The weight of a gravity dam can be used more effectively by changing its shape and leaving hollow spaces inside its walls. This can save up to a third of the concrete used in a normal gravity dam. The main dam at Itaipu (overleaf) is a hollow gravity dam.
The name “Itaipu” was taken from an isle that existed near the construction site. In the Guarani language, Itaipu means “the sounding stone”. The Itaipu Dam’s hydroelectric power plant produced the most energy of any in the world as of 2016, setting a new world record of 103,098,366 megawatt hours (MWh), and surpassed the Three Gorges Dam plant in energy production in 2015 and 2016.
The world’s largest waterfall by volume, the Guaíra Falls, was drowned by the newly formed Itaipu reservoir. The Brazilian government liquidated the Guaíra Falls National Park, and dynamited the submerged rock face where the falls had been, facilitating safer navigation, thus eliminating the possibility of restoring the falls in the future.
Picture Credit : Google
