Question

The temperature stresses producing worst effects in the design of arch dams are caused by ______________

(a) rise in temperature

(b) fall in temperature

(c) both rise and fall

(d) no effect in the design

This question was addressed to me during an online exam.

Question is from Arch Dams topic in portion Arch and Buttress Dams of Irrigation Engineering

Answer 1

Right answer is (b) fall in temperature

For explanation: The dam moves upstream during the summer and downstream during the winter due to the internal stresses caused by the temperature changes. In stress analysis, the low temperature becomes quite important since these stresses act additive to the reservoir water pressure.