Arch Dam Design and Optimization

At a time of discussion about the safe use of nuclear power to generate electricity and the unsolved problem of radioactive waste deposit, the importance of hydropower is increasing. Furthermore the power market liberalization enabled the development of power generation methods, like the use of pumped storage hydro power plants, which can now be realized economically. Nevertheless the planning effort is still considerable when constructing hydro power plants and therefore the use of computer aided design is indispensable. This master thesis deals with the software based calculation of the 3D coordinates of double curved arch dams and the additional processing of these coordinates using Finite Element software. To calculate these 3D coordinates, a program based on Visual Basic for Applications has been developed. By varying the input parameters and using different calculation methods, it is possible to determine the geometry of double curved arch dams and modify it for optimization purposes. As this calculation and optimization is done, an automated Python script export, which enables the import of the chosen dam geometry into the Finite Element program Abaqus CAE, has been implemented. Finally a structural analysis investigating the stresses and displacements is done within Abaqus CAE.