ASDSO Dam Safety Toolbox

Loads / Load Cases

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Free body diagram showing forces acting on a gravity dam.

There are a variety of forces against which a dam should be designed to adequately resist including but not limited to: self-weight, static water pressures, wave pressures, sediment buildup pressures, uplift water pressures, wind pressures, thermal loads, ice pressures, and earthquake forces.

"Design of civil works projects must be performed to ensure acceptable performance of all reinforced concrete hydraulic structures during and after each design event. Three levels of performance for stability, strength, and stiffness are used to satisfy the structural and operational requirements for load categories with three expected ranges of recurrence (Usual, Unusual, and Extreme).[1] Minimum acceptable factors of safety for these load categories typically vary, with higher factors of safety required for usual conditions and lower factors of safety required for extreme conditions.

Best Practices Resources

Earthquake Design and Evaluation of Concrete Hydraulic Structures (EM 1110-2-6053), USACE

Stability Analysis of Concrete Structures (EM 1110-2-2100), USACE

Ice Engineering (EM 1110-2-1612), USACE

Trainings

On-Demand Webinar: Introduction to Concrete Gravity Dams

On-Demand Webinar: Analysis of Concrete Arch Dams

On-Demand Webinar: Stability Evaluations of Concrete Dams

On-Demand Webinar: Uplift and Drainage for Concrete Dams and Spillways

On-Demand Webinar: Seismic Stability Evaluation of Earth Dams

On-Demand Webinar: Earthquake Hazards, Ground Motions and Dynamic Response

On-Demand Webinar: Delhi Dam – A Compound Failure

On-Demand Webinar: Current Trends in the Seismic Analysis of Embankment Dams


Citations:


Revision ID: 7170
Revision Date: 07/11/2023