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Different kinds of dams in use .

Dams are extremely important as they serve many purposes like storing water for irrigation, generating electricity, tourism, and many more. If you talk to an expert in any  dams and barrage structural design company, they will tell you that dams are of more than one type.



Diversion dam

As the name suggests, this dam is used to divert water. These dams are used to push water into canals from where it is taken to the fields. These dams are made lower in height and the water storage area is also small.

Buttress dam

In this type of dam, you will find a sloping deck that is supported by multiple intervals of buttresses. There are three main types of such a dam; massive head type, multiple arch type, and deck type. These types of dams are cheaper as they use less concrete than other types of dams.

Embankment dam

This is a large dam that is made with natural excavated materials or even industrial waste materials along with other elements like sand, soil, rock, and clay.

Cofferdam

This is a small, temporary, and portable dam that is used for various functions like shoreline restoration, bridge repair, pipeline installation, and many more. These are reusable dams that are compact which makes them easy for transportation.

Storage dam

These dams are made to keep water in a big reservoir. These dams are constructed to collect a massive amount of water during the rainy season which can then be used for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation.

Detention dam

These dams are made to control floods by limiting the downstream flow and also helping in reducing flash floods to a certain extent.

Gravity dam

This is a big size concrete dam that is designed to hold a huge amount of water. This type of dam is used to block the flow of the river in valleys and they are made on a strong foundation.

These are some types of dams and if you do not know which type you would require, then you should hire the services of an engineering consultancy services in India to guide you in this respect.

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