What are the forces
on a gravity dam?

These are the main forces on a dam.
Place your mouse each force in the list to see it on the dam:

• forces of the reservoir water

• weight of concrete

• all forces together

• internal water pressure: in pores, cracks, joints, and seams
  
• temperature variations in the concrete
  
• earthquake loads
  
• settlement of the foundation or abutments
  

Forces on a dam in a simuation

To the right is a dam modelled for simulation. You must tell the program where the dam feels forces. Here, the forces are signified by the yellow dots. First, on the left hand edge, the dam feels the force of the water. Second, on the slanted right edge, the dam feels the weight of the concrete at a single point (it really should be at the centroid). The force of the water and the weight of the concrete are the two most important forces to include in your simulation.

Along the bottom edge, the red dots tell the program that the dam is fixed to the foundation.