Scientific American Supplement, No. 595, May 28, 1887 by Various
page 29 of 135 (21%)
page 29 of 135 (21%)
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being filled up with cement concrete tied into the rock, and on this the
puddle wall rests. This bank, like almost all others pierced by outlet pipes or culverts, was not destined to be perfect. In 1867, four years after the completion, spurts of water showed themselves in the culvert in front of the puddle wall, which began to settle, and the water had to be drawn off to admit of repairs. Diagram No. 10 shows a structure of a different character to any of these already described. This character of work is adopted on the North Poudre Irrigation Canal, in N.E. Colorado. Timber is there plentiful, and a dam of this character can be rapidly constructed, although probably not very durable, owing to liability to decay of timber. That represented is about 25 ft. high. The author has now concluded the consideration of earthwork dams, and proposes making a few remarks upon those of masonry or concrete, with reference to some of the most important, as shown on the diagrams. Their stability, unlike those of earthwork, may be considerably increased where the contour and nature of the ground is favorable by being curved in plan, convex toward the water, and with a suitable radius. They are especially suitable for blocking narrow rocky valleys, and as such situations must, from the character of the ground, be liable to sudden and high floods, great care is necessary to make sufficient provision for overflow. When of masonry, the stones should be bonded, not merely as they would be in an ordinary vertical wall, where the direction of the stress is perpendicular, but each course should be knit in with that above and below it in a somewhat similar manner to what is termed "random" work. And lastly, if hydraulic mortar be used, a sufficient time should elapse after construction before being subjected to strain, or in other words, before water is allowed to rise in the reservoir. For this latter reason, |
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