Fluid Mechanics (civil) - Essay Example

However, it is a proven fact that dams are also responsible for causing low to high degree tremors, soil erosion and they render the site useless for future cultivation. Typical dam location can be represented as: Dam Design and Operation: Effective dam designing requires a clear understanding of destructive potential of uncontrolled water. To ensure that its force is subdued, it must be confined to safe passages. A dam alters natural equilibrium at its site. As water is impounded, a new regime of seepage develops in the barriers that form reservoir.

The characteristics of the materials used in the dam construction give different capabilities to the dam structure. Water in rivers is obstructed with the dam walls and guided to an inside chamber for storage. It is then released as and when required by the doors of these chambers. Released water is either mixed with river water and supplied to irrigation land or is used to run turbines for electricity generation. 1. google search engine, google book search, Robert B. Jansen(1988), ‘Advanced dam engineering for design, construction, and rehabilitation’, Springer publication, March 9, 2009, 2-3; retrieved from 2.

google search engine, google book search, Imre V. Nagy, D. Kofi Asante-Duah, István Zsuffa (2002), ‘Hydrological Dimensioning and Operation of Reservoirs: Practical Design Concepts and Principles’, Springer publication, March 9, 2009, retrieved from