Introduction

• Roman engineers, often

erroneously, judged the stability
of a dam wall to be inefficient,
they backed it up by irregularly
spaced buttresses.

• Athethird of the Roman dams in

Iberian peninsula were
buttress dams.

• The most remarkable of the

Roman buttress dams is the one
near the village of
Esparragalejo. This is the first
multiple arch dam
 Evolution of the Modern Buttress
Dam

 Today buttress dams as derivations from

the massive gravity type with the
introduction of intermediate spaces.
 These spaces allows the discharge of
water seeping through the dam and its
foundation, thus greatly reducing uplift
pressures.
 Given the absence of uplift, more
substantial savings were possible by
inclining the upstream face, thereby
mobilizing the vertical water load on the
Classifications OF BUTTRESS DAMS
 Massive head buttress dams
 Deck slab buttress dam
 Multiple arch buttress dam
Massive head buttress dams

• Massive round head

• Massive flat head

 Deck slab buttress dam
• Simple slab deck

• Continuous slab deck

 Multiple arch buttress dam
The first multiple arch dam of reinforced
concrete had been completed in 1908.
 It impounded the Hume Lake fluming reservoir
on the Ten Mile creek in the California Sierra
Nevada Mountains.
The dam was designed and supervised during
constuction by John S. Eastwood (1857-1924).
 DESIGN CONSIDERATION
1. Geologic investigation for the foundation

3. Assessment of the area to be inundated by the

upstream lake (also called a reservoir) and its
associated environmental and ecological impacts

5. Selection of materials and construction techniques

7. Designation of methods for diverting stream flow

during construction of the dam

9. Evaluation of the potential for sediments to

accumulate on the reservoir bottom and
subsequently reduce storage capacity
Forces on the buttress
dams
 R0 R1

WATER
P R1
R2

F2 F1 w
Prestessing is used to minimize the
quantity of concrete and counteract
tensions.

Prestressing can be applied in at least

three manners to a buttress dam.
» To 'pull down' the upstream face
» To 'jack up' the downstream face
» To compact the buttress on to the
foundation
 CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
Stream must be diverted or blocked from
flowing through the site.
 CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
• A coffer-dam (a temporary structure
to
impound the water) must be built.
• Another small coffer dam is built to
block
the leakages.
 CONSTRUCTION PROCESS Contd…

• Pumps are used to remove the water

from
site.
• Compact the site.
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS Contd…

• Foundation area - must be cleaned

before the first concrete is placed.
• Form work-Modern steel formwork is
of cantilever design.
• Forms made of wood or steel are
constructed.
 CONSTRUCTION PROCESS Contd…

• May be necessary to install extensive

systems of rock bolts or anchor bolts.
• Instruments has to be installed:

» monitor groundwater levels

» joint movement
» potential seepage
» slope movements
» seismic activity
 FOUNDATION PREPERATION
 Excavation in bedrock.
 Construction on un consolidated
deposits.
 Grouting.
 Pour the concrete.
 CONCRETE HANDLING
 Pre-cast reinforced concrete planks &
reinforced concrete piles are used.
 CONCRETE HANDLING Contd…

 Steel reinforcing rods are cast into

the body.
 Buttresses also poured with
reinforcing rods.
Functional Importance of
Elements of the Buttress
Dam
 Structure of a Buttress
Dam
Crest
Upstream Down stream

Spillway
MWL
Max. level (inside dam)

NWL
Normal
water level
Buttress

Free board
Sluice way

Gallery

Heel
Toe
 Buttress

Upstream Down stream

MWL
Max. level

NWL
Normal
water level
Buttress
 Buttress
A thin, erect, tabular
concrete supporting
member used in
construction of slab
and buttress dams.
Also a projecting
structure providing
lateral support to a
rock face or a
portion of a dam.
 Heel

Upstream Down stream

MWL
Max. level

NWL
Normal
water level

Heel
 Heel
The upstream
contact of a dam
with its
foundation.
 Toe

Upstream Down stream

MWL
Max. level

NWL
Normal
water level

Toe
 Toe
The downstream
contact of a dam
with its
foundation.
 Crest
Crest
Upstream Down stream

MWL
Max. level

NWL
Normal
water level
Crest

The top of a
 Dam Pavements

 The top part of the

dam can be
designed as a
road.
 Same time it can
act as a bridge.
 Spillway
Upstream Down stream

Spillway
MWL
Max. level (inside dam)

NWL
Normal
water level
 Spillway
The structure on or
at the side of a dam
that contains and
guides the flow of
the excess water
supplied to a
reservoir. Spillways
inside the reservoir
are called glory
holes and consist of
a vertical shaft a
tunnel which exits
below the dam.
 Spillway

Controlled Spillway
Water flow control by using gates

Uncontrolled Spillway
The elevation of spillway crest use to
control the water flow.
 Spillway
Types
 Auxiliary Spillways/Emergency Spillways

 Primary Spillways

 Side Channel Spillways

 Siphon Spillways

 Shaft Spillways/Morning Glory Spillways

 Sluiceway

Upstream Down stream

MWL
Max. level

NWL
Normal
water level

Sluice way
 Sluice way
An opening in the dam near the ground level,
which is used to clear the silt accumulation in
the reservoir side.
 Gallery
Upstream Down stream

MWL
Max. level

NWL
Normal
water level

Gallery
 Gallery
A long, narrow
passage inside of a
dam used for
inspection, grouting,
or spillway.
 Free board
Upstream Down stream

MWL
Max. level

NWL
Normal
water level

Free board
 Freeboar
d
That portion of a dam maximum water level in
a reservoir.
 Penstock
A conduit,
commonly steel
pipe, leading from
the reservoir to a
power generating
plant downstream
from the
reservoir.
 Usage of
Penstock

Turbine
 Fish
Ladders
A structure built
at the side or up
the face of a
dam to enable
migration of fish
upstream and
downstream.
 Materials Depend On
 Construction Method

 Size of Construction

 Type of Project

 Soil Condition

 Nature

 Durability
 Types of Materials

Reinforcement
Aggregate
Admixtures
Water proofing
Pozzolan
Cement
 Cement

 For massive hydraulic structures,

Ordinary Portland cement has
been used

 Proper chemical composition of

cement is important
 Pozzolan
 This is a type of a cement
replacement

 The heat producing and cost of

cement is lead to use pozzolan to
reduce the cement content of mass
concrete structures.

 Natural pozzolan materials

- Clays

 May be used to improve the

 Aggregates
Coarse Aggregate
 Materials within the range of 5 to
150mm in size for hydraulic
 Should be made of clean, hard,
durable, uncoated rock fragments
Fine Aggregate
 Can be natural or crushed
 Grading of fine aggregate has much
greater effect on workability
 Sea sand, suitably graded may be
used
 Reinforcement

 Used according to the structural

requirements

 Different diameter of tor steel and

mild steel bars used
 Water

 Should be free from materials

that affect the hydration of
Portland cement

 Where choice is available, the

cleanest and the purest source of
water has to be selected
 Admixtures
 Accelerators
CaCl2 (2% by weight of cement) for
cold weather

 Air entraining agents

Improve workability

 Water reducing and set controlling

agents
Native gypsum from 2.5%-5%
weight of cement
 Waterproofing
 The water leakage should be prevent
perfectly

Water Stops:
 Provided in transfers joints for
stopping the flow of water into the
joints
eg:-
- Copper (20mm gauge)
- An alloy of Nickel & Copper
- Stainless Steel
PLANT & EQUIPMENT
 EXCAVATORS

• Dragline

• Backhoe
• Bulldozers

•Scraper
• Dumpers
CRANES
CONCRETE EQUIPMENT
 ADVANTAGES

• Less material required.

• Strong rock foundation not required (as

for arch dams)

• Strength of the dam is high.

• uplift forces acting on the dam are

minimal.
 DISADVANTAGES

• Height limitations.

• Construction difficulty.

• Time consuming construction.

Examples

Bartlett Dam
Verde River, AZ
Examples

Bartlett Dam
Verde River, AZ
 Cost analysis
• Materials 25%

• Formwork 20%

• Plant Purchase
19%

• Plant Operation
19%

• Placing and consolidation of concrete

4%

• Precooling concrete 3%

• Concrete Treatment 3%