Effect of the Symmetrical Variation of Top Width on the Stability of Concrete Gravity Dam, using the Classical Theory

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@article{1710171,
      author = {Ngele Celestine Friday, Omopariola Sunday Samuel},
      title = {Effect of the Symmetrical Variation of Top Width on the Stability of Concrete Gravity Dam, using the Classical Theory},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2025},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {764-773},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1710171.pdf},
      abstract = {The history of dam dates back to ancient civilization, and to this very day it still plays a huge role in the in everyday life of man. From power generation, to irrigation, and from tourism to fish farming the role of dam to the socio-economic wellbeing of any nation cannot be overstated. Due to its importance and the huge resources involved in dam construction, scientist over the years have sort to understand the engineering dynamics of dam structures to ensure their durability and stability, thereby developing various theories for the analysis of dam. Due to its simplicity and yet completeness in addressing the different aspect of dam stability, this study used the classical theory of beams to study the effect of top width variation on the stability of concrete gravity dams. The study section has a bottom width of 10m, a top width varying from 0 to 10m given us 11 study cases. The study reveals that the ratio of the top width of the dam to the bottom width plays a big role in the stability of the dam. We found the optimum top width to bottom width ratio to be 0.6, for a symmetrical trapezoidal gravity dam. The study further reveals that the rectangular dam is the most stable of the three dam sections identified by our study variations, followed by trapezoidal dams, and finally by triangular dams. The study further buttressing the findings in literatures that gravity dam offer good resistance to the forces acting on the dam. },
      keywords = {Gravity, Dam, Symmetrical, Stability, Classical Theory, Width variation. },
      month = {August},
  }