Print Email Facebook Twitter Salt based dam design in a hyper saline environment Title Salt based dam design in a hyper saline environment Author Wierda, C.H. Contributor Stive, M.J.F. (mentor) De Gijt, J.G. (mentor) Heeres, O.M. (mentor) Peters, G.H.J. (mentor) Faculty Civil Engineering and Geosciences Department Hydraulic Engineering Date 2010-05-04 Abstract In order to build structures in the hyper saline environment of the Dead Sea it might be beneficial to use salt as a construction material. The Dead Sea is a tectonically active area with a subsoil consisting of at least eight meters of salt. It is a challenge to construct in this kind of environment, especially since no design criteria exist for constructing on and with salt. Driven by these challenges, the main objective of this thesis is to determine the possibility of using salt as a construction material in this environment. The behaviour of salt is affected by external influences which cause differences in strength and deformation properties due to changes in particle sizes, as a result of bonding between particles (cementation). The fact that the properties of salt can be changed by the surrounding environment makes it difficult to describe the behaviour of salt in general, but on the other hand it enables the possibility of influencing the parameters. The process of particle bonding and its effect on the strength of salt cannot be quantified at this stage, but based on the current knowledge it is expected that, due to compaction and cementation, salt could potentially become very strong material when it is used in a construction. Regarding the expected behaviour of salt as described above, it is believed that salt would be a suitable construction material. Within the framework of salt constructions options for using salt are found in various elements of the design. he suitability of salt as construction material should be verified when better bounds can be placed on the range of geotechnical strength properties that may be assigned to granular salt and the effects of cementation. Overall it can be concluded that using a salt based design for hydraulic structures in this kind of environment could be very promising. Confidentiality This MSc Thesis was carried out as part of the Dead Sea Lagoon Project at DHV. At the start of the project DHV and their partners confirmed to their client the Dead Sea Preservation Government Company (DSPC) to maintain all project information in strict confidence and not to use or disclose any data or reports without the prior written consent of DSPC. Project information means any confidential or proprietary information regarding the project, the consultant’s services and the client and its affiliates. All work carried out for this MSc Thesis falls within this confidentiality. Consent was given to carry out this thesis and write this report for personal use. No information from this thesis can be presented, copied or forwarded to third parties without the prior written consent of DHV (George Peters +31 33 468 2686). This report may therefore not be provided to or read by anyone but the thesis committee. Subject salthalitedam designtectonic To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:b83eaca4-fdf4-4366-975d-21e8d0d894b3 Embargo date 2013-05-04 Part of collection Student theses Document type master thesis Rights (c) 2010 Wierda, C.H. Files PDF FINAL REPORT and APPENDICES.pdf 6.16 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:b83eaca4-fdf4-4366-975d-21e8d0d894b3/datastream/OBJ/view