6. Numerical Technique for Prediction of Temperatures in Mass Concrete Dam

Excessive temperature rise in mass concrete dams is detrimental to the structure. Rise in temperature beyond permissible limits may lead to development of tensile stresses higher than the tensile strength of concrete leading to cracking. It is therefore necessary to predict the maximum temperature which the inside core of dam would attain for a given placement temperature, lift height, lift interval and temperature and humidity conditions. Various numerical methods using thermal, strength and elastic properties of mass concrete as input parameters are available to predict the temperatures in mass concrete dams. This paper discusses in detail one such method using finite differences technique for developing computer programme and its application to predict temperatures in the Indira Sagar Dam, Madhya Pradesh.