Advances in key technology for concrete face dams with deep overburden layers under cold and seismic conditions

Since the 1990s, Xinjiang’s reservoir construction has changed from plain reservoirs to mountainous ones, and the concrete face sand gravel dam as the main dam by use of local materials has been rapidly developed. In the late 1970s, Xinjiang began to introduce the construction technology of concrete face rockfill dam and adopted the natural sand gravel to build dams with a height of over 100 meters, which are the main characteristics different from those of the common face rockfill dams. Aiming at hiemal zone, unfavorable environmental geology conditions such as deep overburden and high seismic zone, a key technical system for concrete face sand gravel dams is established and summarized. The innovative breakthroughs in the aspects of aseismatic structural design, deformation control and seepage control of dam body are achieved. This study indicates that the increasing improvement of construction technology and the continuous enhancement of compaction function of large machines provide important technical supports for the safety performance and popularizing application of this dam type. So it has great significance for improving the construction and operation level of concrete face sand gravel dams.