Arched Dams

A solution of the problem of arch dam analysis is offered which, although not free from objection, avoids the obvious defects of the ordinary cylinder theory. These defects are, that, by the latter theory, the arch thrust is a maximum at the base of the dam where, as a matter of fact, it must vanish and that it vanishes at the crest where, in any ordinary case, the deflection is greatest and, as a consequence, the stress due to the arch thrust must be a maximum. Two cases are dealt with: (1) A complete cylindrical dam or tank of uniform thickness throughout; (2) a complete cylindrical dam or tank of uniformly varying thickness from crest to base. The mathematical investigation of these cases is given in Appendix I. Case 1 is found to be included in Case 2.