2010 – How to build a dam – just ask the community?
Cat McConkey, Zarmina Nasir, Rachel Caoil
The Enlarged Cotter Dam (ECD) is the first major project to be assessed and approved under the new planning regime in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). ACTEW chose the ECD as its highest priority option in securing Canberra’s water supply for the future because of its relative economic benefit to the community, reliability of water supply, technical feasibility and comparatively low environmental impact.
The planning and construction of large dams has been reduced from a typical 10 plus years to four years in the ACT and surrounds for the ECD. Australian and International Dam design and construction has significantly developed from a time when dam approvals focused on engineering, economics and constructability to now include regulatory planning processes that seek to reconcile environmental, social and economic impacts.
This paper explores and contrasts the experience of securing approvals for the ECD in 2009 to past experiences of dam planning approvals and consultation processes.
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2010 Papers
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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2010 Papers
2010 – The applications of expert rule systems in decision-making
Learn moreShao Kwan Ng
Asset management aims to ensure that assets, such as dams, are sustainable. In order to achieve this, management decisions need to be defensible and the long-term impacts of short-term decisions need to be clearly demonstrated, such that an asset operates and is maintained in an appropriate fashion and in a satisfactory condition. Expert rule systems are becoming widely recognised as powerful and elegant tools suitable for engineering and management decision-making. They are powerful, transparent and flexible tools that mimic how people make decisions, and hence provide a natural way of thinking for decision-making. This paper reviews the current usage of expert systems in asset management, and illustrates the potential of these tools, in conjunction with the available (ANCOLD) guidelines, to assist dam owners in decision-making, such as in condition evaluation and dam hazard assessment applications.
Keywords: Decision-making, expert rule systems.
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2010 Papers
2010 – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dam Safety and Asset Management of Mechanical /Electrical Systems for Dams
Learn moreRick W. Schultz P.E.
The Corps of Engineers Risk Management Center is undergoing a nationwide assessment of its navigation and flood control projects. Development of the methodology and tools used to determine probability of failure of mechanical and electrical systems for dams is being presented in this document. Development of the Weibull formulas for specific use in dam will be addressed along with use of fault tree analysis to determine system reliability.
Keywords: Dormant-Weibull Formula, Fault Tree, Characteristic Life of Components, Beta Shape Parameters, Inspection intervals.
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2010 Papers
2010 – INVESTIGATION OF TWO AGING CONCRETE GRAVITY DAMS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Learn moreM. Tooley, N. Anderson, N. Vitharana, G. McNally, C. Johnson and D. Moore
There is a significant stock of aging concrete dams in Australia which would not meet the requirements of the current recognised dam safety practices applicable to concrete gravity dams.
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In this paper, field and laboratory investigations undertaken for two concrete gravity dams are presented, these being Middle River Dam and Warren Dam both owned and operated by the South Australian Water Corporation. The field investigations included a comprehensive drilling program recovering core samples ranging in diameter from 61mm (HQ) to 95mm (4C), continuous imaging (RAAX) of the drilled holes and installation of piezometers. Geological logging of the holes and mapping of the unlined spillway were also undertaken. The laboratory program included the testing of concrete lift joints and concrete samples in direct tension, shear and compression.
Concrete in Middle River Dam is suffering from extensive Alkali Aggregate Reaction (AAR), and consequently a suite of laboratory testing is being undertaken to determine the current level of deterioration and residual reactivity so that potential future AAR-induced expansion can be incorporated into any upgrade design solution.
The main purpose of the study is to determine whether site-specific parameters can be used to re-assess the stability of these two dams as calculations, based on the current standards, have shown that the dams have exceeded the allowable factors of safety values at the storage water levels experienced to date.
The findings may be useful to dam designers and owners faced with the upgrading of concrete dams, where traditional assumptions can result in no upgrade or an upgrade costing several million dollars. -
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2010 Papers
2010 – A risk-based re-evaluation of reservoir operating restrictions to reduce the risk of failure from earthquake and piping
Learn moreDavid S. Bowles, Loren R. Anderson, Michael E. Ruthford, David C. Serafini, Sanjay S. Chauhan, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, CA
In 2005 the Sacramento District of the US Army Corps of Engineers implemented an operating restriction to reduce the risk of an earthquake-induced failure of Success Dam, which could cause significant life loss and property damage. This paper describes an update of the 2004 risk-based evaluation of operating restrictions for Lake Success, which incorporated new information obtained by the District and enabled a re-evaluation of the level of the operating restriction and provided a basis for a possible modification of the restriction.
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