System Design for the Eucembene Dam Construction Project
The Eucembene dam is an earth-filled embankment that has got a bucket spillway as well as an overflow ski-jump that is built perpendicular to the to the lift gates. The dam is built along the River Eucembene that is located in the snowy mountains of the New South Wales. It is among the largest dams that make up the snowy mountains scheme in Australia. Its construction began in the year 1949 together with the other dams and came to a completion in the year 1974. The dam was built purposefully to be a major hydroelectric power generator (Byrne, 2010). Besides generation of hydroelectric power, it also provides water that is used for irrigation purposes domestically and also in the complex that is built in the South East Australia.
This research paper is intended to perform a critical analysis of the process of system design for the Eucembene dam construction project. It focuses on first making a presentation of the preliminary design of the dam and then an elaborative and detailed design for the same. Given that till this point, the conceptual design stages of the project had already been carried out, the factors that were put to consideration during that stage is fully incorporated during the preliminary and detailed design preparation. Some of these factors include the identification of needs, system planning, concept of maintenance, functional analysis, system operation requirements, performance measurement and the concept of support (Coffey, 2012). The above named factors will be vital considerations when coming up with the detailed design specifications of the Eucembene Dam. Once an elaborative and perfect detailed design of the dam was accomplished, the constructions works were the carried out on the basis of the design prepared. Before fully commissioning the dam, a system test was performed on the final product of construction. This was aimed at determining whether the constructed Eucembene Dam does meet the intended objectives as per design. During the system test, all the parties that were involved in the project will be able to determine whether the project meets the safety standards as per the regulations set up by the concerned state departments. Finally the Eucembene Dam will be evaluated to find out to determine the benefits that comes along with the project and that if it achieves a perfect optimization for its value. It is therefore an important practice to come up with undoubtedly the best and elaborative design of a project as will be discussed for the Eucembene Dam construction project.
This is a crucial stage of design that incorporates the generation of bigger design concepts level. This stage will focus on the definitions and how the major concepts for selected system are developed (Cole, Coltheart & Moulds, 2010). It also discusses the allocations for the basic requirements of the subsystems. The main idea of is to show that the project that is to be set up will follow the performance requirements as well as the specifications for design. It also factors in whether the project can be carried with the methods that are available.
Embarkment Dam Design and Construction
The Eucembene dam was designed to be an embankment dam which is a big artificial dam. Its development is based on the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound that is made up of different configurations of soil, clay, rock or sand. It was designed to have a semi-pervious natural covering that is waterproof to make up for its surface as well a core that is dense and impervious in nature. The above named features enable the dam to be impervious to the erosion that occurs from seepage. An embankment dam should also comprise of fragmented material particles that are independent (Crichton et al, 2014). There exists a friction that performs the function of binding the particles together into a mass that is stable. It does not imply the idea of cementing the substance.
The Eucembene dam is designed as an earth-filled dam that is literally built from the compacted earth. Its cross section displays a shape that is in the form of a hill or a bank. It also has a cross section that performs the duty of preventing water from seeping through the dam. The core is mainly made up of an impermeable material that can either be concrete, clay or even asphalt concrete in nature. The dam was generally constructed on a hard rock (Endersbee, 2013).
During the construction, there are a number of safety requirements that have to be incorporated in the design to achieve the safety requirements. The safety requirements also have to be well laid out in the design at this stage. The spillway should be designed in such a way that it can contain a flood stage that is maximum. An overtopping protection system should therefore be designed for the dam. For the Eucembene dam, there were a number of techniques that were put in place in order to achieve the safety standards. The techniques include reinforced earth, a protection system of concrete overtopping, gabions, minimum energy loss weirs, riprap and a protection system of precast concrete block (Walker, 2013).
The detailed design stage is basically a continuation of the preliminary stage of a project set up. This phase involves a number of vital activities that have to be followed in order to achieve a proper design. A design requirement for all the components and parts of the project must be developed (Erskine, Terrazzolo & Warner, 2011). An implementation of the vital technical activities that will enable fulfillment of the objectives of the design is then carried out. Once that is also achieved, a review of the design, necessary evaluation as well as a feedback capability is then implemented. The final part of the detailed design is to incorporate any change that could have occurred during the reviews in the most appropriate way.
The basic detailed features of the Eucembene dam are as follows;
- Reservoir capacity
The dam has a capacity of 4798400 ML (1055×109 imp gal; 1267.6×109 US gal). This makes it the largest reservoir in the snowy mountains scheme.
- Dam wall height
The dam has a wall height of 116 m (381 ft.)
- Length of the crest
Construction Safety and Techniques
579 m (1900 ft.)
- Spillway type- it has just one spillway of the type overflow ski-jump and bucket that has 2 vertical gates (Gale, 2010).
- Capacity of the spillway- the spillway has a capacity of 475 m3(16800 cu ft/s)
- Active reservoir capacity- the active reservoir capacity is 4366.5 GL (9.605×1011imp gal) (4.3665 km3; 3540000 acre. ft.)
- Catchment area- the reservoir has a catchment area of 683 km2(264 sq. mi)
- Surface area- the dam is located on a surface area of 14542 ha (35930 acres)
- Type of dam- the dam is an earth filled embankment.
- It has the lake Eucembene as the impounding body of water.
- Maximum depth of water- the maximum water depth that can be achieved is 107 m (351 ft.)
- Dam volume- the dam has a volume of 6735000 m3(237800000 cu ft.)
To begin with, there are several vital aspects of design that have to be put to consideration when constructing the Eucembene dam. Such aspects will ensure the design of the dam achieves the required specifications that will help meet its objectives. The aspects include;
- An intake tower (s)
- A control gate
- Dam crest
- Penstocks
- Control gate
- Gate outlet
- Spillway tunnel
- Powerhouse
The Eucembene dam had its outer walls built of rock with the inner core being compacted with impervious clay. The left abutment of the wall of the dam is made of a subsidiary embankment that comprises of up to 121900 cubic meters (4300000 cu ft.) of fill that is across a low saddle in a ridge (Langford-Smith, 2012). The design specifications of the dam wall enables to hold back up to 4798 liters of water when it is at 100% capacity. The water of water that it can be able to hold at such a capacity can be compared to 9 times the Sydney harbor water volume.
The foundation of the dam was made up of closely jointed quartzite and siltstone with an overburden of slope wash and decomposed rock. The overburden gets to a depth of 6.1 meters (20 ft.).
The dam has Lake Eucembene reservoir that is the largest of all reservoirs within the snowy mountains scheme. The lake acts as a central connection for both the southern and northern haves of the snowy mountain scheme. There is a tunnel of a circular diameter of 21 ft (6.3 meters) and of 14.6 mi (23.5 kilometers) of length that connects the snowy river located at bend Pondage Island and river Eucembene at Lake Eucembene. The tunnel is also the longest built within the snowy mountains scheme. The tunnel is referred to as the Eucembene snowy mountains scheme Haupt tunnel (Lee, & Speedie, 2012).
There also exists another tunnel, referred to as the Eucembene Tumut Haupt tunnel, of length of 22.2 meters. The tunnel diverts river snowy flow to the Tumut River and then empting its water into a pond known as Tumut pond reservoir and then into the basin of Murray Darling.
The construction for the Eucembene Tumut Haupt tunnel began in November 1954 and came to a completion in July 1959. Close to 28% of the tunnel has a lining of 21 ft. (6.4 meters) worth of circular diameter. It has a residual that is unlined and has got a circular diameter of 22.7 ft. (6.93 meters). The construction of the tunnel was done by metamorphosed sedimentary rock and granite. The activity of setting up the tunnel involved excavation before using concrete to do the installation of the pipeline. Close to 978600 cubic meters were excavated and in its place, 71100 cubic meters of concrete was installed (Magee, 2016).
In order to begin the construction of the dam, it was necessary to first divert the Eucembene waters around the dam wall site. A diversion tunnel was constructed on the valley side to facilitate this. A water intake tower was built at the start of the diversion tunnel. The tunnel is still useful since it allows the release of water to the river Eucembene.
Detailed Design Stage
This was performed in order to reduce the seepage and increase the strength of the dam. This was performed through reinforcing the ground at the edge and base of the dam.
System test
After the completion of the project, a number of activities are carried out in order to determine the worthiness of the project. The activities include carrying out a system test, validation, evaluation and optimization. The Eucembene dam project was test to determine whether it met the set objectives (Mandzhavidze & Mamradze, 2015). After carrying out a system test on the dam, the developers realized that there was need to carry out upgrades hydroelectricity generating capacity of the dam. In order to solve the issue, they came to a conclusion that they replace the generator unit that was at the facility at the moment. The new design was that the project was to have 40 MW new design rating. This would mean that the new design would match the two turbine units that were previously used. The new generator to be installed at the project was to be assembled from several individual pieces that would be trucked into the facility by the use of very specialized equipment. Such an improvement will help improve the capacity of the damn with up to 50%.
Validation
Given that the dam was mainly built to provide hydroelectric power, most of the system test was meant to determine the efficiency of the dam in relation to provision of electricity. It forms one of the 7 power stations of the snowy mountains scheme. It holds huge generators and turbines that are used to generate electricity from the water that is stored in the reservoirs. Power generated from the scheme is transmitted at voltage of 330kV to the systems of electricity that are located in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and ACT. The power generated from the scheme represents close to 17% of the total power generated by south eastern Australia.
The development of Eucembene dam led to the emergence of several towns close to the scheme. Several towns like Sue city, Happyjacks, Eaglehawk are examples of towns built for the purpose of servicing the project. The cities continued developing and later became home to thousands of people as years moved by. This also implies that there were a lot of job opportunities that were created from the projects. Besides the ability to generate hydroelectric power, the dam also acts a major irrigation scheme for both domestic and industrial use (Soughan, 2014). This is due to the large storage capacity of the reservoir that can supply water for longer durations. A major boast from the Eucembeme dam construction is the ability to control flooding that had for long been a menace in the region. The dam was designed with the idea of eradicating or reducing the flooding in mind.
Evaluation
The Eucembene Dam was built to serve a lot of purposes. It is evident that the construction of the dam has lived up to fulfil its intended objectives. Most of the benefits that the dam has accomplished may be related to the environment, socio-political and the economic factors as discussed below;
- Hydro electrical power generation.
Basic Detailed Features of the Eucembene Dam
Being part of the snowy mountains scheme, the Eucembene Dam has become a major hydroelectric power generation plant for the southern Australia.
- Recreation
The dam offers a major recreational facility for the locals and tourists recreational activities such as skiing, boating, and camping within Australia. It also supports picnic areas and boat launch facilities within the site. Such activities have always attracted thousands of people all over the year.
- Control of floods
Besides helping the local farmers, the control of floods by the dam has also led to the prevention of life loss and property that may be due to the constant flooding menace. The design of the dam was to take care of flooding and for that reason it can be evaluated to have lived up to the expectations (Wieland, 2014).
- Water storage
Having critically analyzed the dam features, it is evident that the large capacity of the dam enables it to store a lot of water that can be used locally, for industrial purposes as well as for agricultural activities.
- Irrigation
A larger percentage of the south Australian cropland is irrigated using water from Eucembene dam. Such activities also lead to increased job and food security within the country.
The above benefits are as a result of a proper design process that was put in place before carrying out the construction of the Eucembene Dam.
Conclusion
The Eucembene dam was built to serve a lot of purpose. In order to achieve its full potential and fully reap from it, it was important to have in place a detailed design that would make it more optimized. In order to achieve the most appropriate design for the dam, a number of activities have to be performed. This article has clearly carried out the analysis of the whole system design process for the Eucembene dam. The most vital stages that would ensure an appropriate design is achieved are the preliminary and the detailed design stages. The detailed design clearly outlines the part by part description of the Eucembene dam and hoe they are to be configured in order to achieve the whole system.
Once the detailed design for the dam is complete, a system test is carried out on the project. The purpose to carry out the test is to ensure that the project begins its operation once it has been ascertained to achieve the required objectives and safety standards as per the requirements by the relevant state bodies. Most importantly, for the participants that were directly involved in putting up the project, they will be able to determine whether they will get the best value out of the whole project. An optimization process at the latter stages of the project development will ensure that all the participants are able to enjoy the maximum benefits from the Eucembene. This paper therefore has discussed the activities involved in designing the Eucembene dam and the factors that were considered to ensure that it is implemented just as required (Wood, 2011).
Byrne, G., 2010. Reinventing the Snowy: fifty years of mythmaking. Arena Magazine (Fitzroy, Vic), (44), p.34.
Coffey, D.D., 2012. Commercial Geomechanics Development in Australia. In Proceedings 8th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics: Consolidating Knowledge (p. 29). Australian Geomechanics Society.
Cole, B., Coltheart, L. and Moulds, T., 2010. Identifying Australia’s Heritage Dams. In 9th National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Proceedings (p. 89). Institution of Engineers, Australia, Victoria Division..
Crichton, A., Willey, J., Bell, G. and Franzmann, A., 2014. Jindabyne Dam Spillway Upgrade and Outlet Works.
Endersbee, L., 2013. Snowy River myths need correction. News Weekly, (18 Dec 1999), p.16.
Erskine, W.D., Terrazzolo, N. and Warner, R.F., 2011. River rehabilitation from the hydrogeomorphic impacts of a large hydro?electric power project: Snowy River, Australia. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management: An International Journal Devoted to River Research and Management, 15(1?3), pp.3-24.
Gale, S.J., 2010. The Snowy Water Inquiry: food, power, politics and the environment. Australian Geographical Studies, 37(3), pp.301-313.
Langford-Smith, T., 2012. Australia’s Snowy Mountains Project. Geography, pp.42-44.
Lee, F.M. and Speedie, M.G., 2012. Earth dams in Victoria: A Historical review.
Magee, O., 2016. Building and Selling the Snowy. Quadrant, 50(5), p.24.
Mandzhavidze, N.F. and Mamradze, G.P., 2015. The High Dams of the World: Systematic Tables of Data and Bibliography on Dams Over 75 M High. Israel Program for Scientific Translations.
Soughan, D.W., 2014. Power from the snowy mountains. A vast project in south-east australia. Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 2(15), pp.157-161.
Walker, K.F., 2013. A review of the ecological effects of river regulation in Australia. In Perspectives in Southern Hemisphere Limnology (pp. 111-129). Springer, Dordrecht.
Wieland, M., 2014. Dam safety aspects of reservoir-triggered seismicity. In New Developments in Dam Engineering (pp. 106-111). CRC Press.
Wood, C.C., 2011. Geophysics in the engineering earth sciences. Exploration Geophysics, 2(2), pp.50-57.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
