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Sean Ladiges, Robert Wark, Richard Rodd
The use of permanent, load-monitorable post-tensioned, anchors for dam projects has been in place for approximately 35 years in Australia. Since then, over 30 large Australian dams have been strengthened using this technology, including the world record for anchor length (142 m – Canning Dam, WA) and size (91×15.7 mm strands – Wellington Dam, WA and Catugunya Dam, TAS).
In order to achieve the design life of 100 years expected of these anchors, an ongoing program of monitoring, testing and maintenance is required, to identify and rectify the initiation of corrosion or loss of pre-stress. Guidance for maintenance and testing regime for post-tensioned anchors in dams is provided in the ANCOLD Guidelines on Dam Safety Management (2003). The various conditions which may affect the performance of the anchor with time, such as anchor type, ground condition and loading fluctuations are not covered in the Guideline.
This paper reviews the implementation and results of anchor monitoring programs by Australian dam owners. The first part of this paper provides a summary of the testing and monitoring programs currently being implemented. The second part of the paper reviews the aggregated anchor load test results from a number of Australian dam owners, and identifies trends in anchor response over time following installation.
The paper aims to assess whether the recommended anchor testing regime proposed in ANCOLD (2003) is appropriate and cost effective, using evidence from recent load test data which has become available following the writing of the guideline. The lessons learnt from anchor maintenance programs will also be discussed.
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2016 Papers
2016 – Maintenance and Testing of Post-Tensioned Anchors for Dams and Appurtenant Structures
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Sean Ladiges, Robert Wark, Richard Rodd
The use of permanent, load-monitorable post-tensioned, anchors for dam projects has been in place for approximately 35 years in Australia. Since then, over 30 large Australian dams have been strengthened using this technology, including the world record for anchor length (142 m – Canning Dam, WA) and size (91×15.7 mm strands – Wellington Dam, WA and Catugunya Dam, TAS).
In order to achieve the design life of 100 years expected of these anchors, an ongoing program of monitoring, testing and maintenance is required, to identify and rectify the initiation of corrosion or loss of pre-stress. Guidance for maintenance and testing regime for post-tensioned anchors in dams is provided in the ANCOLD Guidelines on Dam Safety Management (2003). The various conditions which may affect the performance of the anchor with time, such as anchor type, ground condition and loading fluctuations are not covered in the Guideline.
This paper reviews the implementation and results of anchor monitoring programs by Australian dam owners. The first part of this paper provides a summary of the testing and monitoring programs currently being implemented. The second part of the paper reviews the aggregated anchor load test results from a number of Australian dam owners, and identifies trends in anchor response over time following installation.
The paper aims to assess whether the recommended anchor testing regime proposed in ANCOLD (2003) is appropriate and cost effective, using evidence from recent load test data which has become available following the writing of the guideline. The lessons learnt from anchor maintenance programs will also be discussed.
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2017 Papers
2017 – Construction Flood Risk Strategies for Dam Upgrades
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Colleen Baker, Sean Ladiges, Peter Buchanan, James Willey, Malcolm Barker
Dam Owners and Designers are often posed with the question “what is an acceptable flood risk to adopt during the construction of dam upgrade works?” Both the current ANCOLD Guidelines on Acceptable Flood Capacity (2000) and the draft Guidelines on Acceptable Flood Capacity (2016) provide guidance on the acceptability of flood risk during the construction phase. The overarching principle in both the current and draft documents is that the dam safety risk should be no greater than prior to the works, unless it can be shown that this cannot reasonably be achieved.Typically with dam upgrade projects it is not feasible to take reservoirs off-line during upgrade works, with commercial and societal considerations taking precedent. It is therefore often necessary to operate the reservoir at normal levels or with only limited drawdown. The implementation of measures to maintain the risk at or below that of the pre-upgraded dam can have significant financial and program impacts on projects, such as through the construction of elaborate cofferdam arrangements and/or staging of works. This is particularly the case where upgrade works involve modifications to the dam’s spillway.The use of risk assessment has provided a reasonable basis for evaluating the existing and incremental risks associated with the works, such as the requirement for implementation of critical construction works during periods where floods are less likely, in order to justify the As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) position. This paper explores the ANCOLD guidelines addressing flood risk, and compares against international practice. The paper also presents a number of case studies of construction flood risk mitigation adopted for dam upgrades on some of Australia’s High and Extreme consequence dams, as well as international examples. The case studies demonstrate a range of construction approaches which enable compliance with the ANCOLD Acceptable Flood Capacity guidelines
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2013 Papers
2013 – Case studies of foundation grouting using the GIN method at the enlarged Cotter Dam
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Sean Ladiges, James Willey, Matthew Norbert and Andrew Barclay
The Enlarged Cotter Dam (ECD) Project, located in ACT, consisted of the construction of a new 87 m high roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam and two central core zoned earth and rockfill saddle dams up to 23 m high on the low points of a ridge to the south-west of the Main Dam. The Main Dam is the highest RCC dam constructed in Australia.
A continuous single-line grout curtain with a total length of 1.2 km was constructed across the full extent of the Main Dam and the two saddle dams with the aim of reducing future seepage losses through the dam foundations. The grouting processes were similar for the main and saddle dams respectively, however the grouting of the Main Dam and saddle dams was carried out as two separate contract packages by different subcontractors. As such, the project provides a unique opportunity to undertake a comparison of the foundation conditions and control equipment and outcomes from the two packages of work. The foundation conditions were different at each of the three dams, with varying geology across the site.
The saddle dam grouting was completed in 2010, with the grouting carried out at the base of the core trench prior to construction of the embankments, while the grouting of the Main Dam was conducted in 2012-13, with most of the grouting works executed from the drainage gallery within the constructed dam.
Consistent throughout construction of the ECD grout curtain was a similar philosophy of real-time computer control, the use of Grout Intensity Number (GIN) parameters, water pressure testing, desirable grout mix properties and the avoidance of damage to the foundations. There were a number of key differences in the grouting process for the saddle dams and Main Dam; these include the ground conditions, the pumping control systems used, the GIN parameters adopted and the grout materials and mixes selected.
This paper provides a critical evaluation of the two grouting programmes, an assessment of the effectiveness of the grouting, comments on tools and methods used, and proposes a set of recommendations for curtain grouting over a range of ground conditions based on lessons learnt during the project.
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