Improving Dam Safety: Understanding Grout Degradation in Hydropower Dams

This project aims to improve dam safety by investigating the impact that hydrogeological and geochemical processes have on hydropower dams. The goal is to understand the current condition of dams and predict when and where repairs might be needed. Join project leader Liangchao Zou and Maryam Zamzami, PhD student, KTH, as they present the project in this lunch webinar.

Hydrogeological and geochemical processes are natural processes related to water movement and chemical interactions underground in dams. The combined effect can cause grout curtains to weaken or crack, which is especially hazardous in fractured rock beneath hydropower dams.

This is an important topic that has not been comprehensively studied yet, and this project aims to contribute to this research gap.

The project will focus on the degradation processes of grout curtains in fractured rock, to understand how hydrodynamic and geochemical processes control the grout degradation in fractured rock foundations of Swedish hydropower dams. The results will improve the safety assessment of hydropower dams.