Question

It is decided to build a dam in the Breed River. It is suggested that the dam wall has a half parabolic cross-section. It is estimated that the dam will have a depth of 10 m and the civil engineers suggest that the half parabolic width should be at least 3 m. Determine the total force on this wall a'd the direction in which it will act.

HINT: The area enclosed by a parabola is equal to 2/3 the area of the rectangle with the same height and width.

Answer 1

$Volume= 2/3×10×3×3= 60m³$

$mass = 1000kg/m³×60= 60,000kg$

$Force=ma= 600\ MN$