Table 1

1 January 2000

Table 1. Typical Features of the two Main Current Tendencies in the Design of RCC Dams

	All RCC dams	Compound RCC dams
Concrete consistency	Low VeBe times (10-15 secs)	Medium & high VeBe times (>25 secs)
Water/cement ratio	0.50 – 0.70	0.80 – 1.20
Use of pozzolanic material and mix retardation	>50% of total cement content and highly retarded mix	<25% of total cement content and mix not specially retarded
Construction of lift joints	Surface paste that is brought up during compaction of the RCC	Improved by bedding mixes that are manufactured separately
Water-tightness	Impervious and monolithic RCC matrix and lift joints	Upstream waterproof membrane
Interfaces	Grout-enriched RCC	CVC, pre-cast panels or grout enriched RCC
Possible speed of construction	Very high (average can be more than 100,000m3/month)	High (but average less than 65,000m3/month) + membrane
Performance	Very good if properly designed and constructed	Very good if properly designed and constructed
Cost for each particular site (see section 3)	Can be 25% to 30% less than CVC dams	Between 5% and 20% more than the all-RCC dam

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