Impact of Daily Cyclic Water Level Fluctuations on Concrete-Face Rockfill Dams in Pumped-Storage Power Stations

Abstract

In the case of increasing energy constraints, the construction of Pumped storage power plants (PSPs) can be used to adjustpeaks and valleys and make better use of clean energy. The concrete-face rockfill dam (CFRD) has become a PSP preferred dam type. However, CFRDs in PSP face more complex working conditions. Understanding the working conditions of CFRDs in PSP is essential to ensure the proper and safe construction and operation of dams. In this paper, the history of CFRDs in PSP with actual construction measurements as well as monitoring information is collected statistically, mainly based on engineering literature. The correlation between deformation, seepage and several different influencing factors such as dam height, foundation conditions, and valley shape was investigated in order to recognize the characteristics of the dam in this case, with the expectation of providing engineering analogies and references for future corresponding projects. It is found that the CFRD in PSP basically conforms to the general law of ordinary CFRD, while there is greater deformation in crest settlement deformation and face slab deflections due to the large changes in water level fluctuation in PSPs, terrain conditions and design specification, but for internal settlement deformation and leakeage rate is much smaller. Total reservoir capacity, on the other hand, is adversely affected by dam deformation and face slab deflections on rock foundation, while the opposite is true for alluvium foundation.