Integrative seismic safety evaluation of a high concrete arch dam

An integrative seismic safety evaluation of an arch dam should include all sources of nonlinearities, dynamic interactions between different components and the external loads. The present paper investigates the calibration procedure and nonlinear seismic response of an existing high arch dam. The first part explains the conducted analyses for the static and thermal calibrations of the dam based on site measurements. The second part investigates the nonlinear seismic analysis of the calibrated model considering the effect of joints, cracking of mass concrete, reservoir–dam–rock interaction, hydrodynamic pressure inside the opened joints and the geometric nonlinearity. Penetration of the water inside the opened joints accelerates the damage process. The integrative seismic assessment of a case study shows that the dam will fail under the maximum credible earthquake scenario. The dam is judged to be severely damaged with extensive cracking and the joints undergo opening/sliding. A systematic procedure is proposed for seismic and post-seismic safety of dams.     

A non-reflecting boundary condition for the finite element modeling of infinite reservoir with layered sediment

The design of seismic resistant concrete gravity dam necessitates accurate determination of hydrodynamic pressure developed in the adjacent reservoir. The hydrodynamic pressure developed on structure is dependent on the physical characteristics of the boundaries surrounding the reservoir including reservoir bottom. The sedimentary material in the reservoir bottom absorbs energy at the bottom, which will affect the hydrodynamic pressure at the upstream face of the dam. The fundamental parameter characterizing the effect of absorption of hydrodynamic pressure waves at the reservoir bottom due to sediment is the reflection coefficient. The wave reflection coefficient is determined from parameters based on sediment layer thickness, its material properties and excitation frequencies. An analytical or a closed-form solution cannot account for the arbitrary geometry of the dam or reservoir bed profile. This problem can be efficiently tackled with finite element technique. The need for an accurate truncation boundary is felt to reduce the computational domain of the unbounded reservoir system. An efficient truncation boundary condition (TBC) which accounts for the reservoir bottom effect is proposed for the finite element analysis of infinite reservoir. The results show the efficiency of the proposed truncation boundary condition.     

Seismic safety analysis of tall concrete dams,investigation and insights on critical challenges

This paper discusses critical and potentially controversial issues related to the seismic safety of tall concrete dams. These include the seismic input at a dam site, the effective treatment of the damage-rupture process, and the consideration of compressibility of reservoir water for hydrodynamic pressure. Major challenges to currently popular but questionable treatments of these critical problems are presented. Insights and additional research on these critical challenges are emphasized and explained based on prior published works of the author. More reasonable alternatives to dealing with these potentially controversial problems are provided in light of engineering practice in China. First, the design seismic input at depth as deconvoluted from an arbitrarily selected recorded accelerogram at a control point of an artificially developed free-field surface with the elevation of the dam crest is difficult for engineering projects to accept as appropriate. It may be more reasonable to use the design seismic incident motions as half of the ground surface motions from seismic safety analyses obtained from deterministic or probability approaches conducted by seismologists according to approved standards or guidelines. Second, since seismic damage to the dam must be estimated separately following uniaxial tensile and compressive experimental damage evolution rules, a simplified and realistic nonlinear elastic model is proposed as an alternative to the plastic-damage coupling model, which is very complex and includes assumptions based on a number of uncertainties. Finally, the effect of the reflection coefficient for compressibility of reservoir water on hydrodynamic pressures is very sensitive. The notion that the applied unified reflection coefficient at the reservoir bottom could be frequency-dependent and exhibit a significant variability in space as confirmed by field tests is questionable. To neglect the compressibility of reservoir water it may be closer to engineering practice at present.     

Linear and nonlinear response of concrete slab on CFR dam during earthquake

The joint between concrete slab and rockfill is designed as welded contact in the classical modeling of concrete-faced rockfill (CFR) dams and earthquake response of the CFR dams is determined by this method. In this study, linear and nonlinear response of Torul CFR Dam including interface element between concrete slab and rockfill were investigated for the duration of strong seismic excitation. The finite element analyses were performed by employing both cases, empty and full reservoir, to research the effect of the reservoir water on the earthquake response of the dam. The reservoir water was modeled with fluid finite elements by the Lagrangian approach. The Drucker-Prager model was used in nonlinear analyses for concrete slab, rockfill and soil materials. According to finite element analyses, displacement and stress components were increased by hydrodynamic pressure. The nonlinear response of the concrete slab was monitored about the peak ground acceleration (pga). This study reveals that the size of sliding zone increases with increasing acceleration amplitudes.     

混凝土重力坝整体动力特性研究

结合金安桥混凝土重力坝工程的抗震性能研究,对大坝按整体模型和分缝模型分别进行了动力试验。试验中考虑了横缝和动水压力的影响,得到了整个坝体空库、满库时的空间动力特性。并对大坝进行了三维有限元动力分析,与模型试验结果进行了比较,两者符合得较好。     

新丰江水库大坝贯穿裂缝及其稳定性分析

1962年3月19日新丰江水库大坝附近发生M_S 6.1级强烈地震后,13-17#坝段在108.5m高程处出现了长达82m的贯穿裂缝,导致水库渗漏,其后虽进行了加固处理,但经过50多年的运营,贯穿裂缝的现状如何,备受各级政府及专家学者的关注。本文利用近些年大坝上的多次小震观测记录,通过对有无贯穿裂缝坝段的地震加速度时程傅氏谱及上下坝体传递函数的对比分析,对14#坝段的整体性和稳定性进行了系统研究。结果表明,到目前为止,大坝贯穿裂缝没有明显恶化,但整体性依然较差,仍然是大坝稳定性的最大隐患。     

APPLICATION OF BOUNDARY ELEMENT ANALYSIS FOR MULTIPLE SEISMIC CRACKING IN CONCRETE GRAVITY DAMS

The previously developed two-dimensional boundary element procedure for analysing the propagation of a single discrete crack is extended to simultaneous multiple cracking in concrete gravity dams. A brief discussion of the generalized methodology is presented and the validity of the extended procedure is verified by performing a fracture analysis of the Fongman dam and comparing the predicted rupture process with the available experimental results. The fracture response of the Koyna dam is then studied extensively under the Koyna earthquake. Both single and multiple cracking models are employed to investigate the fracture process as well as final rupture in the dam. Similar final damage involving complete separation of the crest block of the dam is predicted, irrespective of whether single or multiple crack propagation models are employed. In relation to the phenomenon of hydrodynamic uplift pressure within propagating cracks, openings of the crack on the upstream face of the dam are examined in particular. The results indicate that this phenomenon is not expected to be significant during the crack development phase, and hence unlikely to affect the final rupture characteristics of dams undergoing strong earthquake excitation.     

考虑动水压力影响的单柱式桥墩地震反应分析

在Morison方程的基础上,用附加水质量法考虑动水压力对桥墩的影响,以单柱式桥墩为研究对象,以ABAQUS有限元软件为计算平台,建立了考虑桩-土动力相互作用的单柱式桥墩地震反应分析模型,考虑土体和桥墩混凝土的动力非线性特征,分析了地震动作用下动水压力对单柱式桥墩的墩顶相对墩底位移、加速度、剪力和弯矩反应的影响,并探讨了水位对单柱式桥墩地震反应特性的影响。结果表明:动水压力改变桥墩的地震反应特性,增大了桥墩顶部相对底部的位移、墩顶绝对加速度和墩底的内力,水位变化影响桥墩的地震反应特性。对于深水桥墩抗震设计计算,考虑动水压力效应、水位变化是有必要的。     

考虑流固耦合效应的辽宁葠窝水库溢流坝段抗震性能分析

针对辽宁葠窝水库混凝土重力坝抗震问题,采用耦合的拉格朗日-欧拉有限元分析技术,建立了可考虑库水-坝体-基岩动力耦合效应的典型溢流坝段抗震分析数值模型。模型中,采用等效一致粘弹性边界模拟基岩的人工截断边界;采用混凝土弥散裂缝本构模型模拟混凝土的动力特性。根据烈度与地震动之间的关系,确定了水库坝体抗震设计的输入加速度峰值。据此,分析了在不同季节水位变化条件下坝体地震反应的基本特性。研究表明：完好的辽宁葠窝水库混凝土重力坝溢流坝段能满足8度的抗震设防烈度要求。地震下溢流坝段峰值位移出现在胖坝和瘦坝的坝顶迎水面位置处,胖坝的动位移较瘦坝动位移大。胖坝在闸墩与溢流堰交接处出现了拉应力最大值。有库水条件下,瘦坝峰值拉应力出现在坝趾处,无库水条件下,瘦坝最大拉应力出现在溢流堰与闸墩交接处。     

Seismic stability of concrete gravity dams strengthened by rockfill buttressing

Rockfill buttressing resting on the downstream face of masonry or concrete gravity dam is often considered as a strengthening method to improve the stability of existing dam for hydrostatic and seismic loads. Simplified methods for seismic stability analysis of composite concrete-rockfill dams are discussed. Numerical analyses are performed using a nonlinear rockfill model and nonlinear dam-rockfill interface behavior to investigate the effects of backfill on dynamic response of composite dams. A typical 35 m concrete gravity dam, strengthened by rockfill buttressing is considered. The results of analyses confirm that backfill can improve the seismic stability of gravity dams by exerting pressure on the dam in opposition to hydrostatic loads. According to numerical analyses results, the backfill pressures vary during earthquake base excitations and the inertia forces of the backfill are the main source for those variations. It is also shown that significant passive (or active) pressure cannot develop in composite dams with a finite backfill width. A simplified model is also proposed for dynamic analysis of composite dam by replacing the backfill with by a series of vertical cantilever shear beams connected to each other and to the dam by flexible links.     

Seismic behaviour of cracked concrete gravity dams

A finite element model of incremental displacement constraint equations (IDCE), based on an existing node‐to‐surface concept, is implemented to deal with dynamic contact surfaces in the seismic behaviour analysis of cracked concrete gravity dams. After verification for sliding, rocking and impact, the IDCE model is applied to study the seismic responses of concrete gravity dams with different profiles and crack locations for a variety of parameters, such as coefficient of friction, water level and type of earthquake, as well as impact damping based on the concept of coefficient of restitution. It is revealed that cracked concrete gravity dams can experience not only sliding and rocking modes, but also the drifting mode in some cases of crack either at the base or at a height. Downstream sliding is normally accompanied by rocking, especially for the cases of crack at a height. Due to rocking and drifting, a cracked dam may still acquire a certain amount of residual sliding even if the effective coefficient of friction is relatively high. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrodynamic pressure on arch dams—by a mapping finite element method

A novel Finite Element Method (FEM) is proposed for the analysis of the uncoupled hydrodynamic pressures generated on arch dams due to a steady-state ground acceleration. In this method the equation governing hydrodynamic pressures and also the prescribed boundary conditions are all transformed from the Cartesian space to a logarithmically condensed cylindrical polar space; in this process the physical configuration of the reservoir-dam is also mapped into an ‘image’ domain. The transformed governing equation is then solved in the image domain, subject to the transformed boundary conditions, using standard finite elements. Because physical dimensions are logarithmically condensed in the image space, the proposed method is particularly suitable for dealing with large or very large aspect-ratio reservoir-dam systems, economically and efficiently. The high degree of accuracy which the proposed method is capable of, and also the simple way in which it can be applied to complex reservoir-dam shapes, have been demonstrated by means of examples. The method has also been applied to study the uncoupled hydrodynamic pressures on the upstream face of a cylindrical arch dam, generated by a steady-state vertical ground acceleration.     

Reliability and sensitivity analysis of wedge stability in the abutments of an arch dam using artificial neural network

In this study, the seismic stability of arch dam abutments is investigated within the framework of the probabilistic method. A large concrete arch dam is considered with six wedges for each abutment. The seismic safety of the dam abutments is studied with quasi-static analysis for different hazard levels. The Londe limit equilibrium method is utilized to calculate the stability of the wedges in the abutments. Since the finite element method is time-consuming, the neural network is used as an alt...     

An efficient approach for frequency-domain and time-domain hydrodynamic analysis of dam–reservoir systems

An efficient procedure is developed for the hydrodynamic analysis of dam–reservoir systems. The governing equations of hydrodynamic pressure in the frequency as well as time domain are derived in the framework of the scaled boundary finite element method. The water compressibility and absorption of reservoir sediments can be conveniently taken into consideration. By extending the reservoir to infinity with uniform cross-section, only the dam–reservoir interface needs to be discretized to model the fluid domain, and the hydrodynamic pressure in the stream direction is solved analytically. Several numerical examples including a gravity dam with an inclined upstream face and an arch dam with a reservoir of arbitrary cross-section are provided to demonstrate the computational efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不同强度地震作用下的心墙堆石坝三维动力液化分析

东圳水库大坝位于福建省莆田市城厢区,该水利枢纽处于华南沿海地震带北段,由于水库建设时我国尚未有抗震设防烈度标准,因此亟需对其抗震稳定性进行复核。以东圳水库大坝为原型,结合已有的地震资料,选用Byrne液化模型,采用FLAC3D软件,研究了在50年超越概率10%、5%和2%地震作用下坝体填料的液化特征及最终位移情况。结果显示,在地震作用下,坝体上游砂砾石填料会发生局部液化,且液化区随着地震强度的增大而增加,但尚未出现大面积连续液化区;坝体填料发生液化后,产生了有限度的塑性变形,其变形量也随着地震强度的增大而有所增加;除坝顶较小区域外,坝体总位移量相对较小,对大坝整体稳定性不会产生显著影响。研究结论可以为大坝的抗震加固和治理措施的选择提供依据和参考。     

基于UPFs的珊瑚岛礁场地地震反应分析方法研究

合理且高效地模拟珊瑚砂非线性动力特性、远场无限地基辐射阻尼以及海域岛礁动水压力的影响是进行珊瑚岛礁抗震安全分析的关键技术问题.以通用有限元软件ANSYS为研究工具,基于UPFs二次开发灵活性的特点,建立了适用于珊瑚砂地基条件下的岛礁场地地震反应分析时域计算模型.通过创建一种新的珊瑚砂等价线性单元描述岛礁场地的非线性动力...     

A new analytical approach to reconstruct the acceleration time history at the bedrock base from the free surface signal records

Acceleration time histories of earthquake events are typically measured in seismic stations that are placed close to the soil top surface. These acceleration records are often used as input data for seismic analysis. It may be used for base excitation in seismic analysis of above ground structures with shallow foundations.. However it may not be used for seismic analysis of underground structures, or even for above ground buildings with deep foundations and several underground stories. The required base excitation data of the latter should have been measured below the top surface, at a level that may be determined according to the specific analyzed building geometry or at the bedrock below. If the acceleration time history at the bedrock would have been known, the seismic wave propagation through the soil medium, from the bedrock towards the top surface, could have been carried out and the base excitation of the buried structure could be determined. Since there is no data on the acceleration time history at the bedrock, and the only given data is the acceleration records at the top surface, the goal of this paper is to provide an exact reverse analysis procedure to determine the unknown acceleration time history at the bedrock that would exactly produce the measured acceleration time history at the top surface. Once this goal is achieved, seismic analysis of buried structures may be carried out with the determined acceleration record at the bedrock as input. This paper presents an analytical exact solution of the inverse problem for determination of the acceleration, velocity and displacement time histories at the bedrock base of a layered geological medium that are compatible with the given acceleration record at the soil top surface. This new proposed method is based on analytical solutions of the initial-boundary value problems of the linear wave equation in the case of a layered medium. The relationship between waves in one layer and waves in another adjacent layer is derived considering the continuity of stresses and displacements at the common interface between the layers. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method is demonstrated through several examples involving the nonstationary response of the free surface. The case of the San Fernando Earthquake is studied. Excellent agreement is achieved between the recorded free surface time history and the reconstructed signal. This excellent agreement is obtained due to the exact analytical method used in deriving the inverse problem solution. This exact analytical method allows one to obtain an acceleration (velocity/displacement) distribution along all the layers at any time.     

Seismic failure probability of concrete slab on CFR dams with welded and friction contacts by response surface method

In this study, failure probability of the concrete slab on concrete-faced rockfill (CFR) dams with welded and friction contact is investigated under earthquake effects by reliability analysis. For this purpose, Torul CFR dam is selected as an example and numerical solutions are performed by considering combination of reliability analysis–finite element method. 1992 Erzincan earthquake acceleration record is used in the finite element analysis considering deconvolved-base rock input model. In this model, the ground motion to be applied to the foundation base rock is obtained by deconvolution of the free-field surface record. In the materially nonlinear analysis, Drucker–Prager model is used for concrete slab and multi-linear kinematic hardening model is utilized for rockfill. Geometrically nonlinearity is also taken into account. Viscous boundary conditions are defined in the finite element model for both foundation soil and reservoir water. The hydrodynamic pressure of the reservoir water is considered using 2D fluid finite elements based on the Lagrangian approach. Both welded contact and friction contact based on the Coulomb’s friction law are defined in the structural connections. Improved Rackwitz–Fiessler method is used with response surface method in the reliability analysis. The tensile and compression strengths of the concrete slab are utilized in the implicit limit state functions considering various thicknesses. The probability of failure of the most critical points in the concrete slab is obtained. According to this study, the probabilities of failure obtained from the CFR dam including friction contact are lower. When the welded contact is considered in joints, the probability of failure of the concrete slab is 1 due to tensile stress limit state and compression stress limit state only if concrete slab is linear. The most critical probability of failure of the concrete slab appears in the case that the concrete slab is linear and rockfill is materially nonlinear. The probability of failure of the concrete slab decreases if the nonlinearity of the concrete is considered. Also, hydrodynamic pressure decreases the reliability of the concrete slab.     

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE BASE SLIDING RESPONSE OF RIGID CONCRETE GRAVITY DAMS TO DYNAMIC LOADING

A series of dynamic slip tests on a concrete gravity dam model was conducted on a shaking table. The aim of the experiments was to investigate the dynamically induced sliding and overturning characteristics of a typical low height gravity dam monolith cracked at its base. Tests indicated that downstream sliding is the main instability that could be expected during an earthquake. Dynamic, finite element analyses of the experimental model, using a Lagrangian contact surface algorithm, were also performed. A comparison of the experimental and analytical responses indicated that the seismically induced slip can be predicted reasonably by such a contact surface algorithm implemented in a standard finite element package. A comparison of observed displacements with Newmark's sliding block displacements indicated that a conservative estimate of seismic induced slip of a gravity dam could be obtained by using Newmark's sliding block concept, generally adopted for earth dams and embankments.     

Centrifuge modeling of seismic response of layered soft clay

Centrifuge modeling is a valuable tool used to study the response of geotechnical structures to infrequent or extreme events such as earthquakes. A series of centrifuge model tests was conducted at 80g using an electro-hydraulic earthquake simulator mounted on the C-CORE geotechnical centrifuge to study the dynamic response of soft soils and seismic soil–structure interaction (SSI). The acceleration records at different locations within the soil bed and at its surface along with the settlement records at the surface were used to analyze the soft soil seismic response. In addition, the records of acceleration at the surface of a foundation model partially embedded in the soil were used to investigate the seismic SSI. Centrifuge data was used to evaluate the variation of shear modulus and damping ratio with shear strain amplitude and confining pressure, and to assess their effects on site response. Site response analysis using the measured shear wave velocity, estimated modulus reduction and damping ratio as input parameters produced good agreement with the measured site response. A spectral analysis of the results showed that the stiffness of the soil deposits had a significant effect on the characteristics of the input motions and the overall behavior of the structure. The peak surface acceleration measured in the centrifuge was significantly amplified, especially for low amplitude base acceleration. The amplification of the earthquake shaking as well as the frequency of the response spectra decreased with increasing earthquake intensity. The results clearly demonstrate that the layering system has to be considered, and not just the average shear wave velocity, when evaluating the local site effects.