Question

The axis of a gravity dam is the ______________________

(a) line of the crown of the dam on the downstream side

(b) line of the crown of the dam on the upstream side

(c) centre-line of the top width of the dam

(d) line joining mid-points of the base

The question was posed to me in a job interview.

I need to ask this question from Design of Gravity Dams topic in section Gravity Dam Design and Construction of Irrigation Engineering

Answer 1

The correct choice is (b) line of the crown of the dam on the upstream side

To explain: The axis of the dam is taken as the reference line which is defined separately in the plan and in the cross-section of the dam. In plan, it is the horizontal trace of the U/s edge of the top of the dam. In the cross-section, the vertical line passing through the U/s edge of the top of the dam is considered as the axis of the dam.