They are often referred to as control joints, failure joints and even contraction joints.

They are often referred to as control joints, failure joints and even contraction joints.

Contraction Joints are purposely installed joints designed to regulate cracking that might otherwise occur due to the unavoidable, often unpredictable, contraction of concrete.

Contraction joints, also called control or shrinkage joints, allow for contraction or shrinkage of the slab that is inevitable during the concrete curing process.

The upstream dam consists of a double curvature arch with a height of 123m and a length of 505m, divided into blocks through 32 contraction joints with around 15.7m each.