Spatial variation in uplift pressure and correlation with rock mass conditions under two buttress dams : A case study of Ramsele and Storfinnforsen dams

Uplift water pressure is one of the dominating forces with signicant impact acting on a dam. It is usually measured with piezometers installed along the dam. However, the value of the pressure along the dam is often hard to measure due to the limited number of piezometers available (Bernstone et al., 2009). Furthermore, uplift pressure can oscillate substantially in a single hole both with time and also spatially under the dam due to the combination of rock mass characteristics in the foundation, loads and temperature variations.There is still a lack of information regarding the magnitude and variation of the uplift pressure. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the spatial variation of the uplift pressure based on uplift pressure measurements taken from Storfinnforsen and Ramsele dams. The aim is also to investigate how the uplift pressure depends on the rock mass conditions. The two dams Storfinnforsen and Ramsele provides a unique opportunity due to the signicant amount of piezometers, 270 in total, installed along the rock foundation for the new monitoring programme at the monoliths of both dams.Based on the measured uplift pressure, a probabilistic distribution has been assigned to the uplift pressure. In addition, a possible correlation between the rock mass quality and the uplift pressure as well as the joint aperture and the uplift pressure was analysed