Group Members:: Aditya Chauhan Maninder Pal Singh Abhishek Sonkhla Abhishek Sharma Mohit Rana

DAMS
GROUP MEMBERS:
 ADITYA CHAUHAN
 MANINDER PAL
SINGH
 ABHISHEK
SONKHLA
DAMS
 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
BASIC TERMINOLOGY
• 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.
STRUCTURE OF DAM
Upstream Crest Down stream
Spillway
MWL
(inside dam)
Max. level
NWL
Normal
water level
Free board
Sluice way
Gallery
Heel
Toe
CLASSIFICATION OF DAMS
On the basis of:
a. SIZE of the DAM

b. HEIGHT of DAM
c. STATICAL DESIGN of DAM BODY
ACCORDING to the SIZE of the DAM
Large (Big) dam
Small dam
• International Commision on Large Dams, (ICOLD) assumes a dam

as big when its height is bigger than 15m.
• If the height of the dam is between 10m and 15m and matches the
following criteria, then ICOLD accepts the dam as big:
• If the crest length is bigger than 500m

• If the reservoir capacity is larger than 1 million m3
• If the flood discharge is more than 2000 m3/s
• If there are some difficulties in the construction of foundation
ACCORDING to HEIGHT of DAM
• High Dam or Large Dam

• If the height of the dam is bigger than 100m
• Medium Dam
• If the height of the dam is between 50m and 100m
• Low Dam or Small Dam

• If the height of the dam is lower than 50m
ACCORDING to the STATICAL DESIGN of
DAM BODY
Gravity
Arch Dams
Dams
Butress Embankment
Dams Dams
Composite
Dams
TYPES OF DAMS
 Gravity Dams:
Reservoir  These dams are
Force heavy and massive
wall-like structures of
concrete in which the
whole weight acts
vertically downwards
As the entire load is transmitted on the small area of

foundation, such dams are constructed where rocks are
competent and stable.
 Bhakra Dam is the
highest Concrete Gravity
dam in Asia and Second
Highest in the world.
 Bhakra Dam is across

river Sutlej in Himachal
Pradesh
 The construction of this

project was started in the
year 1948 and was
completed in 1963 .
 It is 740 ft. high above the deepest foundation as straight concrete dam being more than
three times the height of Qutab Minar.
 Length at top 518.16 m (1700 feet); Width at base 190.5 m (625 feet), and at the top is
9.14 m (30 feet)
 Bhakra Dam is the highest Concrete Gravity dam in Asia and Second Highest in the
world.
Buttress Dam:
• Buttress Dam – Is a
gravity dam reinforced by
structural supports
• Buttress - a support that
transmits a force from a
roof or wall to another
supporting structure
This type of structure can be considered even if the

foundation rocks are little weaker
• Buttress or hollow gravity dams were originally built to retain
water for irrigation or mining in areas of scarce or expensive
resources but cheap labour.
• A buttress dam is a good choice in wide valleys where solid

rock is rare
Arch Dams:
 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.
It generally has steel rods or pre-stressed steel cable reinforcements and
therefore requires less concrete than a gravity or arch-gravity dam. However,
the bedrock in the foundation and abutments must be sound to withstand the
pressure of the water.
EMBANKMENT DAMS :
(Rock Fill or Earth Fill Dams)
 They are trapezoidal in
shape.
 Earthen dams are
relatively smaller in
height and broad at
the base.
 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.
COMPOSITE DAMS:
• Composite dams are combinations of one or more dam

types. Most often a large section of a dam will be either
an embankment or gravity dam, with the section
responsible for power generation being a buttress or
arch.
Gravity & Rock Fill
ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS OF DAMS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS of
CONSTRUCTION PHASE of DAMS
 River pollution
 Erosion
 Loss of aesthetic view
 Air pollution
 Noise pollution
 Dust
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS of
RESERVOIRS
 Loss of land
 Habitat Destruction :
 The area that is covered by the reservoir is destroyed, killing
whatever habitat existed there beforehand.
 Loss of archeological and histrorical places
 Loss of mineral deposits
 Loss of special geological formations
 Aesthetic view reduction
 Sedimentation
 Change in river flow regime and flood effects
 Reservoir induced seismicity
 Change in climate and plant species
EFFECTS of DAMS to WATER QUALITY
 Change in temperature
 Turbidity
 Dissolved gases in the water
 Water discharged from the spillway contains 110-120%
saturated nitrogen. This amount may be destructive for fish
life.
 Eutrophication
 It means increase in vegetation. If moss and other plants
exist in water, quality of that water gets worse.
HOOVER DAM
 Concrete dam in Grand
Canyon, on the border between
Arizona and Nevada.
 Named after Herbert Hoover,
who played an important role
in its construction.
 Built by Six-Companies, Inc.
 Operated by Bureau of
Reclamation of the US Dept.
of the Interior.
 Lake Mead is the reservoir
constructed behind the dam.
Hoover Dam
 Frank Crow was the chief
engineer of the project
 Hydroelectric facility
 Construction started in 1931
 Dam was completed in 1935
two years ahead of schedule
and under budget!
Dam Data:
• Arch Gravity Dam
• 726 feet tall
• 1244 ft. long
• 45 ft. wide at the top
• 660 ft. wide at the
bottom
• 3.25 million cubic
metres of Concrete
Dam Data:
 Weight: 6.6 million tons
 Total storage capacity : 30.5 million acre ft
 Power generating capacity: 2.8 million kW
 Has 17 generators
 Part of a system that provides water to over
25 million people in Southwest United
States
 However, it cost the lives of 112 people
Bird’s Eye View
Schematic of the Dam
DESIGN OF HOOVER DAM
Hoover dam is basically an Arch-Gravity
dam.
Arch-Gravity dam incorporates 2 basic engineering
principles
1. Shear weight of concrete forces the structure on to the ground.

2. Arch shape deflects the pressure of water building up
behind it into the strong canyon walls.
The Need for a Dam
• Turbulent Colorado River periodically flood
vast areas of California and Arizona
• The flood destroyed canals built for irrigation
and drinkable water
• Herbert Hoover proposed construction of the
high dam to solve the problems
Before the Dam: Black Canyon
CONSTRUCTION OF HOOVER DAM
Construction began in April 1931
STAGE 1:
To create an area of dry river bed upon which the
dam would be built.
What was being done???

 Excavation of 4 tunnels on either sides of the
canyon.
 Tunnels acted as diversion channels for the
Colorado river.
DIVERSION CHANNELS
 Construction of 2 temporary coffer dams.
 These would prevent the river from taking its
natural course.
Thus dry river bed was created for the construction of
the dam.
Stage 1 was completed by November 14, 1932.
Diverting the River
STAGE 2:
Construction of dam.
 3.25 million cubic meters of concrete was

required to construct the dam.
 To meet this huge demand, 2 concrete

manufacturing plants were built on the site.
An actual view of concrete plant at the construction site.
METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION
 Hoover Dam was made entirely of concrete.
 The dam could not be built in a single mould of
concrete.
 If it had been, the concrete in the dam would still
be setting today.
So the dam was built in a series of interlocking

concrete blocks.
WHY INTERLOCKING BLOCKS??
Actual view of the interlocking blocks at the construction
site
Construction at Night, July 1934
Curing Of Concrete:
Cement
Aggregate
Water
Reaction
This reaction produces intense heat and slows down
the curing or setting process.
To accelerate the setting process, integrated system of pipes

buried in the concrete was designed.
 By pumping cold water through the pipes,
the concrete mix was cooled and cured
faster
USE OF OVERHEAD CABLES & PULLEYS
• Due to desert sun, concrete was drying out

before being put into use.
• To overcome this, Frank Crow designed an
elaborate network of overhead pulleys and
cables.
• This increased the speed of delivery of concrete
to the construction site.
Due to this, a record of 8000 cubic meters of concrete was

poured in just 1 day.
METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION OF BLOCKS
POWER GENERATION
 There are 4 intake towers.

 2 on the Arizona side and 2 on the Nevada side.
How Power is Generated
 Water passes through
screens on the intake
towers and flows through
the penstocks (30 ft in
Diameter) to the
generators falling an
average of 420 feet.
(head)
 Water reaches a speed of
85 mph by the time it
reaches the generators.
Power plant Facts
• The power plant at

the base of the
Dam has 17
Commercial
generating units.
• Capable of
generating 2080
Megawatts.
Nevada Wing with 8 Generators
Transmission Lines
Lines Deliver power to NV, AZ,LA and CA.
IMPACTS OF HOOVER DAM
 Revolutionized the dam building throughout the
world.
 This first super dam was like oasis in the desert.
 Transformed the desert of American southwest into
fertile productive farmland.
 The massive surge in electrical power transformed
the American southwest.
 Las Vegas and Pheonix became the fastest growing
cities in the USA.
LAKE MEAD
 Largest man made reservoir at that time.
 Largest reservoir in USA.
 500 feet deep, 110 miles long.
 Covers 247 mi 2
 Took 6 years to fill completely.
 Popular recreation spot for boating, fishing
and water sports.
 Enhances tourism.
LAKE MEAD
Resources
 5200 workers on the construction with 3
shifts/day
 5 millions barrel of cement used in the
concrete
 9,000 tons of structured steel components
 44,000 tons of large steel pipe and fittings
THANK YOU

Group Members:: Aditya Chauhan Maninder Pal Singh Abhishek Sonkhla Abhishek Sharma Mohit Rana

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DAMS

• Toe: contact on the downstream side

On the basis of:

a. SIZE of the DAM

Large (Big) dam

• International Commision on Large Dams, (ICOLD) assumes a dam

• If the crest length is bigger than 500m

• High Dam or Large Dam

• Low Dam or Small Dam

As the entire load is transmitted on the small area of

 Bhakra Dam is across

 The construction of this

This type of structure can be considered even if the

• A buttress dam is a good choice in wide valleys where solid

 This shape helps to

 Arch dams are built across

• Composite dams are combinations of one or more dam

1. Shear weight of concrete forces the structure on to the ground.

What was being done???

 3.25 million cubic meters of concrete was

 To meet this huge demand, 2 concrete

So the dam was built in a series of interlocking

To accelerate the setting process, integrated system of pipes

• Due to desert sun, concrete was drying out

Due to this, a record of 8000 cubic meters of concrete was

 There are 4 intake towers.

• The power plant at

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