2010 – A Bi-Directional Fishlift – An Innovative Solution for Fish Passage
Graeme Maher, Richard Herweynen, Martin Mallen-Cooper and Stuart Marshall
Increasing awareness of the environmental impact of dams means that fish passage is emerging as a critical issue for both existing and new dams in Australia.
The fish passage and outlet works for Wyaralong Dam, a new dam currently under construction, required accommodation of large ranges of head and tailwater levels. The solution that has been adopted, a bi‐directional fishlift using a single hopper with trapping for downstream fish movement occurring within the intake tower, is a world first. The solution required the innovative integration of a number of existing technologies to create a system which is necessarily complex, yet reliable and effective.
The paper incorporates discussion of the critical design constraints, the biology of fish passage, the process adopted to reach the concept solution and a description of the final design including its integration with the outlet works. A number of design issues and their solution are discussed in detail, particularly those associated with dealing with the complexity of the design constraints and how the components of the solution were integrated into a seamless design.
The paper will be of use to those involved in the process of providing fish passage on both existing and new structures that obstruct river flow.
A Bi-Directional Fishlift – An Innovative Solution for Fish Passage
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Papers 2010
2010 – Advantages gained from the use of a geomembrane waterproofing system on RCC dams: experiences from Australia
Learn moreG.L. Vaschetti, C.A. Verani, J.W. Cowland
Geomembranes are an established technique for long-term waterproofing of hydraulic structures including all types of dams, canals, tunnels and reservoirs.
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Three construction projects are presented that feature unique waterproofing solutions leading to faster construction programmes and granting safer and longer service life at lower costs: The 35 m high Paradise Dam (aka Burnett River), Australia’s largest volume Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) dam waterproofed using a PolyVinylChloride (PVC) geomembrane sandwiched between prefabricated concrete panels and the RCC itself; The 50 m high multipurpose Meander Dam in Tasmania, designed as a RCC dam of the low cementitious content type whose imperviousness is provided by a PVC geomembrane installed in exposed position and mechanically anchored to the upstream face of the dam; And the Eidsvold Weir, a 115 m long 15.45 m high RCC structure used for water supply, waterproofed using an external PVC waterstop installed on the upstream face and able to accommodate the expected movements at the joints.
The paper will outline the technical details, installation and performance of the geomembranes. -
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Papers 2010
2010 – What Your Asset is Telling You – Testing and Analysis of Data
Learn moreDr Adam Butler, Robert Rigg, Glen Hobbs
The cost of maintenance is a serious problem. Preventive Maintenance is a good strategy if implemented well, but can led to unnecessary costs if items are replaced unnecessarily. Predictive maintenance can augment preventative maintenance by using real time instrumentation to monitor conditions. These techniques have been effective at recognizing the symptoms of impending machine failure
Glen Hobbs and Associates (GH&A) recently analysed pressure and displacement data from hydraulically actuated hoisting equipment of a large emergency closure fixed wheel gate. Data analysis enabled GH&A to pin-point causes of the gate malfunction. Anomalies in the data waveform corresponded to impacts and squeeze points in the system. Furthermore, comparing recent test data with older data highlighted gate deterioration over time.
Testing, analysis and trending of data enables asset managers to better predict the point at which maintenance really needs to be performed and shows that careful analysis of relevant data can help solve multi-faceted problems.
Keywords: Operations, Maintenance, Asset Management, Gates.
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Papers 2010
2010 – Using a clay cemented sandstone as RCC aggregate – a major breakthrough at Wyaralong Dam
Learn moreRichard Herweynen, Robert Montalvo, John Ager
The choice of materials used in the construction of a dam is one of the most critical decisions in the design process. Our natural behaviour as engineers is to adopt materials which have proven performance, and which conform to Australian or international standards, which sometimes causes us to overlook the specific conditions and demands of the project at hand. In an environment where the majority of concrete produced is for structural purposes, the properties of these concretes is often vastly different to those desired for mass concrete structures such as dams and spillways.
The big question at Wyaralong Dam was could onsite aggregate be used in the Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC)? The Wyaralong Dam is located in the Gatton Sandstone (early Jurassic), predominantly feldspathic to lithic‐feldspathic sandstones with a clay matrix. Early analyses and tests suggested that the Gatton Sandstone was not suitable for RCC aggregate due to a 68% wet/dry strength reduction, high water absorption (5.2 – 7.5%) and petrographic interpretation that clay content was mainly swelling clay, leading to durability concerns.
Due to significant community, safety and cost issues with importing aggregate, Wyaralong Dam Alliance (WDA), during the development of the RCC mix design for Wyaralong Dam, chose to pursue the use of onsite quarried sandstone aggregate instead of importing aggregate. Additional petrographic and XRD analyses and extensive durability tests were undertaken on cores of sandstone and RCC samples, including wet‐dry cycles, soak tests in ethylene glycol, soaks in sodium hydroxide, and heating and cooling cycles. These tests indicated that, if swelling clays are present, they do not impact the durability behavior of the RCC aggregate.
The substantial effort put into testing the sandstone aggregate has paid off for WDA. Not only have the results indicated that the RCC mix performs remarkably well in terms of durability, but the very low modulus of elasticity of the mix has provided exceptional performance in terms of thermal loading; with all the related benefits in reduced restrictions to placement schedule and cooling requirements. Onsite sandstone was not only proven to be a feasible option, it has been demonstrated that it is the best option for the project. Details of the study are provided in this paper.
Keywords: Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC), Sandstone, Aggregate, Clay, Mix, Durability
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Papers 2010
2010 – Analysis and Design Challenges Associated with the Catagunya Dam Restoration Project
Learn moreTony Harman, Richard Herweynen, Malay Ghosh
Following a number of years of investigation into the condition of the existing 1960’s post tensioned anchors at Catagunya Dam Hydro Tasmania embarked on an options study to determine the best method to restore the dam stability to acceptable limits for the long term. The required solution was intended to not only resolve the issue of anchor deterioration but also to increase the flood capacity of the dam.
Based on preliminary design work a concrete buttress solution was recommended and approved for detailed design. The preliminary design utilised a simplified, 2-dimensional, rigid body model, including crack analysis. As part of the detailed design a finite element model was developed to refine the preliminary design. However, this model did not support the simplified analysis and further non-linear finite element analysis demonstrated that the proposed passive buttress design solution was not technically feasible. The options were reconsidered and the adopted solution was to replace the original anchors with new modern anchors with a high level of corrosion protection.
The new anchors adopted are the largest post tensioned anchor loading currently used for a dam in the world. This along with the existing post-tensioned anchors and the tight geometry of the dam, which has a central spillway with a cantilevered ogee crest, provided significant challenges with the design of this dam upgrade. Some of the key design challenges included:
– Appropriate level of modeling and analysis to be able to make sound design decisions. (Hydraulic modeling and FEA).
– Congestion due to the tight geometry of the original design.
– Anchor head block detail to ensure the loads would be adequately secured and dispersed into the dam body
– Crest cantilever support to ensure that structural integrity was retained during construction and later in service. Innovative installation of carbon fibre reinforcement was used.
– Strain compatibility. It was important to ensure the structural contribution of new and old working together and that the consequences of application of new large stresses was manageable.
– Existing anchor degradation. The design needed to ensure that stability compliance was achieved for complete to zero effectiveness over time.
– Maintaining operability of dam and power station during construction.
– Achieving an effective long term maintainable solution.This paper will present the risk associated with committing to a solution too early and the design challenges and the solutions finally developed, providing the dam industry with a valuable reference for future similar projects.
Analysis and Design Challenges Associated with the Catagunya Dam Restoration Project
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Papers 2010
2010 – Overview of Recent Dam Safety Activity on the Waikato Hydro System
Learn moreJustin Howes, Peter Amos
For many years Mighty River Power has operated an intensive Dam Safety Assurance Programme with respect to our nine large hydro assets, a unique run of river cascade system built between 1927 and 1972. From 2001 to 2007 the Arapuni Foundation Enhancement Project was a high profile activity, but there has also been much dam safety analysis and minor mitigation work that could be classified as “Business As Usual Dam Safety Activity” – this paper seeks to give a high level overview of the work carried out from 2000 to 2010. Items covered include; an overview of the hydraulic structures, their hydrological and geological setting, and the current dam safety regime. Examples of typical issues identified by the Programme are given on a structure by structure basis along the river. Seismic, Flooding, Emergency Planning, Documentation, Monitoring, Control, Electrical and Mechanical type issues are covered.
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