Dam

This article is about structures for water impoundment. For other uses, see Dam (disambiguation).

Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam in Black Canyon of the Colorado River. Lake Mead in the background is impounded by the dam.

Glen Canyon Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees (also known as dikes) are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect water or for storage of water which can be evenly distributed between locations.

History

History

The sizable Roman Harbaqa Dam in Syria is 21 m (69 ft) high and 365 m (1,198 ft) long.

The Roman dam at Cornalvo in Spain has been in use for almost two millennia.

Grand Anicut dam on river Kaveri in Tamil Nadu, South India (19th century on 1st-2nd century foundation)

The word dam can be traced back to Middle English,^[1] and before that, from Middle Dutch, as seen in the names of many old cities.^[2] Early dam building took place in Mesopotamia and the Middle East. Dams were used to control the water level, for Mesopotamia's weather affected the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and could be quite unpredictable.
The earliest known dam is the Jawa Dam in Jordan, 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of the capital Amman. This gravity dam featured a 4.5 m (15 ft) high and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) wide stone wall, supported by a 50 m (160 ft) wide earth rampart. The structure is dated to 3000 BCThe Ancient Egyptian Sadd-el-Kafara Dam at Wadi Al-Garawi, located about 25 km (16 mi) south of Cairo, was 102 m (335 ft) long at its base and 87 m (285 ft) wide. The structure was built around 2800^[5] or 2600 B.C.^[6] as a diversion dam for flood control, but was destroyed by heavy rain during construction or shortly afterwards. By the mid-late third century BC, an intricate water-management system within Dholavira in modern day India, was built. The system included 16 reservoirs, dams and various channels for collecting water and storing it.^[7]

Types of dams

Types of dams

Dams can be formed by human agency, natural causes, or even by the intervention of wildlife such as beavers. Man-made dams are typically classified according to their size (height), intended purpose or structure.

By structure

Based on structure and material used, dams are classified as timber dams, arch-gravity dams, embankment dams or masonry dams, with several subtypes.

Arch dams

Gordon Dam, Tasmania is an arch dam.

Main article: Arch dam

In the arch dam, stability is obtained by a combination of arch and gravity action. If the upstream face is vertical the entire weight of the dam must be carried to the foundation by gravity, while the distribution of the normal hydrostatic pressure between vertical cantilever and arch action will depend upon the stiffness of the dam in a vertical and horizontal direction. When the upstream face is sloped the distribution is more complicated. The normal component of the weight of the arch ring may be taken by the arch action, while the normal hydrostatic pressure will be distributed as described above. For this type of dam, firm reliable supports at the abutments (either buttress or canyon side wall) are more important. The most desirable place for an arch dam is a narrow canyon with steep side walls composed of sound rock.^[27] The safety of an arch dam is dependent on the strength of the side wall abutments, hence not only should the arch be well seated on the side walls but also the character of the rock should be carefully inspected.

Daniel-Johnson Dam, Quebec, is a multiple-arch buttress dam.

Two types of single-arch dams are in use, namely the constant-angle and the constant-radius dam. The constant-radius type employs the same face radius at all elevations of the dam, which means that as the channel grows narrower towards the bottom of the dam the central angle subtended by the face of the dam becomes smaller. Jones Falls Dam, in Canada, is a constant radius dam. In a constant-angle dam, also known as a variable radius dam, this subtended angle is kept a constant and the variation in distance between the abutments at various levels are taken care of by varying the radii. Constant-radius dams are much less common than constant-angle dams. Parker Dam is a constant-angle arch dam.

Dam failure

Dam failure

Main article: Dam failure

The reservoir emptying through the failed Teton Dam.

International special sign for works and installations containing dangerous forces

Dam failures are generally catastrophic if the structure is breached or significantly damaged. Routine deformation monitoring and monitoring of seepage from drains in and around larger dams is useful to anticipate any problems and permit remedial action to be taken before structural failure occurs. Most dams incorporate mechanisms to permit the reservoir to be lowered or even drained in the event of such problems. Another solution can be rock grouting - pressure pumping portland cement slurry into weak fractured rock.
During an armed conflict, a dam is to be considered as an "installation containing dangerous forces" due to the massive impact of a possible destruction on the civilian population and the environment. As such, it is protected by the rules of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and shall not be made the object of attack if that may cause severe losses among the civilian population. To facilitate the identification, a protective sign consisting of three bright orange circles placed on the same axis is defined by the rules of IHL.

Construction elements

Construction elements

Power generation plant

Hydraulic turbine and electrical generator.

Main article: Hydroelectricity

As of 2005, hydroelectric power, mostly from dams, supplies some 19% of the world's electricity, and over 63% of renewable energy.^[32] Much of this is generated by large dams, although China uses small scale hydro generation on a wide scale and is responsible for about 50% of world use of this type of power.^[32]
Most hydroelectric power comes from the potential energy of dammed water driving a water turbine and generator; to boost the power generation capabilities of a dam, the water may be run through a large pipe called a penstock before the turbine. A variant on this simple model uses pumped storage hydroelectricity to produce electricity to match periods of high and low demand, by moving water between reservoirs at different elevations. At times of low electrical demand, excess generation capacity is used to pump water into the higher reservoir. When there is higher demand, water is released back into the lower reservoir through a turbine. (For example see Dinorwic Power Station.)

Hydroelectric dam in cross section.

Spillways

Spillway on Llyn Brianne dam, Wales soon after first fill.

Main article: Spillway

A spillway is a section of a dam designed to pass water from the upstream side of a dam to the downstream side. Many spillways have floodgates designed to control the flow through the spillway. Types of spillway include: A service spillway or primary spillway passes normal flow. An auxiliary spillway releases flow in excess of the capacity of the service spillway. An emergency spillway is designed for extreme conditions, such as a serious malfunction of the service spillway. A fuse plug spillway is a low embankment designed to be over topped and washed away in the event of a large flood. Fusegate elements are independent free-standing block set side by side on the spillway which work without any remote control. They allow to increase the normal pool of the dam without compromising the security of the dam because they are designed to be gradually evacuated for exceptional events. They work as fixed weir most of the time allowing overspilling for the common floods.

Barrages

Barrages

The Prakasham barrage is an example of a barrage.

Main article: Barrage dams

A barrage dam is a special kind of dam which consists of a line of large gates that can be opened or closed to control the amount of water passing the dam. The gates are set between flanking piers which are responsible for supporting the water load. They are often used to control and stabilize water flow for irrigation systems.
Barrages that are built at the mouth of rivers or lagoons to prevent tidal incursions or utilize the tidal flow for tidal power are known as tidal barrages.^[28]

Embankment dams

Main article: Embankment dam

Embankment dams are made from compacted earth, and have two main types, rock-fill and earth-fill dams. Embankment dams rely on their weight to hold back the force of water, like the gravity dams made from concrete.

Rock-fill dams

Rock-fill dams are embankments of compacted free-draining granular earth with an impervious zone. The earth utilized often contains a large percentage of large particles hence the term rock-fill. The impervious zone may be on the upstream face and made of masonry, concrete, plastic membrane, steel sheet piles, timber or other material. The impervious zone may also be within the embankment in which case it is referred to as a core. In the instances where clay is utilized as the impervious material the dam is referred to as a composite dam. To prevent internal erosion of clay into the rock fill due to seepage forces, the core is separated using a filter. Filters are specifically graded soil designed to prevent the migration of fine grain soil particles. When suitable material is at hand, transportation is minimized leading to cost savings during construction. Rock-fill dams are resistant to damage from earthquakes. However, inadequate quality control during construction can lead to poor compaction and sand in the embankment which can lead to liquefaction of the rock-fill during an earthquake. Liquefaction potential can be reduced by keeping susceptible material from being saturated, and by providing adequate compaction during construction. An example of a rock-fill dam is New Melones Dam in California.

Gravity dam

Gravity dam

Gravity dam - Dworshak Dam

The gravity dam is a massive structure made of masonry or concrete with earth and rock fill. Gravity dams use their own weight to resist opposing forces and as such require a hard bedrock foundation.^[4] They rely on their great weight and size for stability.^[7] The gravity dam is the most commonly built dam in the world. One of the reasons for this is the simplicity of design. Unfortunately it requires great quantities of material to construct.^[8]

Arch dam

Glen Canyon Dam

Mratinje Dam in Montenegro

An arch dam is a thin, curved concrete or masonry dam structure, with the concave side of the curve downstream. Therefore, the force of the water against the canyon wall squeezes the arch, compressing and strengthening its structure and pushing it into the ground.^[9] An arch dam is a good dam type for a narrow gorge in a mountainous area with steep walls of rock.^[10] It generally has steel rods or prestressed 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.^[11]
Arch dams with more than one contiguous arch or plane are described as multiple arch dams. A double arch dam has two contiguous arches. A dam that is curved in both its horizontal and vertical planes may be called a dome dam.^[11]