The Introduction of Dams - Essay Example

Geotechnical The introduction of dams There is a rampant change in the world in relation to development and change with regard to engineering structures. This profound and accelerated growth cannot be ignored considering that the structural requirement for the construction of big engineering structures such dams and bridges, refineries for oil and power stations or plants for nuclear need to be constructed in a safe and secure manner. The construction of dams has been regarded as huge projects and this importance is usually associated with the use that dams can be put into. As such, the main concern has always been in relation to the development of a structure that can easily allow for the restructuring of the engineering facilities. A simpler definition of a dam would be that it is a man-made barricade for water that is built across a river or large source/mass of water especially at the far ends so as to contain the water for use in various means. In the older days, this structure was used with people back then applying dynamic remote materials to contain the flow of water across a river and then engage the reserved the intended usage. This practice of building dams has been carried along historical lines and is still being practiced in the modern world by current generation. However, it is expected that the uses of dams may have been improved and made to be quite sophisticated due to the advancement in technology and techniques of setting up such structures. Currently, dams have been put to use in areas such as the generation of electric power, controlling of floods, supply water for commercial and domestic use, and in navigation among other uses. Subsequently, there are various dams that have been currently built in the world and one such dam is the Aswan High Dam that is situated in Egypt, and built across the Nile River by two main engineers, Maurice Fitzmaurice and Benjamin Baker. A study on this dam would reveal that it is approximately 3,600m in length and approximately 111m in height. The construction of the dam was completed in the year 1970, and its inauguration took place in January 1971. Other than the domestic uses that the dam has been to, it is used to generate electricity that approximates 10 billion kilowatts in a single year, much of which is supplied in the whole of Egypt. To this regard, it can be said that dams are of a great value to economies all over the world. A diagrammatic representation of the Aswan High Dam is as shown in the figure below. Figure 1: Diagrammatic aerial view of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt. Dams are also constructed in various forms and natures and currently, the variation of the types of dams vary from gravity dams, arch dams, and steel dams to others such as timber dams, rock fills, barrages and earth fill dams. The attainment of the objectives of this project shall involve an intensive study of Ladybower Reservoir, as the dam under study. Consequently, an in-depth study shall incorporate key aspects such as a brief, but, detailed introduction and historical background about the reservoir, a desk study of its aspects, a study on the nature and form of its strata conditions, the slope stability of the dam, and the foundation of the reservoir’s spillway. Subsequently, other aspects shall include the determination of the seepage of the dam in terms of under and through seepage, retaining wall of the reservoir and the foundation of the pump house. The study of all these aspects shall be aimed at providing a comprehensive report for use in assessing the engineering structure of the reservoir. LADYBOWER RESERVOIR Introduction The location of Ladybower reservoir is in the UK in a place known as Derbyshire. Particularly, the dam is situated in the upper part of the Derwent Valley approximately 10 miles distance from Sheffield city. The construction work of this dam began in 1943 and lasted for about two years. The position of the reservoir can be stated as strategic given that it has two rivers that flow into it; one from the west side of it and another from its southern end. As such, an aerial view of this reservoir would reveal a Y-shaped diagram as presented in the figures below. Figure 2: Ladybower reservoir Considering the view presented by Ladybower reservoir, it serves as a good point from which the river can be viewed; hence, it is a good place to visit as most people have been encouraged to do the same. Additionally, considering that the reservoir is an earth-filled type of dam, this implies that it belongs to the type of Embankment Dams. The nature of such kind of dams is that they contain earth materials like sand, clay or rocks and they can be covered up using other materials such as limestone for purposes of increasing their angles of slope. This is a typical case for the reservoir and considering that the area where it was constructed in is a form of a valley, the earth-filled dam type became the best option for the reservoir. This implies then that this stage requires engineering designs and studies much more than other dam construction stages. Desk Study Description of the site Based on the Google map directions obtained during this study, Ladybower reservoir is situated about 11.5 miles away from Sheffield city. Its access can be easily made through the use of trains that can be boarded at the nearest station located at Bamford. The train station at Bamford is situated at about 2 miles away from the reservoir. Subsequently, from the Google map figure below, it can be shown that Y-shape valley in which the reservoir is built in is comprised of two convergent rivers that flow into the reservoir. These rivers include Derwent River from that flows from the north of the dam and Ashopton River that flows from the west. Figure 3: Google map view of Ladybower Reservoir Existing Buildings The nearby buildings to the reservoir were affected during its construction. Such places that were near the reservoir, which were affected by the construction of the dam included Derwent, Ashopton and Bamford. This shows that about three villages were affected by the construction of the dam thus, calling for the provision of home replacements for the displaced persons. In analyzing these villages, it is shown that the first village, Ashopton, was located at the joining point of the Snake valley and the Derwent valley. During the building of the artificial lake in the 1930s to 1940s, the village and its neighboring surroundings and villages such as Bamford, were destroyed as they were located in the point that had been selected for the project. The second village, Derwent, was affected too as it is noted that even the church, cemetery and other significant buildings that were built in the region were demolished during the construction process for the reservoir. The demolition of these villages was also propagated by the ever rising water levels from the two rivers at around the year 1944 that kept on threatening the lives and livelihoods of the inhabitants of the same. Thus, it was a joint agreement by the government of UK to destroy the villages and relocate the inhabitants to other places for their settlement. Images captured from Google map of the two main villages, Ashopton and Derwent is as shown below. Figure 4: Ashopton and Derwent villages as shown on Google map Ashopton village Derwent village Ground investigation In the present project, an investigation of the ~™Vé þvl³{u8«Òz‹ºHÈ Ì*„­æ˜ñ:ž(W‘☕ ~«¨JÈÁTøe\O*ðtHG½€HYµæ–}KNßÁP±*ݾ˦±‹ﾵŠ‑TѼ9/#·øA7ÂqZ…Ð$*c?¢íqUßån†èwðNºû øä‑‑Normal‑‑2‑Microsoft Office Word@Œ†G@î`c]LÏ@î`c]LÏÕÃþÿÕÍÕœ.“—+,ù®0è hp|„Œ” œ¤¬´ ¼ Éä‑ – ‑ ‑Title þÿÿÿ ﾵﾧþÿÿÿ‑­ !"#þÿÿÿ%&()*+þÿÿÿýÿÿÿ.þÿÿÿþÿÿÿþÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿRoot Entryÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÀF4öd]LÏ0€1Table ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ WordDocumentÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ7SummaryInformation(ÿÿÿÿDocumentSummaryInformation8ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ$CompObjÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿrÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿþÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿþÿ ÿÿÿÿ ÀF Microsoft Word 97-2003 Document MSWordDocWord.Document.8ô9²qa—¡D‰Ó芋“¹¿zŘÁûÌ¥¬;ﾵÅßÇZﾵ¸÷Þ{9jǶíOž8 °Ê¢ª Õ÷ëÆe€tÌx çÏEKJ§­>ôæ/ñKO#_ý“¯F[{—zÐýé»Úô+bŸ¹#ûGÂû§­‑Ÿ¾ÀºÆTæL4hµý+ºM¨ÑðÚ™‘ŸPœ£‑»«ÎÑvLÌ>{ °2°.\¸dé× Read More