A Review of Design Criteria for High RCC Dams

Dunstan, Malcolm R. H.; ,

A Review of Design Criteria for High RCC Dams

by Malcolm R. H. Dunstan, Malcolm Dunstan & Associate, Devon, United Kingdom,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Roller Compacted Concrete III

Abstract:

The 1980s could be considered to be the decade during which roller-compacted concrete dams came of age. This economic method of construction is sufficiently proven that very large dams can now be designed. Techniques have been developed for the design of the mixture proportions of an RCC to have sufficient cohesion and tensile strength to withstand the required static, thermal and seismic loading on these large dams. The paper contains a review of the design criteria of three large dams; Upper Stillwater in North America, the largest RCC dam so far completed, Platanovryssi the highest RCC dam under construction in Europe and Porce II the largest RCC dam being designed in South America. These dams show the potential for the method of construction. By judicious selection of design criteria, careful selection of materials and optimization of the mixture proportions, there is no reason why RCC gravity dams of any reasonable height cannot now be designed.

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