- Home
Hydraulic Jacking Workshop & Tour
When: Thursday, September 26 • 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM MT
Registration Fee: This workshop/field trip has reached capacity.
Can't decide between a workshop or a field trip? This combination is for you! Hydraulic jacking is a serious threat to concrete spillway chutes, demonstrated by the catastrophic failure at California’s Oroville Dam in 2017 and numerous other cases worldwide. Previous research established a connection between chute velocity, joint geometry, and resulting uplift pressure, but did not account for the influence of flow velocities in the boundary layer. Recent laboratory testing with boundary layer velocity profile measurements dramatically improves the ability to accurately predict uplift pressure and flow through joints that can cause erosion of chute slab foundations. The new relationships enable better analysis and design of anchors, drain systems, and joint remediations that could help prevent future failures. This workshop will review the previous and new research, demonstrate the application of new uplift pressure and joint-flow relationships, and provide a forum for discussing practical implications and use of the new findings.
The workshop will be held at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Technical Service Center in Denver, Colorado and will include a visit to the hydraulic jacking research facility and a tour of Reclamation’s world-famous hydraulics laboratory where current studies include valve testing, pump intake studies, spillway and fish passage models, cavitation research and more.
The registration fee includes the workshop, materials, transportation to and from the convention center, and lunch. All participants are required to ride the bus to and from the workshop. No PPE is required for this trip, but closed-toed shoes are required for the lab tour. US Citizens are required to provide a "REAL ID" to enter the facility. Participants without a "REAL ID" will require an escort. Non-US citizens will be required to provide a full name, birthdate, and passport information to be reviewed in advance. Waivers will be required for all participants.
Agenda:
- Introduction / Overview (Wahl, USBR)
- Chute uplift vs. stilling basin uplift
- Case studies (various panel members)
- Big Sandy, Oroville, Guajataca, others
- Early hydraulic research
- Johnson (1976) and Frizell (2007) studies
- Wahl et al. (2019) dimensionless analysis
- Sanchez (2022) numerical modeling
- Recent Experimental Program (2021-present) (Wahl & Heiner, USBR)
- Uplift pressure relationships
- Flow through joints
- Modifications of uplift pressure due to chamfers, beveling, skewness, other mods
- Using New Uplift / Joint-Flow Equations (Wahl & Heiner, USBR)
- SpillwayPro water surface analysis
- Hydraulic jacking outputs of SpillwayPro
- Application to Oroville case study
- Friction factors of cracks through concrete?
- Construction Considerations (various panel members, Trojanowski, Lux, Stantec, TVA, USACE)
- Joint Details
- Designs for new construction
- Rehabilitation
- Drainage
- Anchors
- Inspection of Existing Structures, Evaluating Risk (various panel members, Trojanowski, Stantec, TVA, USACE)
- Stilling Basin Uplift (Dana Moses, USACE)
- Wrapup – summary, upcoming research, etc.
Instructors:
- Tony L. Wahl, P.E., Technical Specialist, Bureau of Reclamation
- Bryan J. Heiner, P.E., Hydraulic Research Engineer, Bureau of Reclamation
- John Trojanowski, Trojanowski Dam Engineering,
- Frederick Lux, III, P.E., Hydraulic Structures Consultant, Aubian Engineering Inc
- Paul Schweiger, P.E., Vice President, Gannett Fleming
- Daniel Gilbert, Stantec
- Barbara Hall, TVA
- Dana Moses, US Army Corps of Engineers
- Michael Phillips, US Army Corps of Engineers
Downloadable Registration Form Register Online
