The 5th International Symposium on RCC Dams

EFFECT OF FOUNDATION CONDITION ON STATIC AND DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR OF PROPOSED NAM THEUN 1 RCC ARCH-GRAVITY DAM IN LAOS
Martin Wieland1, Sujan Malla2, Richard Guimond3 1, Chairman, ICOLD Committee on Seismic Aspects of Dam Design, c/o Poyry Energy Ltd., Hardturmstrasse 161, CH-8037 Zurich, Switzerland, martin.wieland@poyry.com 2,3, Senior Engineer and 3, Project Manager, Poyry Energy Ltd., Hardturmstrasse 161, CH-8037 Zurich, Switzerland, richard.guimond@poyry.com Abstract: The proposed Nam Theun 1 (NT1) hydropower project is located on the Nam Kading River in Laos, about 33 km upstream of the confluence with the Mekong River. The main purpose of this 474 MW project is power generation. The bulk of the generated energy will be exported to Thailand. The main element of this project is an arch-gravity dam with a maximum height of approx. 180 m, a crest length of 762 m, and thicknesses of 8 m and 100 m at the crest and the base, respectively. The dam is located on a geological formation consisting mainly of alternating layers of sandstone and mudstone. The dam will be built of roller compacted concrete (RCC) with a volume of 2.3 million m3 and will form a reservoir with a surface area of 112 km2, at full supply level. The catchment area is 14,070 km2 and the average annual rainfall is 2.3 m to 2.6 m. The probable maximum flood (PMF) discharge is 33,600 m3/s. The income generated by the energy export to Thailand will not only provide the basis for the development of the reservoir region but also contribute to the sustainable economic growth of Laos. As the mechanical properties of the foundation rock are moderate, an arch-gravity dam has been proposed for the site. This type of dam has the advantage that the stresses are relatively small at the dam-rock interface, except along relatively narrow zones at the upstream and downstream edges of the interface. The effect of different foundation properties on the static and seismic stresses and the deformations are discussed in this paper. For that purpose different stiffness properties of the foundation rock are assumed, which cover the whole range of soft to stiff rock. The results show, that the stresses in the dam due to water load and gravity load do not depend much on the foundation stiffness; however, the deformations of the dam are strongly influenced by the rock properties. The earthquake response also depends on the foundation stiffness as the seismic forces depend on the eigenfrequencies of the dominant modes of vibration, which become smaller with decreasing foundation stiffness. Furthermore, the methodology used to arrive at the optimum dam type and shape is discussed. Key words: RCC arch-gravity dam, stress analysis, seismic analysis, eigenfrequency analysis, dam foundation.

The 5th International Symposium on RCC Dams

Introduction

The most important component of a major hydropower project planned in Laos is an arch-gravity dam with a maximum height of 180 m and a crest length of 762 m (see Figure 1). The dam thicknesses at the crest and the base are equal to 8 m and 100 m, respectively. The dam is located on a geological formation consisting mainly of alternating layers of sandstone and mudstone. The dam will be built of RCC with a volume of 2.3 million m3 and will form a reservoir with a maximum surface area of 112 km2, at full supply level. To improve the watertightness of the dam and to make full use of the economical benefits of RCC, an impervious membrane or a special concrete facing are considered on the upstream face of the dam. The catchment has an area of 14,070 km2 and the average annual rainfall is 2.3 m to 2.6 m. The 1000-year flood has a peak reservoir inflow of 19,200 m3/s. The estimated probable maximum flood (PMF) of 33'600 m3/s has to be safely released by the spillway structure located on the dam body. As the mechanical properties of the foundation rock are moderate, an arch-gravity dam has been proposed for the site. This type of dam has the advantage that the stresses are relatively small at the dam-rock interface, except along relatively narrow zones at the upstream and downstream edges of the interface. The methodology used to arrive at the optimum dam type and shape is discussed in this paper.

Figure 1. Layout of Nam Theun 1 power plant (left) and photo of dam site (right) 2 Optimum Dam Shape

The selection of the optimum dam type on a foundation with partly known mechanical properties was mainly governed by the following criteria: i) Stability of the dam and the foundation rock under static and seismic actions; and ii) Stresses within the dam and in the dam-foundation contact zone under static and seismic actions. The seismic hazard at the dam site is moderate and the horizontal peak ground acceleration of the 10,000-year earthquake, referred to as the MCE, is 0.33 g. The mobilization of arch action was considered as essential to improve the sliding stability of the dam due to the presence of some relatively weak mudstone layers in the foundation. From a
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The 5th International Symposium on RCC Dams

purely kinematic point of view, an arch dam with a symmetric shape and exerting moderate forces on the supporting rock cannot slide downstream even if some local strength and stiffness irregularities exist in the foundation rock. Moreover, as uplift and the direction of the resulting water pressure on the grout curtain played an important role in the sliding stability considerations, the layout of the grout curtain was optimized so that the resulting water pressure would act in a less unfavorable direction. It was important to limit the stresses acting on the foundation rock because of the moderate strength and stiffness properties of the sandstone and especially in view of the presence of some relatively weak mudstone layers. Therefore, an arch-gravity dam was preferred over an arch dam. An additional advantage of an arch-gravity versus an arch dam is that the strength requirements of the concrete are also moderate, making it possible to use RCC instead of conventional mass concrete. Moreover, an arch-gravity dam allows the incorporation of the spillway in the dam body. This was important for this project as the design floods were very large. The optimization of the dam shape was performed by considering the effects of uncertainties in the elastic properties of the foundation rock on the stresses in the dam and in the dam-foundation contact zone [1]. As the properties of the foundation rock mass were not known very well, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to investigate the effect of the foundation properties on the stresses and deformations in the dam. These analyses are described and discussed in the following sections. The rendered finite element model of the dam-foundation system is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Analysis model of the dam-foundation system of proposed Nam Theun 1 arch-gravity dam showing the main mudstone layers in the dam foundation (spillway structure made of reinforced concrete is marked in red) 3 Analyzed cases

The static Youngs modulus (E) and the Poissons ratio of concrete were taken as 16 GPa and 0.2, respectively. The static Youngs modulus was reduced to account for the effect of the creep deformation under the long-term loads. In the dynamic analysis, the Youngs modulus of concrete was taken as 30 GPa. The Youngs moduli of the sandstone and the mudstone were taken as 8 and 3.5 GPa, respectively, which were the best estimates given by the geologists and the rock mechanics experts.
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The 5th International Symposium on RCC Dams

The same elastic properties of sandstone and mudstone were assumed in both the static and dynamic analyses. The dam analysis was performed for the following cases of the foundation rock properties (case 1 is representative, and cases 2 to 6 are hypothetical): 1) Layered foundation with the best estimates of elastic properties of sandstone and mudstone (representative case); Erock = 8 GPa (sandstone) and 3.5 GPa (mudstone) 2) Homogeneous foundation consisting only of sandstone; Erock = 8 GPa 3) Homogeneous foundation with the same stiffness as concrete; Erock = 16 GPa (static) and 30 GPa (dynamic) 4) Layered foundation in which Youngs modulus of mudstone was reduced to 1/3 and that of sandstone left unchanged; Erock = 8 GPa (sandstone) and 1.2 GPa (mudstone) 5) Homogeneous foundation consisting only of mudstone; Erock = 3.5 GPa 6) Layered foundation in which Youngs modulus of mudstone was reduced to 1/10 and that of sandstone left unchanged; Erock = 8 GPa (sandstone) and 0.35 GPa (mudstone) Table 1. Maximum static and dynamic responses of arch-gravity dam for different elastic properties of foundation rock
Case Max. radial crest deflection (mm) (relative to base) due to water load Largest principal tensile stress (MPa) in crown cantilever due to water load Largest principal compressive stress (MPa) in crown cantilever due to water load Eigenfrequency (Hz) of first symmetric mode (full reservoir) Max. radial crest deflection (mm) (relative to model boundary) due to MCE (full reservoir) Max. absolute radial crest acceleration (g) at crest of crown cantilever due to MCE (full reservoir) Largest principal dynamic stress (MPa) in crown cantilever due to MCE (full reservoir) 1 88 2 80 3 70 4 106 5 104 6 133

6.4

6.1

5.7

6.9

6.2

7.1

-7.6

-6.6

-6.2

-9.1

-6.5

-10.4

1.43

1.54

1.91

1.27

1.23

1.12

74

71

59

79

81

87

1.13

1.25

1.73

0.97

0.86

0.86

5.9

6.2

7.9

6.6

5.2

7.1

All cases were analyzed using the same 3D finite element model. The dynamic analysis was performed using the response spectrum method using the first 30 modes, which excite altogether more than 95% of the dynamic mass in each direction. The damping ratio was assumed to be equal to 5% for all the modes. The main results of the static and dynamic analyses of the dam are listed in Table 1 and plotted in Figures 3 to 8 for the various cases.

The 5th International Symposium on RCC Dams

Figure 3. Principal tensile stresses (MPa) in crown cantilever due to water load for different foundation scenarios (largest values are listed in Table 1)

Figure 4. Principal tensile stresses (MPa) on upstream face due to water load for different foundation scenarios (largest values in crown cantilever are listed in Table 1)
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The 5th International Symposium on RCC Dams

Figure 5. Principal compressive stresses (MPa) in crown cantilever due to water load for different foundation scenarios (largest values are listed in Table 1)

Figure 6. Principal compressive stresses (MPa) on upstream face due to water load for different foundation scenarios (largest values in crown cantilever are listed in Table 1)
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The 5th International Symposium on RCC Dams

Figure 7. Largest principal dynamic stresses (MPa) in crown cantilever due to MCE for different foundation scenarios with full reservoir (principal tensile and compressive stresses are identical and largest values are listed in Table 1)

Figure 8. Largest principal dynamic stresses (MPa) on upstream face due to MCE for different foundation scenarios with full reservoir (principal tensile and compressive stresses are identical and largest values in crown cantilever are listed in Table 1)
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The 5th International Symposium on RCC Dams

Discussion and conclusions

From the results of the various cases, it is clear that even a large variation of the elastic properties of rock causes only a comparatively small change in the radial crest displacement. The distributions of the static stresses in the various cases are also mostly similar in the dam body. The largest differences are noticeable at the dam-foundation contact zone. The large principal compressive stresses and the dynamic stresses occurring in the crest area of the crown cantilever, as illustrated in Figures 5 and 7, are in the arch direction. In the crown cantilever, static compressive stresses exceeding 3 MPa are limited to a relatively narrow zone having a width of less than 10 m (10% of the base width of 100 m) at the downstream toe, even in the worst case analyzed (i.e. case 6). The size of the zone with high stresses in the foundation rock is also of the same order as in the dam body. Any foundation treatment to improve the rock properties should be performed mainly in such highly stressed zones. As the eigenfrequencies of the dam depend on the average stiffness of the foundation rock, the highest eigenfrequencies are obtained in case 3. Due to the shape of the MCE response spectrum, the accelerations and the dynamic stresses in the dam increase when the foundation rock becomes stiffer. A comparison of the results of the various cases shows that any change of the rock stiffness has a relatively small effect on the dynamic stresses in the dam body, but the crest acceleration is affected more strongly by this change. It should be noted that relatively high elastic stresses are obtained along narrow strips at the upstream and downstream edges of the dam-rock interface because of stress singularities [2]. The computed stresses at these locations would become even higher if a finer finite element mesh is used. The static and dynamic stresses and displacements in the dam are not very sensitive to quite large variations in the foundation rock properties. As the distribution of the displacements along the abutment remains smooth in spite of the presence of several soft mudstone layers, unacceptable stress concentrations are not produced in the dam body and the foundation rock. It is, therefore, concluded that the foundation condition plays only a minor role in the stresses in the dam, provided that the soft rock layers are relatively thin compared to the dam thickness at the dam-foundation contact. The radial crest displacement due to the water load depends on the elastic deformation of the dam body and the rotation of the dam-foundation contact. If the stiffness of the mudstone layers is reduced from 3.5 GPa to 0.35 GPa, the maximum radial crest displacement due to the full water load increases from 88 mm to 133 mm. A similar increase of the radial crest displacement can be expected also in the case of a gravity dam. Hence, from the viewpoint of stresses and deformations, a large arch-gravity dam is feasible even at locations with thin layers of relatively soft rock. References [1] S. Malla, M. Wieland and R. Guimond, Proposed Large RCC Arch-Gravity Dam in Southeast Asia. Proc. of 22nd International Congress on Large Dams, Vol. 5, Question 84, ICOLD, Barcelona, Spain, June 2006. [2] M. Wieland and S. Malla, Investigating Stress Concentration. International Water Power & Dam Construction, Vol. 59, No. 1, pp. 28-33, Jan. 2007.
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