Abstract:
A dam is a hydraulic structure, constructed across a water channel for water
pondage, which is used for various purposes, such as flood control, irrigation,
navigation, sedimentation control and hydro-power generation.Like other components
deformation and sseepage analyses are integral part of dam design, requiring key
attention from engineers, scientists and researchers considering its safety perspectives.
If seepage and deformations are not properly controlled, the dam structure fails
causing significant human and financial losses. Therefore, this study investigates the
seepage and deformation behaviour of a dam using SEEP/W and SIGMA/W finite
element models. The data of Diamer Basha dam is used for this purpose. This dam is
a roller compacted concrete gravity dam, lying on rock foundation. The data for
material properties and geometry of dam for analysis was obtained from consultants.
Boundary conditions were chosen very carefully. The data regarding the loads applied
in the model including upstream hydro-static pressure, downstream hydro-static
pressure, uplift pressure and self-weight were also collected from the available
research reports.The seepage is examined using steady state and transient conditions
for the reservoir levels at normal operational level (minimum, maximum) and safety
check flood level. Various scenarios of grout curtain and reservoir levels have been
investigated for deformation analysis. The study is quite useful as the dam under
study is tall one and it provides several useful recommendations to the industry
practitioners.
