O R Lalitha

Ex. Executive Director, NHPC Limited

Vice President, GMR Consulting Services Private Ltd.
 Dams

► A dam is a structure built across the river to create a reservoir on its

upstream side for impounding water.

► The water stored in a reservoir is used for various purposes

● Irrigation

● Municipal and Industrial water supply

● Flood Control

● Hydropower

● Navigation

● Development of fish and wild life

 Classifications For Dams

► Classification based on function served

● Storage dams

● Diversion dams

► Classifications based on Hydraulic Design

● Overflow dams

● Non – overflow dams

► Classification based on materials of construction

● Masonry dams

● Concrete dams

● Earth dams

● Rockfill dams

► Classifications based on Rigidity

● Rigid dams

● Non – rigid dams

 Type of Dams

► Gravity dams

 Conventional Concrete

 Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC)

► Embankment dams

 Earth dams

 Rockfill dams/ CFRDs

 Composite earth and rockfill dam

► Arch dams

► Buttress dams
 Gravity Dams

► A Gravity dam resists the water pressure and other forces due to its
weight (or gravitational forces).

► The gravity dams are usually made of concrete

► Gravity dams mostly require strong rock foundation and are quite
suitable for the gorges with steep slopes.

► It consists of

● Non Overflow Section

● Overflow Section
Grand Coulee Dam, Columbia River, Washington, USA
Chamera-I Dam, Himachal Pradesh
 Roller Compacted Concrete Dams

► RCC Dams differ from the Conventional Concrete dam in the

Method of Construction and Design Mix

► Compaction by Rollers

► Some Cement replaced by Fly ash as cementitious component

► Economical than conventional dams

► Faster construction
Pangue RCC Dam, Chile
 Embankment Dams

► Embankment dams are built of earth or rockfill or both.

► These are also called non-rigid dams.

► The embankment dams are broadly classified as

● Earth dams : It resists the forces exerted upon it mainly due to

shear strength of soil.

● Rockfill dams : Requires foundation stronger than earth dams.

● Composite earth and rockfill dam

CFRD Section
Tehri Dam, Bhagirathi River, Uttrakhand, India
Tehri Dam Upstream View
Tehri Dam Downstream View
 Arch Dams

► Arch dam carries a major part of the water load horizontally to the
abutments by arch action. The remainder of the water load is
transferred to the foundation by cantilever action.

► For the construction of an arch dam, a V-shaped valley with strong

abutments is ideal.

► The sections are comparatively thinner than a gravity dam.

► The arch dam may have single curvature or more curvatures in the
vertical plan.
Idukki Dam, Periyar River, Kerala, India
Idukki Dam Downstream View
 Buttress Dams

► Buttress dam is a gravity dam reinforced by structural supports.

► These are of three types

● Deck type : It consists of a sloping deck supported by buttresses.

● Multiple-arch type : The deck slab is replaced by horizontal

arches supported by buttresses.

● Massive-head type : Instead of deck, the upstream edges of the

buttresses are flared to form massive heads which span the
distance between the buttresses.
Manic 5 Dam, Manicouagan River, Quebec, Canada
 Selection of Site for a Dam
● Topography

● Suitable Foundations

● Spillway Site

● Availability of Materials

● Accessibility

● Silt

● Overall cost
 Topography

► As far as possible, the dam should be located where the river has
narrow gorge which opens out upstream to create a reservoir.

► In case there is a confluence between two rivers in the selected reach,

the dam should be located downstream of the confluence to take
advantage of the flow of both rivers.
 Suitable foundation

► Suitable foundation should exist at the site for the particular type of
dam.

► If suitable foundation is not available but it can be improved by

adopting various measures, the site may be considered for selection.

► For gravity dams, sound rock is essential.

► Embankment dams/Barrage can be constructed on soft

foundation/natural ground.
Tanakpur Barrage
BairaSiul Rock fill Dam
Dhauliganga CFRD
 Spillway Site

► A good site for spillway should exist at or near the dam site.

► The valley should be sufficiently wide to locate the spillway if it is an

integral part of the dam.

► If the spillway is to be located separately, the best site of spillway is that

in which there is a saddle near the dam site which is separated from it
by a hillock.
Salal Dam, J&K
 Availability of Materials

► Suitable type of material which is in sufficient quantity should be

available at or near the dam site.

► Availability of materials at or near the dam site reduces the cost .

 Accessibility

► The site should be easily accessible.

► It should be well connected by a road or a railway line.

► This would facilitate transportation of labour, materials and

machinery.
 Silt

► The dam site should be such that the reservoir would not silt up
quickly.

► The life of the reservoir depends upon the rate of silting.

► If any tributary carries relatively large quantity of silt, the dam should
be constructed upstream of the confluence of that tributary with the
river.
 Overall Cost

► The site should be such that it entails the minimum overall cost of the
project, including subsequent maintenance.

► Generally, different probable alternative sites are selected and rough

estimates are made.
 Selection of Type of Dam
► The salient features of different type dams should be kept in mind
before selecting the type of dam.

► Factors which govern the selection of type of dam

● Topography and valley shape.

● Geology and foundation conditions.

● Availability of construction materials.

● Overall Cost.

● Spillway size and location.

● Earthquake hazards.

● Diversion Problems.

● Environmental Considerations.
 Topography and valley shape

► If the valley is narrow, V-shaped and has sound rock in bed and
abutments, an arch dam is generally the most suitable type.

► If the valley is moderately wide, V-shaped and has sound rock in bed, a
gravity dam or a buttress dam may be quite suitable.

► With a fairly wide valley and alluvial soil or boulders in the bed, an
earth dam or a rockfill dam may be quite suitable.
 Geology and foundation conditions

► Rock Foundation : Competent rock foundation without geologic

defects, have relatively high shear strengths and are resistant to erosion
and percolation, offer few restrictions to the selection of type of dam.

► Gravel and coarse sand foundation : If well compacted, these

foundations are suitable for earthfill or rockfill dams. Because these
foundations are frequently subjected to water percolations at high
rates.

► Fine sand and silt foundations : These foundations are generally

suitable only for earth dams and low concrete dams due to excessive
settlement, piping, seepage erosion at d/s toe and liquefaction failures.

► Clay foundation : Generally, clay foundations are not suitable for the
construction of dam having low bearing capacity. In special cases, low
earth dams can be constructed on such foundations after properly
treating and consolidating the foundations.
 Availability of construction materials

► If a particular material is available in abundance at or near the dam site,

the maximum use of that material should be made to reduce the
cost.

► The materials which are not available near the site should be either
avoided or minimum use shall be made of such materials.

► If suitable aggregates such as crushed stone, gravel and sand are

available, a gravity dam may be suitable.

► If suitable soil is available in large quantity, an earth dam may be

cheaper.
 Overall cost

► The quantity of concrete required for buttress dam and arch dam is
much less than that a gravity dam, but when the cost of formwork and
reinforcement is also considered, a gravity dam may have lower overall
cost.

► The initial cost of an earth dam may be less than that of a gravity dam,
but when the maintenance cost is also considered, a gravity dam may
be much cheaper in the long run.
 Spillway size and location

► If a large spillway is required and there is no separate location to keep

the spillway away from the dam a gravity dam would be more suitable
than an earth dam.

► Earth dams and rockfill dams are more suitable along with a chute
spillway.
 Earthquake hazards

► If the dam site is located in the high seismic zone, the most suitable
type of dam is one which can resist the earthquake shock without much
damage.

► Earth dams and rockfill dams are most suitable for such sites.
 Diversion Problems

► During the construction of the dam, the river has to be diverted so that
construction can be done in dry.

► If the river water cannot be diverted through a suitable tunnel or

channel located in one of the flanks, it has to pass over the partly
constructed dam when the construction is done in the other part.

► In such cases, gravity dam or any other type of concrete dams are more
favourable.
 Environmental Considerations

► The dams and its appurtenant works should not have any adverse effect
on ecology and environment.

► Earth dams are most suitable than concrete dams as they merge easily
with the natural environment in the valley.

► The dam to be selected should facilitate fish passage to help in natural

migration of fishes.
Thank you