Translated from Gidtotekhnicheskoe Stroitel 'stvo, No. 8, August 2012, pp. 22 -25. Results are presented for the strength, stability, and thermal-stress state of the thrust structures ultimately adopted for the Kankunskaya hydroproject -a massive gravity dam with expansion recesses.Design of high-head hydroprojects in regions with severe climatic conditions is a critical problem at the present time.In fact, when the basic potential of European Russia has been exhausted, continued development of hydropower is possible by exploitation of Siberian rivers situated primarily in permafrost regions.JSC "Lengidroproekt" has acquired considerable experience with the design of hydroprojects located in zones with a severe climate.The Kankunskaya HPP on the Timpton River with thrust structures having a maximum height of 228 m is a demonstrative example of the design of similar new hydroproject in our time.During the course of detailed technico-economic comparison of alternate design schemes for the dam at the Kankunskaya HPP with consideration of the climatic characteristics of the region where the hydroproject will be located, and available experience with construction and operation, preference has been given to a massive gravity dam with expansion joints.The basic objective of analytical studies of the dam at the Kankunskaya HPP was substantiation of the design solutions adopted, particularly provision for required safety factors and stability of the structure during its construction and in its permanent in-service regime. The most familiar of these dams are contained within the Kolyma, Zeya, Mamakan, and Bureya HPP. Today, JSC "Lengidroproekt" is leaning toward the most modern finite-element programs such as "Solid WORKS Simulation," "ANSYS," "COSMOS," "PLAXIS," and "SCAD," which permit on-going solution of multivariant problems of the three-dimensional numerical modeling of water-development works with adequate accounting of factors not previously specified, or considered in a simple and incompatible manner. Today, the division of analytical structure substantiation is performing numerical analyses of buildings and structures in a three-dimensional problem statement with consideration of the bed soils for all types of static, dynamic, filtration, and temperature-induced loads. Studies involving analytical substantiation have been performed in several steps.Basic geometric characteristics of the dam, which will ensure conditions for the overall strength and stability of the structure (slope of the faces, crest width, buttress thickness, etc.) were determined in the first step. In this step, the analyses were performed in the plane problem statement.A seismic effect was simulated within the framework of the standard approach based on linear-spectral theory (LST). The design seismicity of the site is 7 points. To simulate the mechanical behavior of the soils, a Mohr -Coulomb elastoplastic model, which describes deformability characteristics of the soil -Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio í, and also the strength chara...
