Geology Field Excursion 2019

W.P. Chanaka Imalsha

S/15/104
1
 CONTENT

01. Introduction 3

02. Results and Observations

Location 01 4
Location 02 0
Location 03 8
Location 04 0
Location 05 0
Location 06 9
Location 07 0

03. Acknowledgement 10

04. References 11

2
 01. INTRODUCTION
Introduction

This is the report of the two day Geology Field Excursion organized by the Department of
Geology. This was organized with the purposes of giving knowledge about dam
construction as well as improving team work abilities of students. In this field visit we
mainly observed Victoria dam, Randenigala dam, Minipe anicut, Kothmale dam
Castlereigh dam and Wimalasurandra hydro power station .this field visit was held on on
9th and 10th of November 2019. Mainly the structural, geological features and the
engineering geology aspects of dam constructing were studied in the field.

Dams

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally

serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or
levees (also known as dikes) are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land
regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are often used in conjunction
with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect water or for storage
of water which can be evenly distributed between locations.

 Gravity Dams

A gravity dam is a massive sized dam fabricated from concrete or stone masonry.
They are designed to hold back large volumes of water. By using concrete, the weight of
the dam is actually able to resist the horizontal thrust of water pushing against it. This is
why it is called a gravity dam. Gravity essentially holds the dam down to the ground,
stopping water from toppling it over.
Gravity dams are well suited for blocking rivers in wide valleys or narrow gorge ways.
Since gravity dams must rely on their own weight to hold back water, it is necessary that
they are built on a solid foundation of bedrock.

 Earth Dams

An earth dam is made of earth (or soil) built up by compacting successive layers
of earth, using the most impervious materials to form a core and placing more permeable
substances on the upstream and downstream sides. A facing of crushed stone prevents
erosion by wind or rain, and an ample spillway, usually of concrete, protects against
catastrophic washout should the water overtop the dam. Earth dam resists the forces
exerted upon it mainly due to shear strength of the soil. Although the weight of the earth
dam also helps in resisting the forces, the structural behavior of an earth dam is entirely
different from that of a gravity dam. The earth dams are usually built in wide valleys
having flat slopes at flanks (abutments).The foundation requirements are less stringent
than those of gravity dams, and hence they can be built at the sites where the foundations
are less strong. They can be built on all types of foundations. However, the height of the
dam will depend upon the strength of the foundation material.

3
  Rockfill Dams

A rockfill dam is built of rock fragments and boulders of large size. An

impervious membrane is placed on the rockfill on the upstream side to reduce the seepage
through the dam. The membrane is usually made of cement concrete or asphaltic
concrete. In early rockfill dams, steel and timber membrane were also used, but now they
are obsolete. A dry rubble cushion is placed between the rockfill and the membrane for
the distribution of water load and for providing a support to the membrane. Sometimes,
the rockfill dams have an impervious earth core in the middle to check the seepage
instead of an impervious upstream membrane. The earth core is placed against a dumped
rockfill. It is necessary to provide adequate filters between the earth core and the rockfill
on the upstream and downstream sides of the core so that the soil particles are not carried
by water and piping does not occur. The side slopes of rockfill are usually kept equal to
the angle of repose of rock, which is usually taken as 1.4:1 (or 1.3:1). Rockfill dams
require foundation stronger than those for earth dams.

 Arch Dams

An arch dam is curved in plan, with its convexity towards the upstream side. An
arch dam transfers the water pressure and other forces mainly to the abutments by arch
action. An arch dam is quite suitable for narrow canyons with strong flanks which are
capable of resisting the thrust produced by the arch action. The section of an arch dam is
approximately triangular like a gravity dam but the section is comparatively thinner. The
arch dam may have a single curvature or double curvature in the vertical plane. Generally,
the arch dams of double curvature are more economical and are used in practice.

 Buttress Dams

Buttress dams are of three types

(i) Deck type,
(ii) Multiple-arch type
(iii) Massive-head type
A deck type buttress dam consists of a sloping deck supported by buttresses.
Buttresses are triangular concrete walls which transmit the water pressure from
the deck slab to the foundation. Buttresses are compression members. Buttresses
are typically spaced across the dam site every 6 to 30 metre, depending upon the
size and design of the dam. Buttress dams are sometimes called hollow dams
because the buttresses do not form a solid wall stretching across a river
valley.The deck is usually a reinforced concrete slab supported between the
buttresses, which are usually equally spaced. In a multiple-arch type buttress dam
the deck slab is replaced by horizontal arches supported by buttresses. The arches
are usually of small span and made of concrete. In a massive-head type buttress
dam, there is no deck slab. Instead of the deck, the upstream edges of the
buttresses are flared to form massive heads which span the distance between the
buttresses. The buttress dams require less concrete than gravity dams. But they
are not necessarily cheaper than the gravity dams because of extra cost of form
work, reinforcement and more skilled labor. The foundation requirements of a
buttress dam are usually less stringent than those in a gravity dam.

4
 Figure : Types of Turbines used in hydropower Generation

1.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE FIELD VISIT

 To understand the geology, structural geology, hydrology,
geomorphology behind the construction of dams,
 To understand the advantages and disadvantages of the different types
of dams
 To understand the issues and challenges of constructing different types
f dams.
 To understand the practices to minimize the issues of constructing
dams

2. RESULT AND OBSERVATIONS DURING

THE FIELD VISIT

2.1 Location 01 : Victoria Dam

5
 The Victoria Dam is located across the Mahaweli Ganga immediately upstream of
the Victoria Falls rapids at about 130 miles from the river mouth. The site is about 72
aerial miles east of Colombo, 4 miles from Teldeniya. There is a good road from
Colombo to Teldeniya distance about 84 miles. The present access from Teldeniya to the
site is along the jungle track 4 miles long. The nearest railway station is Kandy.
Construction work was ceremonially inaugurated on this Project by President
Jayawardana on August 14, 1978. It was ceremonially commissioned on April 12th 1985.
Main contractors for the Dam and Tunnel were the Joint British Venture, Balfour Beatty
Nuttal and the Power Station was contracted to Costan International.
Victoria dam is the highest dam in Sri Lanka and has the largest Power Station in the
country. It consists of a double curvature arch dam of maximum height 122m (400ft), a
circular concrete-lined tunnel of 6 meters diameter (19.7ft) leading to 3 Francis turbines,
each of 70 MW capacity and generating 780 GIGA Watt hours, housed in a reinforced
concrete power station 52 m (170ft) long and 30m (98ft) wide. The dam which is located
between the Hulu Ganga confluence and the Mahaweli Ganga rapids called “Victoria
Falls” measures 507m (1663ft) along the crest. The catchment area at this dam site is
1869 sq km(730sq miles) and the gross capacity of the reservoir is 728 M cu.m.(500,800
acre feet) at a full supply level of 438 m(1437 ft). there is a 21 meter (69ft.)diameter
concrete-lined chamber to protect the tunnel from surge, effects.
Eight radial gates 12.5 meters (41 ft)wide and 6.5meters (21 ft) high are provided for the
dam so designed as to open automatically when pre-determined water levels are reached.
The design of these radial gates which require power only for closing, won an award for
innovation in Civil Engineering from the Institute of Civil engineering (UK) for the
consultants who designed them. The effective width of the over spill is 100 meters (328ft)
and allows a maximum discharge capacity of 8,200 cu.m.per second (289,542 cusecs)
under a head of 11 meters (36 ft). Two low level sluices are provided in the dam for
drawing down the reservoir at initial filling or any subsequent time and also to pass silt
which may accumulate immediately above the dam.
The Consultants for the civil engineering works are Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners of
U.K. and for the electro-mechanical part, M/s.

The catchment area of the river above the dam site is 730 sq.miles. up stream of
this site, the Polgolla dam for the diversion of a maximum flow of 2,000 cusecs has been
constructed and is in operation. Detailed investigations and feasibility studies for the
construction of a dam acroos the Kotmale Oya. A major upper right bank tributary of the
Mahaweli Ganga are being prepared and are in its final stages of completion.
The drainage area of the reservoir is situated in the central hills ranging up to
about 8,000 ft. The long term mean annual runoff at the dam site is 2,430 thousand acre
feet of which 1.100 thousand ax.ft is presently being diverted at Polgolla.

The dam is located in the deep valley of the Mahaweli ganga just above the
Victoria Falls rapids. The engineering geologic conditions of the dam site are favourable.
The foundation will be of hard slightly fractured granulated gneiss deposited at depths 8
to 17 ft in fragmented and weathered rock. The shape of the valley and the geologic
conditions are favourable for the construction of an arch will have a maximum height of
338 feet and the length along the crest will be 1400ft. the middle part of the dam from the
spillway, which will be furnished with 4 radial gates 50 ft. wide and 30 ft. high. The
spillway will reduce flood peak of 0.1% frequency of 225,000 cusecs to 175,000 cusecs
with a flood lift of 7 ft. above the normal water surface elevation of 1410 MSL.

6
The gross capacity of the reservoir is 415 thousand ac.ft the active capacity 390 thousand
ac.ft. which will have an annual regulated discharge of 926 thousand ac.ft. for irrigation
releases. During ‘shut down’ period and for emergency use an under sluice of size 7x7’
having a discharge capacity of about 1200 cusecs, will be provided.

Figure : spillway gate of victoria

7
 Figure : control unit of spillway gates

Figure : hanging
pendulum system to observe
displacement of dam

8
 Figure : Prisms to measure displacement of dam

2.2 Locaion 02 : Randenigala Dam

The Randenigala Project, the fourth major multi-purpose project and the largest
reservoir under the Accelerated Mahaweli Development Programme. Randenigala project
is located about 26 km. below the Victoria Head works and 6 km. upstream of Minipe
anicut from where the main Right Bank and Left Bank canals will divert the Mahaweli
waters for irrigation. It is also the reservoir with the largest storage capacity having gross
storage of 860 million cubic metres (697,000 acre ft.) at full supply level. The project is
expected to generate about 525 GWh of electrical energy which amounts to 20% of the
island’s present demand. It will serve as the most important base reservoir for water
management in System ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’.
The project chiefly consists of the construction of a 94 m.(308 ft) high, 485 m.
(1590 ft.) long Rock-fill dam with central clay core across Mahaweli, created a
reservoir of 860 million cu.m. (697,000 ac.ft.). The Power House on the Left bank
immediately downstream of the dam has an installed capacity of 126 MW. A steel lined
tunnel 6.2 m. dieameter, 270 m. long, convey water to the Power House to run the
turbines. The triple gated chute spillway is 48 M. wide, about 232m. long and is capable
of discharging the probable maximum flood of 8085 cumecs.

Figure : three spillways of right band of dam

9
Power station

Figure: Power station of dam

2.3 Location 03: Rantambe Dam

The Rantambe dam and power station form the most downstream project of a
cascade of reservoirs and hydro power stations on the Mahaweli Ganga in the Dumbara
Valley. The Rantambe dam is located just downstream of the confluence of Uma Oya
with Mahaweli Ganga, about 3 kms downstream of the Randenigala dam and 2.5 kms.
upstream of the Minipe anicut. The primary function of the project is the generation
electrical energy using the water releases from Randenigala reservoir and the natural flow
of the Uma Oya.
The Rantambe project consists of a 420 m. long, 42 m. high gravity type concrete
dam across Mahaweli Ganga and a power station on the left bank having two turbine-
generator units of total installed capacity of 52 MW. The gated Spillway, power intake
and the steel penstock are incorporated in the dam. The power station is expected to
generate 180 Gwh. of firm energy and 73 Gwh. of secondary energy per annum. The
switchyard and transmission lines have been already completed under the Randenigala
project.

10
 The construction work of the project was commenced in January 1987. Most of
the civil construction work was completed by February 1990. The valuable timber within
the reservoir bed was extracted and the reservoir bed cleared of even shrub and stumps,
by the State Timber Corporation. The impounding of the reservoir commenced on 2nd
February 1990. And the power generating units 1 and 2 were successfully put into
commercial operation on 10th March and 10th April 1990 respectively.

Figure: Rantambe dam

2.4 Location 04 : Minipe Anicut

The trans-basin canal from Minipe diversion carried water from Mahaweli Ganga
to Amban Ganga. King Dasankeliya (459 AD) constructed this canal, which irrigated
lands on the left bank of the Mahaweli Ganga. 'Yakinna-bendi-Portawa' anicut in Minipe
was, according to legend, constructed by a she-devil under royal favour and is one of the
ancient irrigation works, which came into the limelight in the 1960s during the
excavations of the Archaeological Commissioner, Dr. Senarat Paranavithana.

This gigantic work, which inspires wonder among modern engineers, consists of a
scheme that diverts the river at a bend where a large body of water enters the narrow
canal formed by an island close to the bank, partially closed by two rocks, and intercepts
the water on its return to the main stream. These rocks, when joined by masonry
construction, became a dam raising the waters in the natural channel to a great height. Sir
Henry Ward Basing in his observation on the legend describes this canal as having been
capable of use for irrigation as well as for navigation. The length of this canal is 50 miles
and it merges with the Amban Ganga below Angemedilla anicut. It is important to note
that this canal followed an alignment that minimized deep cutting.

11
 Figure : Minipe anicut

2.5 Locaion 05 : Kothmale Dam

The Kotmale project is one of five major head works projects being undertaken
under the Accelerated Mahaweli Ganga scheme. it is the most upstream of these projects
and develops the hydro potential of a major right bank tributary of the Mahaweli Ganga,
the Kotmale Oya.
The Kotmale Oya flows through the rural up-country of Sri Lanka passing ancient
villages steeped in history and tea plantations of a more recent era. The tranquility of this
river valley has been changed recently with the construction work of the Kotmale
Hydropower reservoir. Financial assistance for the project has been provided by the
government of Sweden.
The Kotmale project was one of the first projects taken up under the Accelerated
programme for development of the Mahaweli Ganga. The basic elements of the project
are a dam on the Kotmale Oya ( a tributary of the Mahaweli Ganga) and a tunnel system
leading to a power station with the outfall of the Mahaweli Ganga. The primary function
of the project is the generation of electric power. Additional benefits will arise from an
increase in the amount of irrigation water available at Polgolla due to regulation of flows
in the Kotmale Oya.

12
 Preliminary studies of the Kotmale project were carried out by the Government of
Sri Lanka with the assistance of US Agency for International Development (USAID) in
1961 and subsequently by UNDP-FAO from 1964 to 1968. a feasibnility study of the
project was carried out by the water and Power Development Consultancy Services
(India) Limited (WAPCOS) from 1973 to 1976. Sir William Halcrow and Partners in
association with Messrs Kennedy & Donkin and the Central Engineering Consultancy
Bureau (CECB) were appointed in 1979 to provide consultancy services
Construction work commenced in February 1979. The reservoir was impounded
in November 1984 and commercial power generation commenced in June 1985. The
project was ceremonially commissioned in August 1985.
The Kotmale project envisages the construction of a 87 m (285 ft.) high Rockfill
dam with a concrete membrane across the Kotmale Oya, an important right bank tributary
in the upper reaches of the Mahaweli Ganga about 25 miles upstream of the Polgolla
barrage constructed under Project I of the Master Plan.
The Kotmale project was mainly for the development of hydro power and the
regulated discharge from the reservoir to increase the flow diverted at the Polgolla
barrage into the proposed Moragahakanda reservoir for augmenting the irrigation
supplied in systems. The reservoir would reduce flood peaks and their frequency, thus
alleviated the floods in the Gampola area below it.
The dam would create a reservoir having an effective storage capacity of about
174 m. cm. (141,000 acre feet) enabling regulation of a large proportion of the recorded
mean annual flow of the Kotamale oya at the dam site. The water impounded by the
reservoir would be conveyed through an underground water conductor system to an
underground power station located at about 7.2 km. (4.5 miles) from the dam for
generation of electric power. After power generation, this water will be discharged
through the outfall into the Mahaweli Ganga at the Atabage Oya confluence.
In addition to the generation of power, the regulated waterwill improve the pattern
of inflows of the Mahaweli Ganga at the existing Polgolla diversion dam. This will firm
up the power benefits from Ukuwela power station and serve to increase the irrigation
water supplies from the Bowatenne dam.

The dam site is at Kadadora located about 6.6 km (4.1 mls) upstream of the
confluence of Kotmale Oya with Mahaweli ganga at a place where the river enters a
narrow and deep valley with steep banks. It is close to the Pussellawa-Ulapane highway
and is 12 miles from Gampola town and 88 miles from Colombo. The nearest railhead is
Ulapone, 7 miles away.
The power house is underground and situated in the belly of the Atabage
Mountains, about 6.4 km (4 mls) downstream of the Kotmale Oya – Mahaweli Ganga
confluence. the project head works lie on the right bank of the Mahaweli Ganga and is
partly in the Kandy district and partly in the Nuwara Eliya district. Access to the main
project head works can be through two routes. One is from the new access road
constructed from the Gampola – Nuwara Eliya road just outside Gampola town, which
passes close to the underground power station and joins the Ulapane- Pussellawa road.
The other is though the latter road from Ulapane which passes close by the right abutment
of the dam.
The Kotmale Oya has its beginning in the South Central massif at an elevation of
2134 m.(7000 ft.) and is about 70 km. (43.3 mls) in length draining a total area of 58,534
ha.(226 sq.mls) and dropping 1,585 m (5,200 ft) before meeting the Mahaweli Ganga.
Rainfall data from 1907 onwards are available for this region.

13
 A rock fill dam 87.0 m high and 600 m long - A chute spillway with a capacity of
5500m3/Sec. consisting of 3 radial gates 14x15m - A horse shoe shaped 6.4, diameter low
pressure tunnel system nearly 7.0 Km. long with a capacity of 113.3m3/Sec (4000 cusecs)
- A high pressure shaft with diameter varying from 4.8 – 5.5 m - An underground power
station with an installed capacity of 3x67 MW. - An access tunnel providing access to the
power station and a tail-race tunnel to discharge the water after generation of power.

In the history of country, Kotmale enjoys a very special place. This is due for no
other reason than the fact that King Dutugemunu, who is acknowledged as our greatest
King, spent his youth in the mountains and valleys of Kotmale. This history, the story of
Dutugamunu is familiar to us all. The stream he bathed in is here; the village he lived in is
here; the field he tilled is here. The story of his life at Kotmale is part of the folklore,
idiom and life of this valley and its people.
From that historic epoch in which Dutugemunu lived, his name and message beckons to
all generations that follow. Many are the lessons that we can learn and should learn from
his life, his work, his vision and his leadership. In my view, the most important of these
lessons is the need for thought and action in keeping with the demands of our time.

The Kotmale area has had a history of earth slips, landslips, and other geological
disturbances. Owing to this great care had to be taken in the design of the various features
of the project. Soon after construction work was awarded and during the early stages of
the dam construction, when excavations of the riverbed were in progress, the presence of
a limestone layer underneath the bed rock below the dam and extending up to the
reservoir, was discovered. These and other adverse features led to a through investigation
of all the geological features in order to see whether there are practical problems liked
landslides above the reservoir leakage of water through the dam foundation into adjoining
valleys, earth tremors, etc. which could seriously affect the stability of the project.

Flip bucket

Aeration resses

Figure : Chute spillway with a capacity of 5500m3/Sec with Aeration resses

14
A v notch weir is simply a 'v notch' in a plate that is placed so that it obstructs an open
channel flow, causing the water to flow over the v notch. It is used to meter flow of water
in the channel, by measuring the head of water over the v notch crest.

Figure : Dip Meter

Dipmeters are portable instruments for measuring the water level in wells, standpipes and
boreholes. It is simple to use, portable and can be used at many locations. The tape design
prevents it from sticking to wet surfaces, such as the lining of a borehole, ensuring
accurate measurements.

Figure: Longitudinal section along low pressure and tailrace tunnels

15
2.6 Location 06 : Castlereagh Dam

The Castlereigh Dam (also spelled Castlereagh) is a gravity dam built across the
Kehelgamu Oya, a major tributary to the Kelani River, approximately 3 km (1.9 mi)
south-west of Hatton, in the Central Province of Sri Lanka.

The dam creates the iconic Castlereigh Reservoir, which is almost entirely
maintained by the inflow of water from the Kehalgamu Oya. Water from the reservoir is
diverted to the Wimalasurendra Power Station, located approximately 12 km (7.5 mi)
further downstream near Norton Bridge. The power station discharges the water into the
Norton Reservoir, created by the Norton Dam, located at the same site. The power station
consists of two 25-megawatt units, totalling the plant capacity to 50 MW.

Dash board

16
 Figure : Castlereagh dam

If the water level is up dam not stable. Therefore Dash board auto break and water
spillway.

2:7 Location 07 : Wimalasurendra Hydro Power Station

When engineer D. J. Wimalasurendra was sent to Aberdeen Laxapana falls by the

British government in order to discover gold, he saw the possibility of hydropower
generation. When the proposal of hydropower generation in Ceylon was presented to the
British government, Wimalasurendra had to face strong rejections. But Wimalasurendra,
who was further encouraged by the subjugation, continued researching on the subject
aided by his own funds and eventually presented the research paper titled "Economics of
Hydro Power Utilization in Ceylon" to the Engineering Association of Ceylon in 1918.
National patriots and journalists joined D. J. Wimalasurendra and protested requesting the
government to execute the hydropower generation project. As a result, in 1924, Laxapana
Hydro Power Scheme was commenced, but shortly stopped due to weak government
patronage.

But D. J. Wimalasurendra, who was not discouraged, retired from service at the
age of fifty and contested in the national election, to be elected to the State Council of
Ceylon in 1931 in order to resume the stopped Laxapana Hydro Power Scheme. As a
result, in 1950, Laxapana Hydro Power Scheme was successfully completed, paving way
for many hydropower schemes that eventually made Ceylon, self-sufficient in electricity
while strengthening the economy.

17
 Figure : Reaction of turbine

ACKNOWLADGEMENT

The Geology Field Excursion was organized and coordinated by The Department of
Geology, with the leading of Dr. Jagath Gunathilake. This was a two day field trip which
gave great experiences for us. I would like to thank him to give this valuable opportunity
for us.
Also I would like to express my gratitude to our academic and non academic staff and all
the members of the geological society who helped us making this field trip a success one.

18