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Thermal Behavior of Concrete Arch Dams Including Water Level Fluctuations

Rahmani, Eisa | 2010

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 40529 (09)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Civil Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Ghaemian, Mohsen
  7. Abstract:
  8. One of the major reasons causing cracks in external surfaces of concrete arch dams are thermal loads. Therofore, in order to avoid instabilities due to function of thermal loads in association with hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressures, a precise evaluation of temperature distribution through dam body is indispensable. In this study, effects of thermal loads mostly on upstream surface of Karun-3 concrete arch dam in Iran were examined using a 3-D finite element method considering water level fluctuations. Also the influence of operatvie boundry conditions in our problem which are water temperature, air temperature and solar radiation was precisely taken into account. Moreover, nonlinear behavior of vertical contration joints on redistribution of tensile stresses in the stress static analysis was considered. Results show that thermal loads have the most significant effects for causing cracks comparing self-weight and hydrostatic pressures. Besides, it is shown that discharging of reservoir water level to below minimum operation water level changes compressive stresses into critical tensile stresses on upstream surface of the dam body. In addition, it can be cocluded that in lower water levels, tensile stresses will increase under cold weather conditions in comparison with relatively hotter weathers.

  9. Keywords:
  10. Thermal Analysis ; Concrete Arc Dam ; Solar Radiation ; Stress Analysis ; Karun III Dam ; Reservoir Evacuation

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