One of the newest materials in the construction of water structures in recent years is the rubber material that is widely used in the construction of dams or short dams. In rubber dams, the remarkable flexibility of materials against external factors, compatible with the environment, simplicity of design, short time of building, safety and stability of these structures, such dams than rigid, simplicity and ease of use and ultimately reducing operating costs caused has been used in large and small water projects. Due to the limited information in the field of rubber dams, this article provides the possibility of rubber dams introducing, how to design, building and maintaining.

1. RUBBER DAM
GUIDE
SANKARANARAYANAN K M.
ASST. PROFESSOR
DEPT. OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
PRESENTED BY
ZEETH K V
ROLL NO: 7
S1 M.TECH SE
DEPT. OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

2. Contents
 What is rubber dam
 Selection of a Rubber dam site
 Construction of Rubber dam
 Operation mechanism(Automatic control mechanism)
 Types of damages and repairing techniques
 Analysis
 New types of rubber dams
 Rubber Dam Applications
 Future plan of work in India
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3. Why Rubber Dam ?
 Better control of flood and draught.
 Increase of per capita water storage capacity and
water use efficiency
 Easy installation
 Lower investment cost ( about 40%) than the
conventional gated regulating structure
 Ground re-charging
 Other purposes: irrigation, water supply, power
generation, tidal barrier ,environmental
improvement.
India’s per capita water storage
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4. What is rubber dam?
 Basically rubber dams are fabric reinforced rubber bags, which can be inflated
or deflated by water or air. The fabric gives the necessary strength where as
rubber acts as a shock absorber and water proofing material.
 It function as a reliable crest-adjustable water gate.
 Construction of Rubber dam
1. Concrete base slab & side walls
2. Anchorage
3. Dam bag /Membrane
4. Water or air filling & draining system/Control system
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5. Selection of a suitable dam site:
In the site selection following conditions
should be considered:
Straight section
Smooth Flow
Riverbed and Bank slopes are stable.
Geological
Hydrologic
Meteorological
hydraulic conditions
It is better to carry out the construction of civil
works related to the rubber dam in a dry season
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6. Rubber dam section:
Rubber dam
Anchoring
Concrete structure
This figure shows how rubber body is secured to a concrete foundation by
its anchor line.
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7. Construction of Rubber dam:
Concrete Base Slab:
 Concrete slab is provided as a base for rubber construction.
 The side walls of the dam should be vertical or inclined
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8. 8Anchorage:
 Dams are secured to the concrete foundations using a single or dual core clamping
plates
 Plates are clamped to the membrane using anchor bolts

9. 9
Use single anchor in Air-filled rubber
dam to avoid the contact between base
slab and filled air
Use double anchors in Water-filled
rubber dam to handle the additional
pressure and weight of filled water

10. Dam bag /Membrane:
 The rubber dam body is a membrane of rubberized fabric, which is composed of layers of
synthetic rubber and layers of synthetic fiber reinforcement that are firmly bonded
together by vulcanization.
 Physical-mechanical properties of the dam membrane are given by
1. tensile strength
2. elasticity and flexibility
3. ozone-resistance
4. abrasion-resistance
5. weather-resistance
6. specific life strength
7. high-temperature and low-temperature resistance
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11. Operation mechanisms:
 Inflation:
An air blower or water pump and
ancillary devices such as valves are used
to inflate the air or water filled dam
respectively.
 Deflation:
There are three types of deflation
systems: bucket, float, and electrical.
 Safety systems:
An air blow-off tank(air-filled dam)
and siphon pipe(water-filled dam)
can be used as a safety device in case
principal deflation mechanism fails
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12. Inflation Procedure
 Inspect the upstream side, ensuring that neither people nor property will be
adversely affected by raising the upstream water level.
 Remove debris (especially sharp objects) adjacent to the rubber dam
 Close the air exhaust valve.
 Open the air supply valve
 Start the air compressor.
 Monitor the air pressure gauge while inflating the dam
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13. 13Deflation Procedure
 Inspect the downstream side, ensuring that neither people nor property will
be adversely affected by raising the downstream water level
 Make sure the downstream side of the dam foundation is free of sharp
objects and other obstructions that may damage the dam body during
deflation
 Open the drainpipe to drain the condensed water
 Open the air exhaust valve to deflate the dam.

14. 14Inflation/Deflation time
 The inner volume of the dam body
 The external pressure acting on the dam
body
 The capacity of the air compressor or water
pump.

15. Automatic control mechanism:
 A pressure sensor is used to
monitor the inner pressure of the
dam body.
 The inlet of air/water to the dam
body is cut off automatically
when inner pressure reaches the
preset level.
 A laser height measuring device
can be installed inside the dam
body.
 A sensor monitors water level.
The exhaust valve is opened
automatically as deflation level is
reached.
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16. Inflation and deflation of a rubber Dam:
Bridgestone Inflatable /Deflated Dam on Susquehanna River at Sunbury,
Pennsylvania
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17. 17Demo video

18. Characteristics:
Water filled rubber dam:
Advantages
 The weight of the water-filled dam prevents vibrations.
 The entire height of the dam rises or lowers evenly.
Weaknesses
 More expensive construction: a wider concrete sill, more expensive water
pumps, more expensive pipelines due to a bigger diameter of pipes.
 Manipulation takes more time (filling up and emptying the weir).
 Freezing of the weir (the possibility of water freezing in the system).
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19. Air filled rubber dam:
Advantages
 Faster lowering and raising of the weir.
 Cheaper construction.
 Lower power consumption.
Weaknesses
 Vibrations of the weir.
 Uneven emptying of the weir (sinking of the Centre of the weir).
 Vandalism (puncturing, cutting).
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20. Reducing vibration and abrasion:
 Fin structure
 Semi-circle shape
 Double-line anchoring
 Hose Spacers
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Measures to reduce vibration

21. 21Types of damages and repairing technique
 Remove the object that causes the puncture
from the dam body
 Insert sealing plug into the puncture hole.
 Test for air leakage by spreading soapy
water over the repaired area. The repair is
successful if no bubbles appear
 Cut off the end of the sealing plug.
Small Puncture (Bullet hole)

22. 22
Surface Damage
 Cut off the outer surface of the damaged area.
 Fill self-vulcanizing rubber into the damaged area after cleaning and
drying.
 Smooth outer surface by removing protruding rubber materials.

23. 23Small-Area Damage
 Cut off the outer rubber
around the damaged area at
approximately 45°.
 Buff the cut surface, then
clean and dry it.
 Apply cement two times to the cut surface, the second coat applied after the
first coat has dried.
 Apply cement to a piece or several pieces of filler rubber and then patch the
filler rubber onto the cut surface after the cement has dried.
 Apply cement to a piece of reinforced fabric and patch it onto the filler
rubber after the cement dries.

24. 24Large-Area Damage
Patch the inner side of the damaged area
with a piece of reinforced fabric.
 Follow Small-Area damage
repairing technique

25. 25
Analysis of Inflatable Dams using
Dynamic Relaxation method
Fext – Fin = M v* + D v

26. 26Discharge Calculation
 Normal water retaining
 Slow dam fall
 Complete dam fall
Discharge operation

27. Use of a rubber dam in Hydro Power Plant:
Power of a hydroelectric power plant depends also on the speed of the
river and that the power expressed in percentage increases more at the
rivers where the fall is smaller.
The percentage of the increase of the power is calculated in the following
way:
%P = the percentage of the increase of power in a hydroelectric plant
h2 = the height of the increase of the fall in a hydroelectric power plant
h1 = the initial height of the fall in a hydroelectric power plant
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28. Rubber Dams:
Tin Shui Wai Rubber Dam Hong Kong Rubber weirs at the river Sava in Kranj
Janjhavathi Rubber Dam (India)
irrigates 24,000 acres
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SAVATECH

29. New types of rubber dams:
 Rubber dam with inspection gallery: Some large dams of Bridgestone and
Sumitomo have an inspection gallery . An access door and air-lock system are
provided to allow entry into the dam when its in the inflated mode.
 Rubber dams with different deflation modes: New types can deflate in both
the upstream and downstream directions according to the direction of flow or
deflate directly onto the foundation.
 Innovative fish-way: The rubber dam can be incorporated into a fish-way.
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30. Rubber dam: New hope for farmers?
 Impact of Rubber Dam on crop
productivity of summer vegetables at
Baghamari,Orissa.
S.NO. Productivity(t/ha)
Before
Installation
of Rubber
Dam(2009)
After
installation of
Rubber Dam
(2010 )
1. 2.873 4.67
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NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION PROJECT Click here for

31. Rubber Dam Applications:
HYDRO POWER Project: Rainbow Dam
Country: USA Size: 3.66Hx67.7L
WATER SUPPLY Project : Gubeng Dam
Country : Indonesia Size : 2.85Hx12.0L
GROUND RECHARGING Project : Alameda
Country : USA Size : 3.96Hx88.8L TIDAL BARRIER Project : Naruse River
Country : Japan Size : 2.3Hx42.1L
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32. Rubber Dam Applications
Purpose Dam/Project Name Country Height (m) Width (m)
Groundwater recharge Sonoma Dam USA 3.3 36.9
Hydropower Glenford dam Canada 1.7 74.7
Irrigation Lamchi Muang Ling Dam Thailand 4 73
Increasing reservoir
capacity
Mirani Weir Australia 1.8 107.3
Navigation Tsudae Dam Japan 1.5 20
Recreation Shin Chon Dam Korea 1.5 50.65
Rehabilitation Vaca Dam Philippines 2.0 13.3
Drinking water Altoona Dam USA 1.53 35.7
Flow control (sewerage) Ichioka Sewerage Plant Japan 1.1 6.5
Flood control Shing Chu River Dam
Taiwan,
China
1.6 8
Tidal barrier Naruse River Japan 2.3 42.1
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33. Future plan of work in India:
 Gujarat's first rubber dam to be built over Tapi at Rundh. Source: The times of India, Surat.
 Expert team inspects site for rubber dam in Pampa River. Source: The Hindu Kerala.
 First rubber dam in India is being built in Andhra Pradesh, over the Janjhavathi river in
Vizianagaram district.
 SEVERAL STATES including Jharkhand and West Bengal, have shown interest in
rubber dams. Jharkhand Water Resources Department officials said that they have
approached Hydroconstruct to build a dam. Source: Tehelka.com
 Installation and evaluation of Rubber Dams at various watersheds at Bhubaneshwar,
Orissa.
 The steel industrial kerala limited a public sector company, has entered into an
agreement with an australian firm(hydro construct) for the construction of rubber dams in
kerala. Source: The times of India, Thiruvananthapuram.
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34. Conclusion:
A flexible way to manage water?
Hi-tech Rubber dams could be the
answer.
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35. References:
 P. Roy Choudhury, S. K. Chakraborty, Manasi Nath, “Rubber Dam a novel
 approach for control of water flow in watershed management for agricultural
growth of India” published in Rubber India, vol LX, No 8, pg 49, August 2008
 http://www.hydroconstruct.at/
 Bridgestone Corporation. 1997. Rubber dam: inflatable rubber weir. Tokyo,
Japan.
 P. Roy Choudhury, Manasi Nath, Bhagabat Bhuyan “ Design and
Development of Rubber Dam – a farmer friendly Rubber reservoir”, published in
Rubber Chem Review, vol XXXVII No 6, pg 29, July- August 2008.
 X Q Zhang, P W.M Tam, W Zheng ,Construction, operation and maintenance of
rubber dams , Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering Volume 29, Number 3, June
2002.
 Karl-Heinz John, Michael Tiegelkamp, IEC 61131-3:Programming Industrial
Automation Systems, Springer.
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36. Thank You
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