A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation to oppose the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. Gravity dams are designed so that each section of the dam is stable and independent of any other dam section.
Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) or rolled concrete (rollcrete) is a special blend of concrete that has essentially the same ingredients as conventional concrete but in different ratios, and increasingly with partial substitution of fly ash for Portland cement. The partial substitution of fly ash for Portland Cement is an important aspect of RCC dam construction because the heat generated by fly ash hydration is significantly less than the heat generated by Portland Cement hydration. This in turn reduces the thermal loads on the dam and reduces the potential for thermal cracking to occur. RCC is a mix of cement/fly ash, water, sand, aggregate and common additives, but contains much less water. The produced mix is drier and essentially has no slump. RCC is placed in a manner similar to paving; the material is delivered by dump trucks or conveyors, spread by small bulldozers or specially modified asphalt pavers, and then compacted by vibratory rollers.
Hickory Log Creek Dam is a gravity dam on the Hickory Log Creek which runs from northeast and north-central Cherokee County, Georgia, United States, south-southwest to the northeastern part of Canton, the county seat. It is a tributary of the Etowah River, which it meets shortly after crossing under Riverstone Parkway.
The Paradise Dam, also known as the Burnett River Dam, is a roller compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam across the Burnett River, located between Coringa and Good Night northwest Biggenden and 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Bundaberg in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. Built for irrigation, the impoundment created by the dam is called Lake Paradise.
An arch-gravity dam or arched dam is a dam with the characteristics of both an arch dam and a gravity dam. It is a dam that curves upstream in a narrowing curve that directs most of the water pressure against the canyon rock walls, providing the force to compress the dam. It combines the strengths of two common dam forms and is considered a compromise between the two. They are made of conventional concrete, roller-compacted concrete (RCC), or masonry. Arch-gravity dams are not reinforced except at the spillway. A typical example of the conventional concrete dam is the Hoover Dam. Changuinola Dam is an example of the RCC arch-gravity dam. A gravity dam requires a large volume of internal fill. An arch-gravity dam can be thinner than the pure gravity dam and requires less internal fill.
The Miyagase Dam is a dam on the Nakatsu River, a main tributary of the Sagami River in Aikō District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It straddles the border between the village of Kiyokawa, town of Aikawa and the former town of Tsukui.
The Portugués Dam is a roller-compacted concrete thick arch dam on the Portugués River, three miles (5 km) northwest of the city Ponce, in Barrio Tibes, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Construction on the dam began in April 2008, soon after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District awarded the Spanish firm Dragados USA, a division of Grupo ACS, with a $180 million contract in March 2008 to build the dam.
Wolwedans Dam is a concrete dam in South Africa located on the Great Brak River near Mossel Bay, Western Cape, South Africa. The dam is the main source of water for the municipality of Mossel Bay as well as the gas-to-liquids refinery PetroSA. The dam serves mainly for municipal and industrial water supply purposes.
The Yeywa Hydropower Station, located on the Myitnge River, 52 kilometres (32 mi) southeast of Mandalay city, at Yeywa village in Kyaukse Township, Mandalay Region in central Myanmar, is the country's first roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam, and the site of a 790-megawatt (1,060,000 hp) hydroelectric power plant, the largest in the country.
The Governor José Richa Hydroelectric Plant, formerly known as Salto Caxias, is a dam and hydroelectric power plant on the Iguazu River near Caxias in Paraná, Brazil. It is the first dam upstream of the Iguazu Falls and was constructed between 1995 and 1999. The power station has a 1,240-megawatt (1,660,000 hp) capacity and is supplied with water by a roller-compacted concrete gravity dam.
The Miel I Dam, officially known as the Patángoras Dam, is a gravity dam on La Miel River just south of Norcasia in Caldas Department, Colombia. The dam was constructed between 1997 and 2002 for the primary purpose of hydroelectric power generation. At the time of its completion, the dam was the tallest roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam in the world but was surpassed by the Longtan Dam in 2009.
The Okukubi Dam (億首ダム) is a trapezoidal cemented, sand and gravel (CSG) dam on the Okukubi River in Kin, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Construction began in 2009 and its reservoir was filled by 31 March 2013. It is the first trapezoidal CSG-type to be constructed as a main dam in the world. Its purpose is to provide flood control and water for municipal use along with the irrigation of 70 ha of land.
The Jiangya Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Loushui River, located 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province, China. The primary purpose of the multi-purpose dam is flood control but it also generates hydroelectricty, supplies water for irrigation and municipal use and improves navigation.
The Longshou II Dam, also referred to as Longshou No. 2, is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Heihe River, located 35 km (22 mi) southwest of Zhangye in Gansu Province, China. It is part of the Gansu Heihe Rural Hydropower Development and supports a 157 MW power station. The dam's first feasibility study was carried out in 2000 and river diversion construction began in December 2001. In June 2002, the river was diverted and in September that year, filling of the dam's body began. On 17 August 2004, the first generator was operational with the rest by the end of the year. The 146.5 m (481 ft) high dam withholds a reservoir with a capacity of 86,200,000 m3 (69,883 acre⋅ft). It's spillway is located on the right bank and is a controlled chute type with a discharge capacity of 2,696 m3/s (95,208 cu ft/s). Water is delivered to the dam's power station downstream via a 1.7 km (1 mi) long tunnel. The dam is located upstream of the Longshou I Dam, an 80 m (262 ft) tall double-curvature arch dam with an installed capacity of 52 MW. Upstream is the Xiaogushan Dam, a gravity dam which diverts water to a 102 MW power station.
The Suofengying Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Wu River, 44 km (27 mi) northwest of Guiyang in Guizhou Province, China. It is located 35.5 km (22 mi) downstream of the Dongfeng Dam and 74.9 km (47 mi) upstream of the Wujiangdu Dam. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supports a 600 MW power station. Construction on the dam began on 26 July 2002 and on December 18 of that year, the river was diverted. Pouring of roller-compacted concrete into the dam's body began on 14 January 2004 and in June, the dam began to impound its reservoir. On 18 August, the first generator was operational and the last two in 2005. The 121.8 m (400 ft) tall dam creates a reservoir with a capacity of 201,200,000 m3 (163,115 acre⋅ft). The dam's power station is located on its right bank and contains three 200 MW Francis turbine-generators.
The Daguangba Dam is a multi-purpose dam on the Changhua River in Hainan Province, China. It is located 35 km (22 mi) east of Dongfang. As the primary component of the Daguangba Multipurpose Project, the dam was constructed between 1990 and 1995. It serves to provide water for both hydroelectric power generation and agriculture. It supports a 240 MW power station and supplies water for the irrigation of 12,700 ha. It is also the largest dam and hydroelectric power station in Hainan.
The Hohhot Pumped Storage Power Station, also known by Huhehaote, is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, China. It uses the pumped-storage hydroelectric method to generate electricity. The plant has an installed capacity of 1,224 megawatts (1,641,000 hp). Construction began in 2005 and the first generator was commissioned on 20 November 2014. The second generator was commissioned on 26 December 2014 and the final two were commissioned in June 2015.
The Lizhou Dam is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric arch dam on the Muli River in Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Sichuan Province, China.
The Pembelik Dam is a gravity dam on the Peri River, in Karakoçan district of Elazığ Province, Turkey. Its primary purpose is hydroelectric power generation and is the fourth dam in the Peri River cascade. Construction on the dam began in 2009 and its two generators were commissioned in February/March 2015. The 88 m (289 ft) tall roller-compacted concrete dam faced opposition from locals and construction was briefly suspended in 2014. It is owned and operated by Limak Energy and Bilgin Energy.
The Bastora Dam or Goma-Span Dam is a gravity dam currently being constructed on the Bastora River at Goma span gorge, near Gomespan, in Erbil Governorate, Iraq. It is located about 30 km (19 mi) northeast of Erbil.
