Dams
DAMS
[pic] INTRODUCTION
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are often used in conjunction with dams to provide clean electricity for millions of consumers. It can also be used to collect water or for storage of water which can be evenly distributed between locations.
PURPOSE OF DAMS
Intended purposes include providing water for irrigation to a town or city water supply, improving navigation, creating a reservoir of water to supply industrial uses, generating hydroelectric power, creating recreation areas or habitat for fish and wildlife, retaining wet season flow to minimize downstream flood risk and containing effluent from industrial sites such as mines or factories. Some dams can also serve as pedestrian or vehicular bridges across the river as well. When used in conjunction with intermittent power sources such as wind or solar, the reservoir can serve as pumped water storage to facilitate base load dampening in the power grid. Few dams serve all of these purposes but some multi-purpose dams serve more than one.
[pic] STRUCTURE OF DAMS
HEEL: Contact with the ground on the upstream side.
TOE: Contact on the downstream side.
ABUTMENT: Sides of the valley on which the structure of the dam rest.
GALLERIES: small rooms like structure left within the dam for checking operations.
DIVERSION TUNNEL: Tunnels are constructed for diverting water before the construction of dam. This helps in keeping the river bed dry.
SPILLWAYS: It is the arrangement near the top to release the excess water of the reservoir to downstream side.
SLUICE WAY: An opening in the dam near the ground level, which is used to clear the silt accumulation in the
[pic] INTRODUCTION
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are often used in conjunction with dams to provide clean electricity for millions of consumers. It can also be used to collect water or for storage of water which can be evenly distributed between locations.
PURPOSE OF DAMS
Intended purposes include providing water for irrigation to a town or city water supply, improving navigation, creating a reservoir of water to supply industrial uses, generating hydroelectric power, creating recreation areas or habitat for fish and wildlife, retaining wet season flow to minimize downstream flood risk and containing effluent from industrial sites such as mines or factories. Some dams can also serve as pedestrian or vehicular bridges across the river as well. When used in conjunction with intermittent power sources such as wind or solar, the reservoir can serve as pumped water storage to facilitate base load dampening in the power grid. Few dams serve all of these purposes but some multi-purpose dams serve more than one.
[pic] STRUCTURE OF DAMS
HEEL: Contact with the ground on the upstream side.
TOE: Contact on the downstream side.
ABUTMENT: Sides of the valley on which the structure of the dam rest.
GALLERIES: small rooms like structure left within the dam for checking operations.
DIVERSION TUNNEL: Tunnels are constructed for diverting water before the construction of dam. This helps in keeping the river bed dry.
SPILLWAYS: It is the arrangement near the top to release the excess water of the reservoir to downstream side.
SLUICE WAY: An opening in the dam near the ground level, which is used to clear the silt accumulation in the