ICOLD Bulletin 117

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ICOLD Bulletin 117

Author: ICOLD | Size: 2.38 MB | Format: PDF | Quality: Original preprint | Publisher: ICOLD | Year: 2000 | pages: 130 | ISBN: ISSN 0534-8293

The Gravity Dam : a dam for the future 35 000 dams higher than 15 m have been built since 1930, including :
– 30 000 fill dams (20 000 hand made by low cost labour) : over 100 failed.
– 3 000 concrete gravity dams : none failed.
Utilizing such a safe solution for less than 10 % of past dams was mainly due to economic comparisons; moreover the extreme standardization of gravity dam design did not allow it to be optimized for very different local conditions.
A more important future for gravity dams will be due to :
– Actual labour cost increases in developing countries, eliminating hand made fill dams.
– Increased design flood criteria favouring concrete structures.
– Key possibilities offered by RCC.
But full utilization for relevant opportunities needs a deep review of traditional habits and a much wider choice of cross sections, materials, waterproofing, specifications, possibly composite solutions, … optimized for all conditions of each dam site. Designs of 21st century gravity dams could vary as much as fill dam designs during the 20th century. Lower quality foundations could often be accepted through suitable designs.
This Bulletin is based upon dam history and accidents, theoretical analysis and review of practical construction methods. It has been prepared by a group of French engineers, M. Lino being the coordinator and a key author, with extensive cooperation by P. Londe, ICOLD Honorary President, and J. Launay, and advice from A. Goubet.

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