Three Gorges Dam

Name:Three Gorges Dam

Location:Located on Yangtze river in Sandouping,South China.

Co-ordinates:30 49’ North 111 00’ South.

Dam Type:Concrete Gravity Dam.

Length of the dam:2.3 Km.

Height of the dam:185 m

Materials used are:Cement(10.82 million tons),Concrete(26.4 million cu.m),Rolled Steel

(1.92 million tons),Timber(1.6 million cu.m).

Construction Period:1993-2009

Construction Cost:25 billion US Dollars.

Expected Life:100 years.

Climatic Data:

Average Max Temperature:32 deg.

Average Min Temperature:2 deg.

Some Statistics about the dam:

Reservoir Capacity:1.39 trillion cu.ft.

Electricity Production:18,000 megawatts.

Gravity Dams:

A gravity dam is made from concrete or masonry,or sometimes both.It is called gravity dam because gravity holds it down to the ground stopping the water in the reservoir

Pushing it over.Cross-section of gravity dam look similar to a triangle.Gravity dams are built mostly on wide or narrow valleys,but they need to be built on strong rocks.

Construction Sequence of a Dam:

Construction of Dam (Material Requirement and its properties)

Concrete construction operations are of vital importance for the designer of the structure. The safety of any structure is related to the certain design criteria which includes factor of safety

Design Requirements:

Basically a concrete structure must be capable of providing its intended use for a long period of time.To serve its purpose concrete must have high strength to carry the design loads in safe and efficient manner.The concrete through the structure must be of uniform quality because the structure is...

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...tures but this higher strength concrete is not desirable from standpoint of economy of design.In cold climates where cycles of

Freezing and thawing often occur it is advantageous to use a special mix for the face concrete of the dam to assure adequate durability.A higher cement content and lower water to portland cement ratio , or when mix contains pozzolan a lower water to portland cement plus pozzolan ratio is often used in the outer portions of the dam.

There may be some variations in the mix because of the change in characteristics of the

Cement and aggregates that are being used int design of the structure.The amount of cement to be used per cubic meter yard of concrete is determined by mixing investigations which is primarily aimed in obtaining desired strength and durability of concrete.The type of cement is to be determined by other design considerations.