Past Experience With High Dams and Outlook for the Future

This is a brief account of past practice in the design of high dams, with comments that indicate that the higher dams of the future will be of a solid masonry gravity type, either arched or straight. As between a straight gravity dam and a dam of the same section arched in plan, preference is given to the latter, or the so-called "arched gravity dam". Between an arched gravity dam in which-because of the preponderance of gravity action-the arch stresses are low, and a less-than-gravity section arch in which the arch action predominates, preference is given the arched gravity type. Reasons for the writer's belief that the arched gravity dam is more stable than a straight gravity dam of the same section are given in the paper. Furthermore, some suggestions for the design of future high dam s are offered for consideration.