What are the forces
acting on a buttress dam?

These are the main forces on a dam.
Roll over each force to see it on the dam. Click on each one to learn more about it:

• forces of the reservoir water

• uplift force

• weight of concrete

• all forces together

• there may be water on the downstream side of the dam as well; this water will have the same sort of vertical and horizontal forces on the dam as the water on the upstream side
  
• internal hydrostatic pressure: in pores, cracks, joints, and seams
  
• temperature variations
  
• chemical reactions
  
• silt pressure; silt will build up over time on the upstream side; silt provides about 1.5 times the horizontal pressure of water and twice the vertical pressure of water
  
• ice load on the upstream side
  
• wave load on the upstream side
  
• earthquake loads
  
• settlement of the foundation or abutments
  
• other structures on top of the dam -- gates, a bridge, cars
  
• creep of concrete: deformation of the concrete when under a constant load for a long period of time.