The document discusses different types of dam materials and construction. It describes embankment dams like earthfill dams, rockfill dams, and earth fill-rock fill dams which are made of natural materials. It also describes concrete dams including gravity dams, arch dams, buttress dams, and masonry dams. It provides details on the characteristics and properties required for suitable materials for embankment and concrete dams.

1. Group (2) Members :
1. Lutfullah Amarkhail
2. Mahboobullah Afaq
3. Mohammad Nasim Noori
WRM-32
Planning & Design of Hydraulic Structures &
Hydropower
Type of Dams Based on Construction
Materials
20-01-2022 1

2.  General Information about dams
 Benefits of dams
 Purpose Distribution of Dams
 Large Dams: World Wide Registered Statistics (ICOLD 2000)
 Embankment Dams
 Earthfill Dams
 Rockfill dams
 Earth fill-rock fill dams
 Masonry dams
 Concrete Gravity dams
 Arch concrete dams
 Double curvature or dome/cupola dam
 Buttress or Hollow Dam
 Concrete faced rock fill dams (CFRD)
 Timber Dams
 Steel dams
 Large Dams: World Wide Registered Statistics (ICOLD 1998)
 Characteristics of materials for embankment of dams
Contents
2

3. Continue . . .
 Characteristics of materials for concrete dams
 Characteristics of materials for embankment dams
 Advantage & Disadvantage of Embankment Dams
 Merits & Demerits of Concrete Dams
 Afghanistan's Dam Materials
 Examples of rock fill and earth fill dams in Afghanistan
 Photos of the earth fill dams
 Conclusion
 Recommendations
 References
3

4. General Information
What is a dam?
 A dam is a barrier built across a stream, river or estuary to hold and
control the flow of water for such uses as drinking water supplies,
irrigation, flood control and hydropower generation etc.
4

5. Benefits of Dams
 The benefits of dams are usually to the
advantage of humans. They may include:
 Irrigation
 Hydroelectric production
 Flood control
 Recreational opportunities
 Navigation
 Industrial and Domestic water supply
 Aeration of water
 For animals the benefits may include:
 Larger numbers of fish and birds in the reservoir
 Greater habitat diversity
5

6. Purpose Distribution of Dams
48.60%
17.40%
12.70%
10.00%
5.30%
0.60% 5.40%
Irrigation
Hydropower
Water Supply
Flood Control
Recreation
Navigation and
Fishing
Others
Source: International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD)
6

7. Large Dams
World Wide Registered Statistics (ICOLD 2000)
7

8. Embankment Dams
 Embankment dams are mainly made from natural materials. They are suited
to sites with wide valleys and shallow slopes, creating relatively wide and
shallow reservoirs.
 They can be constructed on relatively weaker and not homogenous soils. The
construction of a spillway that will release water from the reservoir when the
water level rises too high is necessary as embankment dams are vulnerable to
erosion caused by overflow of water.
 The two main types of these dams are earthfill embankment dams and rockfill
embankment dams. The materials are usually excavated or quarried from the
surrounding area. This kind of dam, shown in cross-section, appears like a
bank or hill.
8
Embankment Dam (1) Embankment dam (2)

9. Earthfill Dams
 Earthfill dams are made up mostly of compacted earth. Most
embankment dams have a zone in the middle, called the core, made
of low permeability material, a permeable part growing gradually
outward called a filter on the two sides covering the core, and the
shell on the upstream and downstream heels.
 The core is usually made of clayey soils to stop water passing
through the dam.
 This kind of dam built up by compacting successive layers of earth,
using the most impervious materials to form a core and placing more
permeable substances on the upstream and downstream sides.
9
Earth fill dam (1) Earth fill dam (2)

10. Rockfill Dams
 Rockfill dams are mainly made from dumped and compacted rock fill.
Rockfill dams are permeable.
 They have an impermeable core or an impermeable layer on the upstream
face of the dam to prevent seepage through the porous core.
 The impermeable parts are usually made of reinforced concrete, asphaltic
concrete or clay.
 These dam mostly comprise rock boulders. Only boulders cannot prevent
the flow of water and as such some impervious layer is laid on the upstream
face of the dam, which may be in form of cement concrete slab or earth fill
covered by rip rap or any other arrangement. Rockfill provides the stability
whereas impervious layer provides imperviousness to the dam to prevent
flow of water through them.
10
Rogun largest dam Tajikistan Ataturk dam in Turkey

11. Earth fill-rock fill dams
11
Largest dam in Europe ABTC Salal rock fill-Earthfill dam in India
 Rockfill-earthfill dam construction must rely heavily on past experiences for
guidance pertaining to the placement and compaction of large rock fragments in a
compacted fill structure.
 Special rock equipment and procedures are required for rock borrow
development, hauling, placing, and compacting to produce a stable and
acceptable engineered fill structure.
 The conventional earthfill test methods for controlling lift thickness, gradation,
moisture content, and compaction are not applicable to rockfills and must be
modified to a site specific compactive effort specification using test fills and large
vibratory roller compactors.
 Typical rockfill and earthfill materials in stockpiles, waste dumps and fills are
shown on Photos below.

12. Masonry dams
 Egypt had the first masonry dam in the world
 India has largest masonry dam in the world
 New masonry dams, of both gravity and arch designs, are being built in India
and China and in other lands where the cost of labor is low.
 Masonry dams are dams made out of masonry – mainly stone and brick,
sometimes joined with mortar. They are either the gravity or the arch-gravity
type. The largest masonry dam in the World is Nagarjunasagar Dam, Andhra
Pradesh & Telangana, in India.
 As the tallest masonry dam, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is also the pride of India.
The project has catchment area of roughly 215000 sq.km. The project also
boasts of the largest canal system network in India. The mighty dam was
completed in the year 1969 and has a majestic height of 124 meters.
12
Nagarjunasagar dam India Nagarjuna Sagar Gravity Dam India

13. Concrete Gravity Dams
 A Gravity dam is defined as a solid structure, made of concrete constructed
across a river to create a reservoir on its upstream.
 The section of the gravity dam is approximately triangular in shape with its
apex at its top and the maximum width at the bottom. The section is so
proportioned that it resists the external force acting on it by its own weight.
 When this type of structure is most durable and requires very little
maintenance. Nowadays, concrete gravity dams prefer as compared to
other dams.
 They can be constructed with ease on any dam site, where a natural
foundation strong enough to bear the enormous weight of the dam is
available
13
Concrete Gravity dam Schematic of Gravity dam Concrete Gravity dam

14. Arch Concrete Dam
 Arch dam: An arch dam is a type of dam that is curved and commonly built
with concrete.
 The arch dam is a structure that is designed to curve upstream so that the
force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against
the arch, compressing and strengthening the structure as it pushes into its
foundation or abutments.
 An arch dam is most suitable for narrow gorges or canyons with steep walls of
stable rock to support the structure and stresses. Since they are thinner than
any other dam type, they require much less construction material, making them
economical and practical in remote areas.
 The development of arch dams throughout history began with the Romans in
the 1st century BC and after several designs and techniques were developed,
relative uniformity was achieved in the 20th century.
14
Arch Concrete Dam (1) Gordon Arch concrete dam

15. Double curvature or dome/cupola dam
 A particular derivative of the simple arch dam is the cupola or double-
curvature arch dam. The cupola dam introduces complex curvatures in the
vertical as well as the horizontal plane.
 It is the most sophisticated of concrete dams, being essentially a dome or
shell structure, and is extremely economical in concrete.
 Double curvature arch dam, in which curvature is provided not only in
horizontal direction but also in vertical direction. It means the cross section
of double curvature also looks like curve. The whole dam is looks like
shell type so, it is also called as shell arch dam
15
Photos of the Double curvature or dome/cupola dam

16. Buttress or Hollow Dam
 Buttress dams are type of concrete dams in
which the face is held up by a series of
supports. It can take many forms, the face may
be flat or curved.
 A buttress dam or hollow dam is a dam with a
solid, water-tight upstream side that is
supported at intervals on the downstream side
by a series of buttresses or supports. The dam
wall may be straight or curved.
 Most buttress dams are made of reinforced
concrete and are heavy, pushing the dam into
the ground. Water pushes against the dam, but
the buttresses are inflexible and prevent the
dam from falling over.
 As designs have become more sophisticated,
the virtues and weaknesses of buttress dams
have become apparent. The Romans were the
first to use buttresses to increase the stability of
a dam wall. Buttress dams of slab concrete
construction became popular in the United
States in the early 20th Century with the
patented process of Norwegian-American civil
engineer
16
Buttresses Roselend Dam in France
Le Prele Dam: Buttress dam

17. Concrete faced rock fill dams (CFRD)
 A concrete face rockfill dam (CFRD) is a type of
dam widely used in hydropower projects all
around the world. Concrete slabs, supported
and stabilized by the underlying rockfill
materials, are connected with the toe plinth by
the peripheral joints, so as to form an
impermeable system.
 It has substantial advantages over the
earth core rockfill dam, the common alternate
dam type considered. The CFRD is considered
to have high fundamental safety, especially
against strong earthquake shaking, and to be
appropriate for use for very high dams.
 Placing the rockfill embankment in stratified
layers, with the larger rocks in the bottom of
each layer, is desirable practice. Crest
settlements are relatively low, and decrease in
rate rapidly after the first few years.
 Static stability analyses are not used for CFRD
design. It is believed safe and reasonable to
build spillways over CFRDs 17
Type of concrete faced rock fill dams (CFRD)
Shuibuya CRFD in China

18. Timber Dams
18
 Timber dams are slightly permeable gully blocks
that are used both to slow the flow of water
downstream, and to create pools.
 They are (deliberately) leaky, such that they can
trap water from high rainfall events and then
slowly release some or all of it (thereby making an
empty space ready to trap the next rainfall event).
 Slowly the sediment accumulates until it fills the
pool, at which time the dam loses its water
storage function but has raised the bed of the
gully, which can then be recolonised by vegetation
such as cotton grass or Sphagnum moss (possibly
artificially aided, eg through plug planting or
seeding)
 Dams should be no more than five or six planks
high. The planks and posts must be driven into the
peat sufficiently to prevent undercutting of the
peat, and should be keyed into the sides by at
least 30cm to prevent side-cutting (see Figure 1,
below).
Type of Timber dam in India
Type of Timber reservoir dam in India

19. Steel Dams
 A steel dam is a type of dam that is made of steel,
rather than the more common masonry, earthwork,
concrete or timber construction materials
 Steel dams were found uneconomical, the steel prices
raised many times compared to cement prices though
they are equally sound like other dam building
materials.
 Steel dams use a series of footings anchored in the
earth. These footings hold struts which in turn hold up
a series of deck girders which in turn hold steel plates.
 It is these plates that the water comes in contact with.
The girders and plates are angled in the downstream
direction so that part of the weight of the water acts
with a downward force on the struts and footings,
holding them in place.
 If the plates were vertical, as in a steel cofferdam, all
the force would be horizontal and much more massive
struts and anchors would be required to counteract
the horizontal force and bending moment.
19
Steel dam with column and plates
Type of Steel dam with plates

20. Schematics of embankments and concrete dams
Embankment dam
Gravity dam
Arch dam
Buttress dam 20

21. Large Dams: World Wide Registered Statistics (ICOLD 1998)
Group Type ICOLD* Code %
Embankment
Dam
Earth Fill TE 82.9
Rock Fill ER
Concrete Dams
including
Masonry dams
Gravity PG 11.3
Arch VA 4.4
Buttress CB 1.0
Multiple arch MV 0.4
Total Large
Dams
41413
ICOLD= International Commission of Large Dams
ICOLD defines large dams as dams exceeding15 m in height or in case
of dams of 10-15m, satisfying one certain criteria e.g. a storage volume
in excess of 1x106 m3 or a flood discharge capacity of over 2000 m3/s 21

22. Characteristics of materials for embankment dams
 Some of the more important properties of materials that are used for the
construction of embankments or fills include:
 Gradation – well-graded fill materials that consist of two or more soil types,
usually a mixture of granular and fine-grained soils, are most suitable for
embankment construction.
 Unit Weight and Specific Gravity – fill materials can vary in unit weight
over a fairly wide range, depending on the type of material and its moisture
content.
 Moisture-Density Characteristics – the compaction characteristics
(optimum moisture content and maximum dry density) of a soil fill material
are the most important single property that affects embankment
performance.
 Shear Strength – the shear strength characteristics (cohesion and/or
internal friction) are indicative of the ability of a fill material to support loads
that are imposed upon it under given drainage conditions
 Compressibility – compressibility refers to the consolidation or settlement
characteristics of a material under long-term loading conditions.
 Bearing Capacity – bearing capacity refers to the ability of a fill material to
support the loadings imposed upon it over the life of the facility without
undue settlement, volume change, or structural damage. 22

23. Continue. . .
 Permeability – permeability or hydraulic conductivity refers to the ability of a soil (or
an oversize material) to transmit water through the pore structure of the fill material at
a given rate.
 Corrosion Resistance – corrosion is a basic chemical or electro-chemical property
of a material that can induce damage to concrete structures, steel piles, or metal
appurtenances with which the embankment or fill material may come in contact.
23

24. Continue . . .
24

25. Characteristics of materials for concrete dams
Each of the two basic dam materials, concrete and earthfill, possesses
weaknesses that must be accommodated in the design process.
1. Weaknesses of concrete
 Unless reinforced with embedded steel bars, concrete is weak in tensile
strength; that is, it can easily crack or be pulled apart.
 Concrete dams are therefore designed to place minimum tensile stress on
the dam and instead to take advantage of concrete’s great compressive
strength. The chief constituent of concrete, cement, shrinks as it hardens,
and it also releases heat as part of the chemical reactions that occur within
the cement during the process of hydration (or hardening).
 Because of the massive quantities of concrete used in a large dam,
shrinkage caused by cooling can present a serious cracking hazard.
 Various expedients are used to counter the likelihood of cracking, and much
attention is often paid to reducing the amount of heat generated by the
concrete.
 Concrete is usually cast (or poured) in separate, distinct blocks with heights
(or “lifts”) of no more than about 1.5 metres (5 feet). Gaps between these
blocks may be left to facilitate heat dispersal, and these gaps can be filled in
later with cement grout. 25

26. Continue. . .
 Low-heat cements may also be used, and these are specially blended so
that the production of heat by the setting concrete is minimized. In the
interior portions of a massive concrete dam, where impermeability or
strength in resisting climatic and chemical deterioration are not particularly
important attributes, the amount of cement in the concrete mix can be
reduced; in turn, this reduces the heat generated.
 The cement content, and therefore the heat caused by hydrating, can also
be reduced by using aggregate consisting of large stones.
 It is also possible to use fine-grained materials, such as fly ash (pulverized
fuel), as filler, reducing the total cement volume in the concrete. Another
technique is to use air-entraining agents that permit using a lower water-to-
cement ratio in mixing the concrete.
 Techniques used to speed the cooling process include replacing some of
the water in the mix by ice, circulating cool water through pipes placed
within the concrete (this technology was used to great advantage during the
construction of Hoover Dam), and extracting excess water from surfaces by
vacuuming.
26

27. Advantage & Disadvantage of Embankment Dams
 Merits
 It may be equally suitable at sites in wide valleys and relatively steep-sided
gorges.
 Its adaptability to a broad range of foundation conditions, ranging from
competent rock to soft and compressible or relatively pervious soil foundations.
 The use of natural material, minimizing the need to import or transport large
quantities of processed materials or cement to the site.
 Subject to satisfying essential design criteria, the embankment design is
extremely flexible in it ability to accommodate different fill materials, e.g earth-
fills and/or rock-fills if suitably zoned internally
 The construction process is highly mechanized and is effectively continuous.
 Unit cost of earth-fill and rock-fill i.e cost per m3 is lower compared with the
concrete dams.
 Demerits:
 Inherent great susceptibility to damage or destruction by overtopping, with a
consequent need to ensure adequate flood relief and separate spillways.
 Vulnerable to concealed leakage and internal erosion in dam or foundation.
Merits & Demerits of Embankment Dams
27

28. Merits & Demerits of Concrete Dams
 Merits of concrete dams
 Concrete dams are suitable to the site topography of wide or
narrow valleys alike, provided that a competent rock foundation is
available at shallow depth.
 Concrete dams are not sensitive to overtopping even under
extreme flood conditions.
 Can accommodate a crest spillway, if necessary over entire length,
provided that steps are taken to control downstream erosion and
possible undermining of the dam.
 Outlet pipe work, valves, and other ancillary works are readily and
safely housed in chambers or galleries within the dam body.
 The inherent stability to withstand seismic disturbance without
catastrophic collapse is generally high.
28

29. Continue….
 Demerits:
 Concrete dams are relatively demanding with respect to foundation
conditions, requiring sound rock.
 Concrete dams require processed natural material of suitable
quality and quantity for aggregate and the importation to site and
storage of bulk cement and PFA???
 Traditional mass concrete construction is labor intensive and
relatively discontinuous and require certain skills e.g. formwork,
concreting etc.
 Complete unit cost for concrete dams, i.e. cost per m3 is relatively
higher compared with the embankment dams. This is seldom
counter-balanced by the much lower volumes of concrete required
in a dam of given height.
29

30. Afghanistan's Dam Materials
 Afghanistan has (21) reservoir and diversion dams
 Dams had been constructed in Afghanistan with local materials make up
about (71.5%) of the country
 Most of the dams like embankments, earth fill, and rockfill made by local
materials throughout the country
 Most of the big reservoir dam was constructed with local materials like
Kajaki, Salma, Dahla, Sultan, Kamal Khan, and Sardah
 According to Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) experiences, local
material is cheaper and suitable for construction of large, medium and
small dams
 Local materials are available in every River Basins and those materials
are economically inexpensive to build dams.
 Afghanistan need to build more embankment, earth fill, and rockfill dams
due to the abundance of local materials
 All dams stored about (2820) MCM water and regulated water more than
(4150) MCM of water per year
30

31. 31

32. Examples of rock fill and earth fill dams in Afghanistan
 Kajaki is the largest dam in Afghanistan which constructed
with earth fill materials (L= 273 m, H= 94 m, V= 1100 MCM
 Salma is the second largest dam which constructed with
rock fill dam ( L= 512 m, H=107m, V= 650 MCM
32

33. Examples…
 Dahla Dam is the third-largest dam constructed with earth fill
materials ( L= 520 m, H=50 m, V= 470 MCM
 All other largest and medium dams in Afghanistan had
been constructed with earth fill and rockfill materials and
most of the small dams, especially, diversion dams
made with RCC and PCC materials.
33

34. Photos of the earth fill dams
34
Sar-E-Howz Reservoir Dam (Faryab) Sultan Reservoir Dam (Ghazni)
Surkhab Reservoir Dam (Logar) Qargh Reservoir Dam (Kabul)

35. Concrete Dam Photos
35
Khanabad Diversion Dam (Kunduz) Surobi Diversion Dam (Kabul)
Parwan Diversion Dam (Parwan) Naghlo Reservoir Dam (Kabul)

36. Conclusion
 Embankment, Earth fill and Rock fill, dams are economic and constructing dams to
those places where they suitable for them.
 Dams should be built in places that there were available building facilities, taking
into account the dam's foundation and providing that material.
 Concrete dams have their own advantages and disadvantages but most of the
concrete dams have been constructed throughout the world and the benefits of
concrete dams have more than disadvantages.
 The dam construction with local materials are cheaper than concrete materials
based on the local situation
 Because of the shortage of timber and steel materials as well as the economic
conditions that are not made reservoir dams in the recent decades.
 The material must be formed into an essentially homogeneous mass, free from any
potential paths of percolation
 The soil which is using in the construction of dam must not have any harms
 Most of the countries prefer embankment dams and many of dams constructed with
local materials in the world
 Afghanistan has much more local materials of good quality to construct the dams
economically and those are constructed.
 Compacting material in layers using vibrating compactors or rollers — used mainly
to compact materials
36

37. Recommendations
 Dams should be selected in areas that have dam construction facilities considering
the foundation of the dam and providing that material.
 Type of dam should be selected according to the location which dam constructed on
the proper axis on Rivers
 Type of materials for the construction of the dam considered the design based on the
feasibility study, available materials, and economic situation
 The material must be formed into an essentially homogeneous mass, free from any
potential paths of percolation through the zone or along the contacts with the
abutments or concrete structures.
 The soil mass must be sufficiently impervious to preclude excessive water loss
through the dam.
 Concrete aggregates should not have any acidic, alkali and other harmful
substances.
 Afghanistan has much more local materials of good quality to construct the dams
economically
 Afghanistan needs to build more dams along the rivers to manage the water and
develop their economic situation
 The material must not consolidate excessively under the weight of superimposed
embankments.
 The material must not consolidate or soften excessively on saturation by water from
the reservoir.
 Compacting material in layers using vibrating compactors or rollers — used mainly to
compact materials 37

38. References
Fluid Mechanics with Engineering applications
 By: Roberts L. Duagherty, Joseph B. Franzini, E. John Finnemore
 Open Channel Hydraulics
 By: Ven Te Chow
 Hydraulic Structures
 By: Novak, P., Moffat, I.B. and Nalluri
 SEDIMENT TRANSPORT Theory and Practice
 By: Chih Ted Yang
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/masonry-dam
 https://www.geoengineer.org/education/dam-engineering/earth-rockfill-dams
 https://theconstructor.org/water-resources/design-earthfill-dam-components/2301/
 https://www.civilknowledges.com/gravity-dam/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_dam
 https://www.britannica.com/technology/dam-engineering/The-modern-dam#ref592842
 https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/97148/app4.cfm
 https://www.ussdams.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/materials.pdf
 https://www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/87529/Timber_Dams_Factshe
et.pdf
38

39. 39
Any Question ?