in the outer shell.
Zoned Embankment Type
Diaphragm Type Embankment
 Diaphragm type embankments have a thin
impervious core, which is surrounded by
earth or rock fill.
 Diaphragm is made of impervious soils,
concrete, steel, timber etc. It acts as a
water barrier to prevent seepage through
the dam.
 (if the thickness of the diaphragm at any elevation
is less than 10 m or less than the height of the
embankment – diaphragm otherwise zoned)
Diaphragm Type Embankment
 Pore water Pressure and its
Significance
 The shearing strength of a soil gets reduced
due to the presence of pore pressure. The pore
water pressure gets developed in the body of
the earthen dam when seepage takes place
through the body of the dam, thus reducing the
shear strength of the soil.
 The pore pressure temporarily reduces the
shear strength of the soil during compaction,
but gets recovered after the compaction is
over, as the pore water is ultimately squeezed
out.
Causes of Failure of Earthen Dams
 Earth dams are less rigid and hence
more susceptible to failure
Hydraulic failures
Seepage failures
Structural failures
Piping through Dam Foundation
Piping through the Body of the Dam
Sliding due to Weak Foundation
Slide due to Sudden Drawdown
Slide due to Full Reservoir Condition
Rock fill Dam
 A rock fill dam is built of rock fragments and boulders of large
size.
 An impervious membrane is placed on the rock fill on the
upstream side to reduce the seepage through the dam.
 The membrane is usually made of cement concrete or asphaltic
concrete.
 A dry rubble cushion is placed between the rock fill and the
membrane for the distribution of water load and for providing
a support to the membrane.
 The side slopes of rock fill are usually kept equal to the angle
of repose of rock, which is usually taken as 1.4:1 (or 1.3:1).
 Rock fill dams require foundation stronger than those for earth
dams.
Rock fill Dam
Arch Dam
 An arch dam is a structure curving upstream, where
the water thrust is transferred either directly to the
valley sides or indirectly through concrete abutments.
 Theoretically, the ideal constant angle arch in a V-
shaped valley has a central angle of 133° of curvature.
 These type of dams are concrete or masonry dams
which are curved or convex upstream in plan.
 This shape helps to transmit the major part of the water
load to the abutments.
 Arch dams are built across narrow, deep river gorges,
but now in recent years they have been considered
even for little wider valleys.
ARCH DAMS
 The solid wall will structurally behave : partly as a
cantilever retaining wall standing up from its base,
and partly, the load will be transferred to the two
ends of the arch span by horizontal arch action.
 The greater is the wall curvature (in plan), the
greater will be the load that will be transferred to
the sides and hence greater will be the economy
in the dam thickness.
 Dam thickness can be further decreased by
making a curved section. Such a dam is known as
double curvature arch dam or a shell-arch dam.
Buttress Dam
 A buttress dam is a modification or improvisation of gravity
compression members dam.
 Buttress dams are of three types : (i) Deck type, (ii) Multiple-arch
type, and (iii) Massive-head type.
 Buttresses are triangular concrete walls which transmit the water
pressure from the deck slab to the foundation.
 Buttresses are typically spaced across the dam site every 6 to 30
metre, depending upon the size and design of the dam.
 Buttress dams are sometimes called hollow dams because the
buttresses do not form a solid wall stretching across a river
valley. The deck is usually a reinforced concrete slab supported
between the buttresses, which are usually equally spaced.
 The foundation requirements of a buttress are usually less
stringent than those in a gravity dam.
BUTTRESS DAMS
 Buttress dams, are an improvement
innovation over the hollow concrete
gravity dams.
BUTTRESS DAMS

Meer Alam dam in India, built in about 1800

A.D., is the earliest recorded example
of such a type of dam.
Forces Acting on a Dam
 A gravity dam has been defined as a
structure which is designed in such a
way that its own weight resists the
external forces.
Typical Cross-section of a Concrete
Gravity Dam
Forces Acting on a Dam
1.Weight of dam
2.Water Pressure
3.Uplift
4.Wave pressure
5.Earthquake forces
6.Silt Pressure
7.Ice Pressure
Forces Acting on a Dam

The resultant force due to this external water acts at H/3 from base.
Forces Acting on a Dam

The vertical component (Pv) is equal to the weight of the water stored
in column ABCDA and acts at the c.g. of the area. Similarly if there is
tail water on the downstream side, it will have horizontal and vertical
components.
Uplift Pressure
 Water seeping through the pores, cracks and fissures of
the foundation material
 Water seeping through dam body
 Water seeping through the dam body and then to the
bottom through the joints between the body of the dam and
its foundation
 It is assumed that the uplift pressures are not affected by
the earthquake forces.
 Calculation of pressure is based on U.S.B.R.
 The uplift pressures can be controlled by constructing cut-
off walls under the upstream face, by constructing drainage
channels between the darn and its foundation, and by
pressure grouting the foundation.
Uplift Pressure Diagram (no drainage
gallery)
Uplift Pressure Diagram (no drainage
gallery)
Earthquake Pressure
 Earthquake is equivalent to imparting an
acceleration to the foundations of the
dam in the direction in which the wave is
travelling at the moment.
 Earthquake wave may move in any
direction, and for design purposes, it has
to be resolved into vertical and
horizontal components.
Earthquake Pressure
 Vertical acceleration - the net effective
weight of the dam

W is the total weight of the dam

kv is the fraction of gravity
 Vertical acceleration reduces the unit weight
of the dam material and that of water to (1 -
kv) times their original unit weights.
Earthquake Pressure
 Horizontal acceleration
(i) Hydrodynamic pressure (Von-Karman)
Earthquake Pressure
(ii) Horizontal inertia force

where kh is the fraction of gravity

 Acts at the center of gravity of the mass,
regardless of the shape of the cross-
section
Silt Pressure
Wave Pressure
Total force due to wave action (P w)
Ice Pressure
 This force acts linearly along the length
of the dam and at the reservoir level.
 The magnitude of this force varies from
250 to 1500 kN/m2 depending upon
temperature variations.
 On an average, a value of 500 kN/m2
may be allowed under ordinary
conditions.
Weight of the Dam
 Weight of the dam body and its foundation is the major
resisting force.
 Reservoir full case
(a) Normal Load Combinations
○ Water pressure up to normal pool level, normal uplift, silt pressure
and ice pressure. This class of loading is taken when ice force is
serious.
○ Water pressure up to normal pool level, normal uplift, earthquake
forces, and silt pressure.
○ Water pressure up to maximum pool level, normal uplift, and silt
pressure.
(b) Extreme Load Combinations
○ Water pressure due to maximum pool level, extreme uplift
pressure without any reduction due to drainage and silt pressure.
Weight of the Dam
 Case II - Reservoir empty case
Empty reservoir without earthquake forces
to be computed for determining bending
diagrams, etc. for reinforcement design, for
grouting studies or other purposes.
Empty reservoir with a horizontal
earthquake force produced towards the
upstream has to be checked for non-
development of tension at toe.
Modes of Failure
 By overturning (or rotation) about the toe
The ratio of the resisting moments about toe (anti
clockwise) to the over turning moments about toe
(clock-wise) is called the factor of safety against
overturning.
Its value, generally varies between 2 to 3.
 By crushing
A dam may fail by the failure of its materials, i.e. the
compressive stresses produced may exceed the
allowable stresses, and the dam material may get
crushed.
(early failure)
Modes of Failure
 By development of tension
A tension crack by itself does not fail the
structure, but it leads to the failure of the
structure by producing excessive
compressive stress.
Maximum value of eccentricity that can be
permitted on either side of the centre is
equal to B/6, which leads to the famous
statement : the resultant must lie within the
middle third.
Modes of Failure
 By shear failure called sliding
Sliding will occur when the net horizontal
force above any plane in the dam or at the
base of the dam exceeds the frictional
resistance developed at that level.

Stepped
SPILLWAYS
 Spillway is a structure constructed at a
dam site, for effectively disposing of the
surplus water from upstream to
downstream.
 Spillway is essentially a safety valve for a
dam.
 A spillway can be located either within the
body of the dam, or at one end of it or
entirely away from it, independently
(saddle).
SPILLWAYS
SPILLWAYS
 A secondary safety arrangement generally
provided on large dams especially on
earth and rockfill dams, is known as
Subsidiary Spillway or Emergency
Spillway or Breaching Section.
 Controlled and Uncontrolled Spillways
The flow of water over a spillway may be
controlled by installing gates over the
spillway crest.
SPILLWAYS
 Straight Drop
Spillway or overfall
Spillway
 Constructed on
small bunds or on
thin arch dams
SPILLWAYS
 Ogee Spillway or Overflow Spillway

To control the
development of
negative pressures,
aeration pipes 25 mm
dia at say 3m centre to
centre may be
provided along
spillway face. These
pipes can be
connected to a bigger
sized header.

Ogee Spillway of Amaravathi dam

SPILLWAYS
 Chute Spillway or the Trough Spillway
 Simplest type of a spillway which can be easily
provided independently and at low costs.
 A chute spillway is sometimes known as a
waste weir.
 If it is constructed in continuation to the dam at
one end, it may be called a flank weir.
 If it is constructed in a natural saddle in a bank
of the river separated from the main dam by a
high ridge, it is called a saddle weir.
SPILLWAYS
SPILLWAYS
ENERGY DISSIPATERS
 Energy Dissipation below Overflow
Spillways
 The kinetic energy of super-critical flow
can be dissipated in two ways:
By converting the super-critical flow into
sub-critical flow by hydraulic jump.
By directing the flow of water into air and
then making it fall away from the toe of the
structure.
ENERGY DISSIPATERS
ENERGY DISSIPATERS
THANK
YOU