S'T'UDY OF EFFECT OF CURVED ALIGNMENT OF GRAVITY DAMS

Abstract

It has boon observed that, of the many dam failures, those dams with a slight curvature to its alignment, have fared bettor under distress, than those with. a straight alignment. This dissertation analyses the various causes which contribute to the additional strength of these dams under normal working conditions as well as at incipient foundation failure condition. A Trial Load type of analysis of an arch-gravity dam was made using 2-D Finite Element Method. A 3-Dimensional photoelastic model was tested for foundation failure conditions.