Application of rubber dams as Flood controlling mechanism

There are many different ways to control flood and its consequences in various regions around the world. One of the recent suggestions in areas with considerable rain and therefore sudden flood runoff is the application of rubber dams. Inflatable rubber dams are cylindrical rubber fabrics placed across channels, streams and weir or dam crests toraise the upstream water level when inflated. Inflatable dams can be filled with water, air or both. There is little knowledge on the hydraulic and structural behaviour of this kind of flood control mechanism. As a result, in this paper, an analytical model is presented for hydrostatic analysis of such a dam. The model was created and calibrated.Parameters such as membrane thickness, base length, dam height and tensile stresses were investigated. The results showed an acceptable similarity in the numerical behaviour of the dam for a variation of geometrical parameters.

Keywords:

inflatable dam , hydrostatic analysis , membrane thickness , internal pressure , tension