Characteristics of the behavior of the Sayano-Shushenskoe dam during filling of the reservoir to the normal pool level

Conclusions

• 1. Processes of variation of the “dam-foundation-abutments” system are not fading away, the operating regime of the structure has not stabilized.

• 2. The unsteady and inelastic work of the bank abutments, evidently, is one of the causes of irreversible radial movements and development of fracturing in the first column of the dam.

• 3. Cracking on the upstream face and progressive seepage through the concrete of the first column worsen the state of the concrete and the cracks are subject to healing by polymer materials. Polymer injections do not improve the work of the structure, but if the cracks are not healed promptly the volume of necessary repair works will increase with the course of time.

• 4. To evaluate the stress state of the dam it is necessary to make calculations with consideration of the large stress raisers: water intakes, gate grooves, etc.

• 5. It is required to evaluate the fact of the excess by a factor of 2–3 of the increments of the maximum arch stress over the design values in various load ranges.