Katse Dam is a 185 m high, double-curvature arch dam on the Malibamatso River in Lesotho and forms part of Phase 1a of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. With a developed crest length of 710 m at an elevation of 2060 mASL, the structure is located in a U-shaped valley. Construction was completed in 1997 and first impoundment was achieved in 1998.
With a substantially improved ability to model non-linear features of the dam, such as the “pre-formed heel joint”, the crest tension belt and the foundation shear keys, together with the use of ambient vibration monitoring calibration, the updated FE analysis provided an extremely useful tool to gain a more detailed insight into the actual structural function of the dam/foundation system. On the basis of this improved understanding, it was possible to develop a more quantitative evaluation of the safety of the dam.
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