Sacrificial Dam Region for Flood Energy Dissipation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for preventing and mitigating super large-scale floods and debris flows in high-altitude areas, such as check dams and drainage channels, are ineffective against catastrophic glacial-related disasters, which pose significant threats to highways, railways, and oil pipelines due to their sudden onset and high destructive power.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the design and implementation of a critical control dam system with distinct functional regions, including a sacrificial region that can fail during extreme events, combined with artificial structures and engineering works like drainage channels and check dams, to regulate and dissipate the energy of super large-scale floods and debris flows, ensuring the stability of the dam foundation and lateral walls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional prevention engineering works (check dams and drainage channels) are used, then the structure is simple and easy to construct, but they are ineffective against super large-scale glacial debris flows and floods
Solution Approach 1:
The prevention engineering system is divided into multiple functional zones: source area control structures, transit area check dams, and key control dams with sacrificial regions. Each zone performs specific functions (source control, flow regulation, energy dissipation) to collectively address super large-scale debris flows that conventional single-structure approaches cannot handle
Solution Approach 2:
The key control dam incorporates a sacrificial region designed to fail under extreme debris flow forces, allowing the structure to dynamically adapt to catastrophic events. This dynamic design enables the dam to protect downstream areas by controlled failure while maintaining stability of the foundation and lateral walls
2Reliability
If a fully stable dam structure is designed to resist all forces, then the dam maintains high reliability, but the maintenance cost increases and restoration time lengthens when failure occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The dam is segmented into distinct functional regions: stable regions (foundation, lateral walls) that maintain structural integrity, and a sacrificial region that is designed to fail. This segmentation allows the majority of the dam structure to remain intact and reusable after extreme events, significantly reducing restoration requirements and costs
Solution Approach 2:
The sacrificial region is designed to fail beneficially during extreme debris flow events, converting potential catastrophic failure into a controlled protective mechanism. The failure of this specific region dissipates debris flow energy while protecting downstream areas, and the limited damage requires minimal restoration
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows part of the dam to break during extreme events, increasing cross-sectional areas and flow discharges, thereby minimizing threats to downstream areas while maintaining dam stability, reducing maintenance costs, and enabling quick restoration of the dam.
Implementation Method 1
regulate energy dissipation
Implementation Method 2
increasing cross-sectional areas and flow discharges
Implementation Method 3
increase the flow friction, which contributes to regulating energy dissipation
Implementation Method 4
ensuring the stability of the dam foundation and lateral walls
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a method for preventing super large-scale floods and debris flows. First, the scale corresponding to certain standard floods in the watershed is evaluated based on field investigations and historical data. Second, the design standards of the system are chosen based on the prevention of super large-scale floods, and the design standard of critical control engineering is further determined. Finally, the design methods of check dams with different functional zones are proposed according to the design standards of critical control engineering. The invention allows part of the key control dam to fail under safe operating conditions of the entire system by increasing the cross-sectional areas and the flow discharges. The unbroken foundation of the dam can effectively control the channel entrainment and regulate the cross-sectional discharge. The design is helpful in mitigating giant floods and debris flows, thus protecting downstream infrastructures.