Dams

Impound structure
DAMS
 A dam may be
defined as a solid
barrier constructed at
suitable location
across river valley with
a view of impounding
water flowing through
that river.
OBJECTIVES
 Generation of hydropower energy

 Providing water for irrigation facilities
 Fish farming
 Fighting droughts
 Controlling of floods
 Water supply for domestic consumption
 Providing navigational facilities
STRUCTURE OF DAM
Upstream Crest Down stream
Spillway
MWL
Max. level (inside dam)
NWL
Normal
water level
Free board
Sluice way
Gallery
Heel
Toe
TERMINOLOGIES OF DAMS
 Heel: contact with the ground on the upstream

side
 Toe: contact on the downstream side
 Abutment: Sides of the valley on which the

structure of the dam rest
 Galleries: small rooms like structure left within the

dam for checking operations.
 Diversion tunnel: Tunnels are constructed for
diverting water before the construction of dam.
This helps in keeping the river bed dry.
 Spillways: It is the arrangement near the top to

release the excess water of the reservoir to
downstream side
 Sluice way: An opening in the dam near the

ground level, which is used to clear the silt
accumulation in the reservoir side.
 Free board: The space between the
highest level of water in the reservoir and
the top of the structure.
 Dead Storage level: Level of permanent

storage below which the water will not
be withdrawn.
CLASSIFICATION
 BASED ON FUNCTION
 BASED ON HYDRAULIC DESIGN
 BASED ON STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOUR
 BASED ON MATERIAL OF CONSTRUCTION
BASED ON FUNCTION
 STORAGE DAM OR IMPOUNDING DAM

 DETENTION DAM
 DIVERSION DAM
 COFFER DAM
 DEBRIS DAM
STORAGE DAM
 It is constructed to create a reservoir to store water

during periods when there is huge flow in the river (in
excess of demand) for utilisation later during periods of
low flow (demand exceeds flow in the river).
 Water stored in the reservoir is used for irrigation, power
generation, water supply etc. By suitable operation, it
can also serve as a detention dam.
DETENTION DAM
 It is primarily constructed to temporarily detain all or

part of the flood water in a river and to gradually
release the stored water later at controlled rates so
that the entire region on the downstream side of the
dam is protected from possible damage due to floods.
 It may also be used as a storage dam.

DIVERSION DAM
 It is constructed to divert part of or all the water from a

river into a conduit or a channel. For diverting water
from a river into an irrigation canal, mostly a diversion
weir is constructed across the river.
COFFER DAM
 It is a temporary dam
constructed to exclude
water from a specific
area. It is constructed
on the u/s side of the
site where a dam is to
be constructed so that
the site is dry.
DEBRIS DAM
 A debris dam is constructed to retain

debris such as sand, gravel, and drift
wood owing in the river with water.
 The water after passing over a debris

dam is relatively clear.
BASED ON HYDRAULIC
DESIGN
 1. OVERFLOW DAM OR OVERFALL DAM
 2. NON-OVERFLOW DAM
OVERFLOW DAM OR
OVERFALL DAM
 It is constructed with a crest to permit
overflow of surplus water that cannot be
retained in the reservoir.
 Generally dams are not designed as
overflow dams for its entire length.
 Diversion weirs of small height may be
designed to permit overflow over its
entire length.
NON-OVERFLOW DAM
 It is constructed such that water is not

allowed to overflow over its crest.
BASED ON STRUCTURAL
BEHAVIOUR
 GRAVITY DAM
 ARCH DAM
 BUTTRESS DAM
 EMBANKMENT DAM
GRAVITY DAM
 A gravity dam is the one in which the

external forces (water pressure , wave
pressure, slit pressure, etc ) are resisted by
the weight of the dam itself.
 Thus force disturbing the stability of the
dam are resisted by the gravity force of
the mass of the dam.
 A gravity dams may be constructed
either of masonry or of concrete.
GRAVITY DAM
BUTTRESS DAM
 This type of dams are supported uses thin

concrete slab which is supported from
downstream side by butresses.
 These buttresses are in the form of equally
spaced triangular masonry or reinforced
concrete walls or counterforts.
BUTTRESS DAM
BUTTRESS DAM
ARCH DAM
 An arch dam is curved in plan, with its convexity
towards the upstream side.
 They transfers the water pressure and other
forces mainly to the abutments by arch action.
 This type of dam is structurally more efficient
gravity dams and greatly reduces the volume of
concrete required.
 Of course, a prime necessity in constructing an
arch dam is to have sound foundation and
abutments section.
ARCH DAM
Hoover Dam, USA
EMBANKMENT DAM
 These can be defined as dams constructed of natural materials

excavated or obtained from the vicinity of the dam site.
 The materials available are utilized to the best advantage in
relation to their characteristics as an engineered back fill defined
zones within the dam section.
 The main advantage of these dams is that it can be constructed
on weak foundation.
 Impervious core is placed in the middle of the embankment
body.
BASED ON MATERIAL OF
CONSTRUCTION
 RIGID DAMS
 NON-RIGID DAMS
RIGID DAMS
 It is constructed with rigid material such

as stone, masonry, concrete, steel, or
timber. Steel dams (steel plates
supported on inclined struts) and timber
dams (wooden planks supported on a
wooden framework) are constructed
only for small heights (rarely).
NON-RIGID DAMS
 It is constructed with non-rigid material

such as earth, tailings, rock fill etc.
FACTORS AFFECTING SELECTION
OF TYPE OF DAM
 Topography
 Geology and Foundation Conditions
 Availability of materials
 Spillway size and location
 Length and Height of the Dam
 Life of dam
TOPOGRAPHY
 A narrow U-shaped valley, i.e. a narrow stream flowing

between high rocky walls, would suggest a concrete
overflow dam.
 A low plain country, would suggest an earth fill dam
with separate spillways.
 A narrow V-shaped valley indicates the choice of an
Arch dam
GEOLOGICAL AND FOUNDATION
CONDITIONS
 Solid rock foundations such as granite have strong

bearing power and almost every kind of dam can be
built on such foundations.
 Gravel foundations are suitable for earthen and rock fill
dams.
 Silt and fine sand foundations suggest construction of
earth dams or very low gravity dams.
 Clay foundations are likely to cause enormous
settlement of the dam. Constructions of gravity dams or
rock fill dams are not suitable on such foundations.
Earthen dams after special treatments can be built.
AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS
 Availability of materials is another important factor in

selecting the type of dam because it govern the cost
of construction.
 If the cost of transportation of construction material is
excessively high , then an alternate design with locally
available material
 In order to achieve economy in dam construction, the
materials required must be available locally or at short
distances from the construction site.
SPILLWAY SIZE AND LOCATION
 spillway disposes the surplus river discharge.

 The capacity of the spillway will depend on the
magnitude of the floods to be by-passed.
 if the area is such that a large spillway is required, an
overflow concrete gravity dam should be preferred.
 Where small spillway is required and where separate
site for spillway location is available , an earth dam
may be preferred.
LENGTH AND HEIGHT OF DAM
 If length of dam is very long, an earth dam would be a

better choice.
 If the length is small but height is more , gravity dam is

preferred.
LIFE OF DAM
 Concrete or masonry gravity dams have very long life.
 Earth and rock fill dams have intermediate dam
 Timber dams are adopted only for temporary storage.

SELECTION OF SITE
 While an earth dam can be designed for and

constructed on any type of foundation, concrete
dams require relatively stronger foundation.
Foundations can be improved to some extent by
taking suitable steps for foundation treatment.
 Considerable economy will be achieved if the
dam is sited at the narrowest section in the river
valley subject to fulfilment of other requirements.
SELECTION OF SITE
 Spillway is an important component of a dam. In

case of a concrete dam, it may be
accommodated in the main dam section. But, in
case of earth dams, it has to be away from the
main dam and, hence, suitable site should be
available for the spillway too.
 From economic considerations, it would be
advantageous if the bulk of the construction
material is available close to the dam site. In case
of earth dams, the design is so made as to use
locally available material as much as possible.
SELECTION OF SITE
 The area upstream of the dam must be suitable for the

requirements of a reservoir.
 The environmental considerations, including
displacement of local people, require that there is
minimum damage to the local environment, and
minimum hardship to the local people. At times, these
become governing factors in selecting the site of a
dam.
 The selected site should be such that it results in overall
economy in construction, maintenance and operation
of the water resource project.
The Tehri Dam
2/6/2013
Mullaperiyar Dam
2/6/2013
Bhakra Dam
2/6/2013
Hirakud Dam
45
2/6/2013
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam
2/6/2013
The Sardar Sarovar Dam
47
2/6/2013
The Indirasagar Dam
2/6/2013
The Tungabhadra dam
49
2/6/2013
The Bhavanisagar Dam and Reservoir
2/6/2013
The Koyna Hydroelectric Project
2/6/2013
The Idukki Dam
2/6/2013
The Mettur Dam
2/6/2013
The Srisailam Dam
2/6/2013

Dams

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dams

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dams

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Impound structure

 Generation of hydropower energy

 Heel: contact with the ground on the upstream

 Toe: contact on the downstream side

 Abutment: Sides of the valley on which the

 Galleries: small rooms like structure left within the

 Spillways: It is the arrangement near the top to

 Sluice way: An opening in the dam near the

 Dead Storage level: Level of permanent

 STORAGE DAM OR IMPOUNDING DAM

 It is constructed to create a reservoir to store water

 It is primarily constructed to temporarily detain all or

 It may also be used as a storage dam.

 It is constructed to divert part of or all the water from a

 A debris dam is constructed to retain

 The water after passing over a debris

 It is constructed such that water is not

 A gravity dam is the one in which the

 This type of dams are supported uses thin

 These can be defined as dams constructed of natural materials

 It is constructed with rigid material such

 It is constructed with non-rigid material

 A narrow U-shaped valley, i.e. a narrow stream flowing

 Solid rock foundations such as granite have strong

 Availability of materials is another important factor in

 spillway disposes the surplus river discharge.

 If length of dam is very long, an earth dam would be a

 If the length is small but height is more , gravity dam is

 Concrete or masonry gravity dams have very long life.

 Earth and rock fill dams have intermediate dam

 Timber dams are adopted only for temporary storage.

 While an earth dam can be designed for and

 Spillway is an important component of a dam. In

 The area upstream of the dam must be suitable for the

You might also like