Spiral case is the core structure of powerhouse,therefore,it is critical to obtain its accurate stress and strain.Simplified algorithm is adopted to analyze the mechanical characteristics of preloading water-filled spiral case of a large hydropower project.The numerical results show that the adoption of preloading water-filled spiral case structure is feasible.The maximum stress of surrounding concrete mainly lies in the top of spiral case structure at various sections.The suitable internal pressure is 1.9MPa.The stress of surrounding concrete of spiral case is mainly caused by water pressure,and the effect of upper loading is limited,which is only about 5% to 24%.