FREEBOARD

REQUIREMENTS
WHAT IS
FREEBOARD
ON A DAM?

The vertical distance between the top of

the dam and the full supply level on the
reservoir. The top of the dam is the level of
water tightness of the structure and may
be the top of a parapet that is watertight
throughout its length.
WHY FREEBOARD IS
PROVIDED IN DAM?
Freeboard
Is provided to prevent overtopping of
the dam crest by waves. Freeboard also
provides an additional measure of safety of
the dam to account for the uncertainties in
accurately estimating reservoir water surfaces
and wave heights, and uncertainties in
reservoir operation and structure performance.
Adding Freeboard
Adding freeboard or installing flood-resistant
foundation provides significant protection against flood
damages caused by SLR. Stringent freeboard
requirements ensure that new development can
accommodate storm surge both in the present & in
future conditions. Although an important interim
adaptation effort, because of its comparatively low
political cost, freeboard is a short term fix to a long
term problem; we consider it a long term Band-Aid
adaptation solution & strategy.
Freeboard Policy For
Bureau Of
Reclamation Dams

A policy for freeboard is

important so that the risk of
failure due to overtopping
achieves minimum
standards. the amount of
freeboard required to reduce
the risk of failure varies
depending on the type,
condition, and setting of the
dam.
THREE CATEGORIES
OF DAM TYPES RELATIVE TO THEIR
AGE AND ERODIBILITY, AS
FOLLOWS:

1. New Concrete dams

2. New embankment dams
3. Existing concrete and
embankment dams
 New Concrete Dams
Dams made with conventional Concrete Or roller compacted
concrete, and any Other types Of dams that can resist the erosive
action Of temporary overtopping flow should be designed SQ that the
top of the nonoverflow section Of a dam is coincident with the
maximum water surface (MWS) elevation. The standard 3.5-ft (1.1-
m)' high Solid parapet entirely above the elevation Of the nonoverflow
section provides for minimum freeboard in the event of the probable
maximum flood (PMF). Due to the ability of Concrete dams to resist
erosion, this is ordinarily the only type of freeboard necessary to
consider. Exceptional cases may pint to a need for more freeboard,
depending on the anticipated wave height or other factors that will be
discussed later
 New Embankment Dams
Freeboard should be determined for new embankment dams from
various water surface elevations in order to select a design crest
elevation that adequately protects the embankment from the full range of
wind and flood loading conditions. The design crest elevation should be
the highest that would result from calculating all freeboard requirements
 Existing Concrete and Embankment Dams
A freeboard analysis for an existing dam attempts to identify hydrologic or
hydraulic deficiencies that might lead to failure of the dam. In the case of an
embankment dam, if the MWS of the reservoir is close enough to the dam crest
such that wind generated runup and setup would wash over or if the MWS is
higher than the existing crest, then the following factors should be considered to
evaluate the potential of this high water condition to cause failure of the
embankment:

•Crest elevations, width and slope

•Crest and downstream slope face materials
•Vegetation and surface roughness
•Permeability of surface materials
•Overall condition of the structure
•Depth, velocity, and duration of overtopping
•Wind
FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE
FREEBOARD

The different problems involved in

deciding upon the appropriate amount
of freeboard is discussed under the
following headings:
 Freeboard
Wind Velocity A B Wind Setup

Wave Height C D Wave Uprush

1.
Wind Velocity
The selection of the wind velocity depends upon the degree of
safety that is desired. If the maximum flood level and the full supply
level practically coincide it would require the selection of a 0·1 per
cent per year wind velocity in the direction of the dam under
consideration. However, if the occurrence of the maximum water
level is a rare event, the frequency of the required wind should be
less. After having determined the frequency of occurrence of the
required wind, the magnitude of this wind has to be found.
 Wind Velocity
It has been observed that wind velocities over lake and
reservoir surfaces are substantially higher than velocities
recorded over adjacent land surfaces, the overwater winds
being approximately 30 per cent higher than those recorded
at comparable elevations above adjacent land surfaces.
It may be found, for a certain location, after having studied all available information, that the
following six-hour winds occur in the direction of the dam.

Overland Overwater Frequency

48 m.p.h 52 m.p.h 10 per cent per yr
50 m.p.h 65 m.p.h 1.0 per cent per yr
60 m.p.h 78 m.p.h 0.1 per cent per yr

In one of the earlier examples, where the design wind had a frequency exceedence of 0·25 per cent
per year, its magnitude would have been, according to the above table, about 74 m.p.h
2.
Wind Setup
When the wind blows over a body of water, a friction force is being applied to the
surface of the water, in the direction of the wind, As a result of this force, the surface
water will begin to move in the direction of the wind and will begin to pile up against
the windward shore. This will cause a return flow along the bottom of the lake from
the windward shore to the lee shore.
We may observe the following forces in balance: wind friction to the
right, plus bottom friction to the right, against excess hydrostatic
pressure to the left. This leads to the following equations:
In other words, the slope of the water surface is proportional to the wind stress and the bottom stress,
and is inversely proportional to the depth of water. It has been found from field observation and
experimentation that in normal cases the bottom stress is only a small fraction of the wind stress. It has
also been found that the wind stress is proportional to the square of the velocity of the wind. Since we
are mostly interested in the wind set-up at the end of a lake or reservoir, we may write:

S = wind set-up, in feet, above still water level

C = coefficient
V = wind velocity in m.p.h.
F = fetch in miles
D = average depth in feet.
When the body of water is composed of sections with much difference in depth, it would be
advisable to segment the body of water and apply the formula to each section individually. If there
was a wall between the two sections of lake, the water levels would be as shown by the dashed
lines. Since there is no wall, the water levels at the section boundary should match, and the total
volume of water raised above still-water level must equal the total volume that is depressed below
this level. This will involve some trial and error computations, but the problem is simple in essence.
When the body of water is very irregular in plan as well as in depth, it becomes difficult to
determine the wind set-up.
In connection with irregular-shaped reservoirs, it may be of interest to point out that the wind set-up
above still water level in a triangular-shaped reservoir would be somewhat larger than in a rectangular-
shaped reservoir with the same length, if the wind is blowing towards one of the corners of the triangle,
The slope of the water surface is only a function of wind velocity and depth and therefore the same in
both reservoirs. It is evident that the volume of water depressed below the still-water surface level must
equal the volume of water raised above this level.
3. The height of a wave has obviously a direct bearing

Wave Height
upon the magnitude of the wave uprush. The period
of the wave (the time that elapses between the
passing of two wave crests) is also important, since
the magnitude of the wave uprush depends on the
form of the breaker which, in turn, depends on the
behavior and timing of the backwash from the
preceding wave.
To determine the height and period of waves, reliance has to be placed on the results of field observations
and laboratory tests. It has been found that the height and period of waves depends on the velocity of the
wind, the length of the fetch, and the depth of the body of water.

To determine the length of the fetch is not as simple as it seems. It has been found that the width of the fetch
is also important. As soon as the width of the fetch becomes less than twice the length, the waves will reduce
in height, due to the' narrowness' of the body of water.
A procedure has therefore been established by
the U.S. Beach Erosion Board (1954) to
determine the so-called 'effective fetch' which
is subsequently to be used in all experimental
relationships. The ratio between effective fetch
and maximum fetch length may be determined
When the body of water is shallow (less than one-half
of the wave length) the waves generated by the wind,
striking over the same stretch, will be smaller in
height. This might be explained as follows: when a
wave travels in deep water, the water particles
describe a path as shown in Figure 5.24(a), but when
a wave travels in shallow water the water particles
describe a path as shown in Figure 5.24(b). The effect
of frictional dissipation of energy at the bottom, for
shallow water waves, limits the rate of wave
generation and places an upper limit in the wave
heights which can be generated by a given wind
speed and fetch length, as pointed out by
Bretschneider (1959). If the fetch is long enough for
full development of the limiting wave height.
 When the fetch is relatively short, this
may be used. However, this last diagram
May be applied to find the wave height and period does not provide the wave period.
4.
Wave Uprush
The ratio of wave uprush to wave height is one of
the most important items in determining the
freeboard of a dike or dam. It is not uncommon to
find an arbitrarily selected ratio of 1·5 applied to
the wave height to find the wave uprush.
However, it is now recognized that the correct
value depends on several variables, such as the
period of the wave, the slope of the dam, the
roughness of the dam surface, the depth of the
water at the toe of the dam, and the angle under
which the waves approach the dam.
In the example shown, the slope of the dam was
1 in 4, and the face of the dam was artificially
roughened with 10 mm bluestone. It may be
seen that the ratio of the wave uprush R to the
wave height H is more than 2·0 for very long
(and high) waves (large values of T) while this
ratio declines to a value of about 0·5 for very
short (and low) waves.
 The slope of the dam has also an
important bearing on the uprush.

• On the one extreme, when the face

of the dam is vertical, standing waves
are generated, and the maximum
height to which the water rises
Wave against the dam is theoretically H
above the mean water level. In other
Uprush words the ratio R:H = 1.

• On the other extreme, when the face

of the dam has a very gentle slope,
the approaching waves will break
early, energy is dissipated, and the
final uprush is diminished. It may
therefore be expected that the ratio
R:H becomes very small with a very
gentle slope.

The relationship between the
ratio R:H on the one hand and
wave height, wave period and
dam slope on the other hand is
shown:
It may be seen that the relative up rush
speed) than for short waves (with a low
The roughness of the face
of the dam has obviously a
bearing upon the wave
uprush, although not as
important as one may think.
A dam surface of hand
placed masonry will reduce
the uprush by only a few
per cent, as compared to a
perfectly smooth slope.
is much larger for long waves (with a
large T value, and therefore a high
speed). It may also be seen that the
maximum value for each curve
corresponds to different slope values.
This is caused by the relationship
between slope, wave period and
backwash.
The depth of water at the toe of the dam has
some bearing upon the uprush. When the
depth at the toe is more than three times the
wave height, a further deepening has no
effect. When the depth becomes less, the
waves may begin to break offshore from the
dam, thus dissipating energy. This will result
in a lower wave uprush on the dam.
The last important item to influence the amount
of wave uprush is the angle under which the
waves approach the dam. The foregoing
discussions were all based on a perpendicular
approach of the waves towards the dam.
However, if the waves approach the dam under
an angle, the uprush becomes less; the effect
of the angle being similar to a lessening of the
slope of the dam.
One way of determining the effect of the angle
would be to determine the corresponding
slope reduction and treat it as such. Another
way is to simply multiply the wave uprush with
a factor equal to the sine of the angle
between the dam and the direction of wave
travel.
 Thank You
Cube, Alessa
Cabrera, Lalaine Mae
Eusebio, Joshua Khyle
Gonzales, RM
Malabanan, Jewen E.
Rubio, Kemverly
Sawan, Emma Rizza