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Buckling behaviour of thin concrete arch dams
The buckling strength of concrete arch dams in the form of thin-walled shells having single and double curvature has been studied. When subjected to the hydrostatic pressure applied by the retained water, the shell undergoes mostly compressive internal reactions, which can lead in the thin shell buc...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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Department of Civil Engineering
2026
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| _version_ | 1867614309959335936 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Letsika, Malefetsane David |
| author2 | Zingoni, Alphose |
| author_browse | Letsika, Malefetsane David Zingoni, Alphose |
| author_facet | Zingoni, Alphose Letsika, Malefetsane David |
| author_sort | Letsika, Malefetsane David |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The buckling strength of concrete arch dams in the form of thin-walled shells having single and double curvature has been studied. When subjected to the hydrostatic pressure applied by the retained water, the shell undergoes mostly compressive internal reactions, which can lead in the thin shell buckling. The buckling strength of the arch dam is influenced by a variety of factors. These include the valley shape, thickness variation of the shell, the arch's geometry, and the degree of arch bulging. In this research, finite element modelling is used to assess the buckling behaviour of concrete arch dams (single and double curvature) having constant, linear, and quadratic thickness variation. The results are presented in the form of design plots that allow a safe set of design parameters to be selected while simultaneously indicating the safety factor linked with the implemented design. Several noteworthy observations have been made. It is seen that the buckling pressures drop drastically with increasing the arch dam depth (aspect ratio), with the rate of decrease diminishing as the depth increases. The bulging of the shell (rise ratio) has a notably large impact on the buckling strength of the arch dam and can thus be utilized to enhance the buckling strength of an arch. The geometric aspect of the valley shape does have a significant effect on the buckling strength with a decrease in the dam base width increasing the buckling strength significantly. the mathematical form of the arch (parabolic/circular) has no appreciable impact on its buckling strength. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43146 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:50:00.361Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Department of Civil Engineering |
| publisherStr | Department of Civil Engineering |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43146 Buckling behaviour of thin concrete arch dams Letsika, Malefetsane David Zingoni, Alphose aspect ratio buckling Arch Dams buckling strength The buckling strength of concrete arch dams in the form of thin-walled shells having single and double curvature has been studied. When subjected to the hydrostatic pressure applied by the retained water, the shell undergoes mostly compressive internal reactions, which can lead in the thin shell buckling. The buckling strength of the arch dam is influenced by a variety of factors. These include the valley shape, thickness variation of the shell, the arch's geometry, and the degree of arch bulging. In this research, finite element modelling is used to assess the buckling behaviour of concrete arch dams (single and double curvature) having constant, linear, and quadratic thickness variation. The results are presented in the form of design plots that allow a safe set of design parameters to be selected while simultaneously indicating the safety factor linked with the implemented design. Several noteworthy observations have been made. It is seen that the buckling pressures drop drastically with increasing the arch dam depth (aspect ratio), with the rate of decrease diminishing as the depth increases. The bulging of the shell (rise ratio) has a notably large impact on the buckling strength of the arch dam and can thus be utilized to enhance the buckling strength of an arch. The geometric aspect of the valley shape does have a significant effect on the buckling strength with a decrease in the dam base width increasing the buckling strength significantly. the mathematical form of the arch (parabolic/circular) has no appreciable impact on its buckling strength. 2026-04-29T09:34:52Z 2026-04-29T09:34:52Z 2023 2026-04-29T07:28:15Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters Masters http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43146 en eng application/pdf Department of Civil Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | aspect ratio buckling Arch Dams buckling strength Letsika, Malefetsane David Buckling behaviour of thin concrete arch dams |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Buckling behaviour of thin concrete arch dams |
| title_full | Buckling behaviour of thin concrete arch dams |
| title_fullStr | Buckling behaviour of thin concrete arch dams |
| title_full_unstemmed | Buckling behaviour of thin concrete arch dams |
| title_short | Buckling behaviour of thin concrete arch dams |
| title_sort | buckling behaviour of thin concrete arch dams |
| topic | aspect ratio buckling Arch Dams buckling strength |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43146 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT letsikamalefetsanedavid bucklingbehaviourofthinconcretearchdams |