Theoretical and experimental studies on air-inflated rubber dam anchored on sidewall of the rigid base.

A theoretical study was conducted to investigate the cross-sectional configurations and the tensile forces of an air-inflated rubber dam anchored on the sidewall of the rigid base. A series of large-scale model tests were conducted using rubber dam models with a cross-sectional perimeter of 1.0 m and a length of 8.5 m. The results obtained from the analytical solutions agree well with those obtained from model tests. It is found that there is an optimum height of the rubber dam, especially for larger anchor depth with the increase of the inflated air pressure. The smaller the anchoring depth the higher the optimum inflated air pressure. The contact length between the rubber dam and the rigid base gradually decreases with the increasing inflated air pressure. The greater the anchor depth, the faster the contact length decreases to zero. Generally, the tensile force linearly increases with the increase of the normalized air pressure and the decrease of the anchor depth. • Theory was derived to calculate an air-inflated rubber dam anchored on the sidewall of rigid base. • A series of large-scale model tests were conducted to verify accuracy of the theoretical model. • Effects of upstream water levels, inflated air pressures and anchor depths were analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]