Dam Engineering

Dam Engineering

Contents [hide show]

Purposes of Dams
Types of Dams
Selected Topics
Web Class Assignments
External Resources

A dam is an infrastructure system that consists of several structures with the intent to collect, store and manage water. It’s a human-made barrier that is usually built to hold back water forming a lake or a reservoir. Dam engineering is a professional field that addresses issues related to the design, construction, and maintenance of dams.

Purposes of Dams

Water Supply
Irrigation
Flood control
Hydroelectric energy production
Improvement of water quality
Retention and control of sediments
Contain and store waste (tailings) from mine
Inland navigation
Fish Farming

Types of Dams

Gravity Dams

Concrete Dams
Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Dams

Arch Dams
Buttress Dams
Embankment Dams

Earthfill Dams
Rockfill Dams
Tailings Dams

Selected Topics

Guajataca Dam Spillway Failure Geotechnical Engineering Photo Album: A collection of photographs for educational instruction by Ross W. Boulanger and J. Michael Duncan What is Geotechnical Engineering?National Dam Safety Progam: Expert Video Series by FEMA Slope Inclinometers

Arch Dams

2 pages

Auburn Dam Spaulding Dam

Buttress Dams

Concrete / Rollercrete Dams

2 pages

Close picture of dental concrete surface in dams Relative orientation of the jointing and the applied thrust

Earth / Rockfill Dams

9 pages

Guajataca Dam Spillway Failure Large scale density & gradation tests in compacted rockfills Procedures for determining compacted Rockfill Lift Thickness & compactive effort in large scale test fills Rockfill & Earthfill Material Definition Rockfill Dam Construction History Rockfill Placement & Compaction Guidelines for Mine Structures The Dam of Kremasta The Dam of Stratos The Kastraki Dam

Tailings Dams

Web Class Assignments

St. Francis Dam: Worst Civil Engineering Failure of the 20th Century

CE 179-Geosystems Engineering Design

"There it is, take it." This is the famous line William Mulholland told the city mayor and the public after the grand opening of the LA aqueduct. Mulholland left Los Angeles with a promise to...

Dam: Failures Modes and Their Possible Solutions

CE 179-Geosystems Engineering Design

Though constructed with different materials and built in different sizes, dams share the same purpose of controlling water. This structure is utilized to hold back water which creates a reservoir wit...