Wolwedans Dam Explained

Wolwedans Dam
Name Official:Wolwedans Dam
Dam Crosses:Great Brak River
Res Name:Wolwedans Dam Reservoir
Location:Western Cape
Country:South Africa
Owner:Department of Water Affairs
Dam Type:Arch-gravity
Purpose:Water supply
Opening:1990
Res Catchment:123 km2
Coordinates:-34.0136°N 22.2167°W
Location Map:South Africa

Wolwedans Dam is a concrete dam in South Africa located on the Great Brak River near Mossel Bay, Western Cape, South Africa. The dam is the main source of water for the municipality of Mossel Bay[1] as well as the gas-to-liquids refinery PetroSA. The dam serves mainly for municipal and industrial water supply purposes.

Design

Completed in early 1990, it was the first in the world single center arch-gravity dam made of roller-compacted concrete fully relying on three-dimensional arch action for stability. The 70-m high dam has a vertical upstream face and a stepped downstream face at a slope of 0.5:1 (H:V). It has a constant extrados radius of 135 m and a crest length of 268 m. The non-overflow crest is 5 m wide. The dam was built of 0.25 m thick roller-compacted concrete layers with induced joints at 10 m spacing and de-bounding every 4th layer. The RCC of approximately 200000m2 was placed in October and November 1988 and between May and November 1989. The induced joints were grouted in winter, between July and November 1993. The reservoir was filled to capacity in 1992.

Composition of the high-paste RCC
Portland Cement Fly Ash Water Coarse Aggregate Fine Aggregate
kg/m3kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3
58 136 100 1510 625

The RCC mix properties were:

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mossel Bay Municipality; services . www.mosselbay.gov.za . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110921234953/http://www.mosselbay.gov.za/services . 2011-09-21.