Dams: Incidents and Accidents

The increasing number of dams built in the last century has underlined the necessity of these constructions to the all-around development of a country. The advent of rock mechanics, engineering geology and a better understanding of materials have made it possible to construct higer and larger dams and to tackle more difficult sites. The assumptions and risks used in the theory of dam design include such unpredictable events as earthquakes, floods, and geological faults or soft seams, whic may be either underestimated or completely missed during initial exploration...