Effects of reservoir bottom absorption on earthquake response of concrete gravity dams

A procedure is presented to analyse the response of concrete gravity dams due to horizontal and vertical earthquake ground motion components considering dam-water interaction and partial absorption of hydrodynamic pressure waves at the reservoir bottom into the foundation medium. The effects of reservoir bottom absorption on the hydrodynamic force on a rigid dam are examined first. The harmonic response of an idealized dam cross-section is presented for a wide range of parameters characterizing the properties of the dam, the impounded water and the foundation medium. Based on these frequency response functions the effects of dam-water interaction and of reservoir bottom absorption in the response of dams due to horizontal and vertical components of ground motion are investigated.     

Dynamics of submerged intake towers including interaction with dam and foundation

The dynamics of a coupled concrete gravity dam-intake tower–reservoir water–foundation rock system is numerically studied considering two hollow slender towers submerged in reservoir of gravity dam. The system is investigated in the frequency-domain using frequency response functions of the dam and the towers, and in the time-domain using time-history seismic analysis under a real earthquake ground motion. The analyzes are separately conducted under horizontal and vertical ground motions. The coupled system is three-dimensionally modeled using finite elements by Eulerian–Lagrangian approach. It is shown that presence of the dam significantly influences the dynamic response of the towers under both horizontal and vertical excitations; however the dam is not affected by the towers. When the dam is present in the model, the water contained inside the towers has different effects if the foundation is rigid, but it alleviates the towers motion if the foundation is flexible. It is concluded that the effects of foundation interaction are of much importance in the response of tall slender towers when they are located near concrete gravity dams.     

Effects of reservoir bottom absorption and dam-water-foundation rock interaction on frequency response functions for concrete gravity dams

The linear response of an idealized concrete gravity dam monolith to harmonic horizontal or vertical ground motion is presented for a range of the important system parameters that characterize the properties of the dam, foundation rock, impounded water and reservoir bottom materials. Based on these frequency response functions, the effects of alluvium and sediments at the reservoir bottom on the response of the dam, including its interaction with the impounded water and foundation rock, are investigated. It is shown that the partial absorption of hydrodynamic pressure waves by the reservoir bottom materials has an important effect on the dynamic response of concrete gravity dams.     

SV波斜入射下混凝土重力坝易损性分析

易损性分析是评估不同强度地震作用下混凝土重力坝各级破坏概率的有效方法。目前重力坝易损性分析通常假定地震波为垂直入射,然而在近断层区域,地震波往往是倾斜入射的,地震波斜入射对重力坝地震响应有显著影响。从太平洋地震工程研究中心数据库选取16条地震动记录,采用黏弹性人工边界结合等效节点荷载实现SV波斜入射波动输入。采用增量动力分析方法对地震动峰值加速度进行调幅,以印度Koyna混凝土重力坝为研究对象,以坝顶相对位移为抗震性能指标,建立SV波斜入射下重力坝不同震损等级的易损性曲线。结果表明,与垂直入射相比,相同震损等级和相同地震动强度下,斜入射时重力坝破坏概率减小;当PGA接近重力坝实际遭受的地震动强度时,入射角为15°和30°时破坏概率与垂直入射相比最大减小率分别为27.3%和68.2%;各地震强度下,15°和30°斜入射相对于垂直入射的破坏概率差异值最大分别达36.6%、83.9%。因此,混凝土重力坝抗震性能分析应考虑地震波斜入射的影响。研究结果也可为近断层区域混凝土重力坝安全风险评估提供参考。     

Hydrodynamic effects in dynamic response of simple arch dams

The dynamic responses of simple arch dams, with different radius to height ratios are analysed for three conditions: the dam alone without water, and the dam with full reservoir, considering water to be compressible in one case and neglecting water compressibility in the other case. The complex frequency response functions for accelerations at the dam crest due to the three components of ground motion—upstream-downstream component, cross-stream component and vertical component–are presented. Based on these results, the effects of dam-water interaction, of water compressibility, and of bank motions on dam response are investigated.     

Effects of near-fault and far-fault ground motions on nonlinear dynamic response and seismic damage of concrete gravity dams

As the forward directivity and fling effect characteristics of the near-fault ground motions, seismic response of structures in the near field of a rupturing fault can be significantly different from those observed in the far field. The unique characteristics of the near-fault ground motions can cause considerable damage during an earthquake. This paper presents results of a study aimed at evaluating the near-fault and far-fault ground motion effects on nonlinear dynamic response and seismic damage of concrete gravity dams including dam-reservoir-foundation interaction. For this purpose, 10 as-recorded earthquake records which display ground motions with an apparent velocity pulse are selected to represent the near-fault ground motion characteristics. The earthquake ground motions recorded at the same site from other events that the epicenter far away from the site are employed as the far-fault ground motions. The Koyna gravity dam, which is selected as a numerical application, is subjected to a set of as-recorded near-fault and far-fault strong ground motion records. The Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) model including the strain hardening or softening behavior is employed in nonlinear analysis. Nonlinear dynamic response and seismic damage analyses of the selected concrete dam subjected to both near-fault and far-fault ground motions are performed. Both local and global damage indices are established as the response parameters. The results obtained from the analyses of the dam subjected to each fault effect are compared with each other. It is seen from the analysis results that the near-fault ground motions, which have significant influence on the dynamic response of dam–reservoir–foundation systems, have the potential to cause more severe damage to the dam body than far-fault ground motions.     

An investigation into the seismic behaviour of dams using dynamic centrifuge modelling

Dynamic response of dams is significantly influenced by foundation stiffness and dam-foundation interaction. This in turn, significantly effects the generation of hydrodynamic pressures on upstream face of a concrete dam due to inertia of reservoir water. This paper aims at investigating the dynamic response of dams on soil foundation using dynamic centrifuge modelling technique. From a series of centrifuge tests performed on model dams with varying stiffness and foundation conditions, significant co-relation was observed between the dynamic response of dams and the hydrodynamic pressures developed on their upstream faces. The vertical bearing pressures exerted by the concrete dam during shaking were measured using miniature earth pressure cells. These reveal the dynamic changes of earth pressures and changes in rocking behaviour of the concrete dam as the earthquake loading progresses. Pore water pressures were measured below the dam and in the free-field below the reservoir. Analysis of this data provides insights into the cyclic shear stresses and strains generated below concrete dams during earthquakes. In addition, the sliding and rocking movement of the dam and its settlement into the soil below are discussed.     

Stochastic dynamic response of dam–reservoir–foundation systems to spatially varying earthquake ground motions

In this paper, stochastic dynamic responses of dam–reservoir–foundation systems subjected to spatially varying earthquake ground motions are investigated using the displacement-based fluid finite elements. For this purpose, variable-number-node two-dimensional (2D) fluid finite elements based on the Lagrangian approach is programmed in FORTRAN language and incorporated into a computer program SVEM, which is used for stochastic dynamic analysis of solid systems subjected to spatially varying earthquake ground motion. The spatially varying earthquake ground motion model includes incoherence, wave-passage and site-response effects. The incoherence effect is examined by considering the Harichandran and Vanmarcke coherency model. The effect of the wave passage is investigated by using various wave velocities. Homogeneous medium and firm soil types are selected for considering the site-response effect where the foundation supports are constructed. The Sar?yar concrete gravity dam, constructed in Turkey is selected for numerical example. The ground motion is described by filtered white noise and applied to each support point of the 2D finite element model of the dam–reservoir–foundation system. The record of Kocaeli earthquake in 1999 is used in the analyses. Displacements, stresses and hydrodynamic pressures occurring on the upstream face of the dam are calculated for four cases. It is concluded that spatially varying earthquake ground motions have important effects on the stochastic dynamic response of dam–reservoir–foundation systems.     

Earthquake analysis of gravity dams including hydrodynamic interaction

A general procedure for analysis of the response of gravity dams, including hydrodynamic interaction and compressibility of water, to the transverse horizontal and vertical components of earthquake ground motion is presented. The problem is reduced to one in two dimensions considering the transverse vibration of a monolith of a dam, and the material behaviour is assumed to be linearly elastic The complete system is considered as composed of two substructures—the dam, represented as a finite element system, and the reservoir, as a continuum of infinite length in the upstream direction governed by the wave equation. The structural displacements of the dam (including effects of water) are expressed as a linear combination of the modes of vibration of the dam with the reservoir empty. The effectiveness of this analytical formulation lies in its being able to produce excellent results by considering only the first few modes. The complex frequency response for the modal displacements are obtained first. The responses to arbitrary ground motion are subsequently obtained with the aid of the Fast Fourier Transform algorithm An example analysis is presented to illustrate results obtained from this method. It is concluded that the method is very effective and efficient and is capable of producing results to any desired degree of accuracy by including the necessary number of modes of vibration of the dam.     

Effects of concrete cracking on the earthquake response of gravity dams

Tensile stresses exceeding the tensile strength of concrete can develop in concrete dams subjected to earthquake ground motion. This study examines the earthquake response of gravity dams including tensile cracking of the concrete. The interaction between the dam and compressible water is included in the analysis using a numerical procedure for computing the non-linear dynamic response of fluid-structure systems. The crack band theory is used to model tensile cracking with modifications to allow for the large finite elements necessary for dam analysis. The earthquake response of a typical gravity dam monolith shows that concrete cracking is an important non-linear phenomenon. Cracking is concentrated near the base of the dam and near the discontinuities in the face slope. The extensive cracking, which develops due to ground motion typical of maximum credible earthquakes, may affect the stability of dams during and after strong earthquakes.     

Hydrodynamic and foundation interaction effects in frequency response functions for concrete gravity dams

The linear response of idealized dam cross-sections to harmonic horizontal or vertical ground motion is presented for a range of the important system parameters characterizing the properties of the dam, foundation rock and impounded water. Based on these frequency response functions, the separate effects of interaction between the dam and water and interaction between the dam and foundation, and the combined effects of the two sources of interaction, on dynamic response of dams are investigated.     

Sliding response of gravity dams including vertical seismic accelerations

Seismic safety assessment of gravity dams has become a major concern in many regions of the world while the effects of vertical seismic accelerations on the response of structures remain poorly understood. This paper first investigates the effect of including vertical accelerations in the sliding response analysis of gravity dams subjected to a range of historical ground motion records separated in two groups according to their source-to-site distance. Analyses showed that the incidence of vertical accelerations on the sliding response of gravity dams is significantly higher for near-source records than for farsource records. The pseudo-static 30% load combination rule, commonly used in practice to account for the non-simultaneous occurrence of the peak horizontal and vertical accelerations, yielded good approximations of the minimum safety factors against sliding computed from time-history analyses. A method for empirically estimating the vertical response spectra based on horizontal spectra, accounting for the difference in frequency content and amplitudes between the two components is investigated. Results from analyses using spectrum compatible horizontal and vertical synthetic records also approximated well the sliding response of a gravity dam subjected to series of simultaneous horizontal and vertical historical earthquake records.     

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.     

The effects of strong motion duration on the dynamic response and accumulated damage of concrete gravity dams

Strong motion duration is one of the challenging characteristics of ground motion, which affects the cumulative damage of structures significantly. Many researchers have conducted investigations related to the effects of strong motion duration on the response of building structures. However, the corresponding studies of concrete gravity dams are limited. In this paper, the effects of strong motion duration on the accumulated damage of concrete gravity dams are investigated. A Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) model including the strain hardening or softening behavior is selected for the concrete material. This model is used to evaluate the nonlinear dynamic response and seismic damage process of Koyna dam during 1976 Koyna earthquake. Subsequently, the damage analyses of Koyna dam subjected to earthquake motions with different strong motion durations are performed. 20 as-recorded accelerograms, which are modified to match a 5% damped target spectrum, are considered in this study. Strong motion durations are obtained based on the definition of significant duration. According to the characteristics of the cracking damage development, both local and global damage indices are established as the response parameters. The results show that strong motion duration is positively correlated to the accumulated damage for events with similar response spectrum, and has significant influence on the cumulative damage of the dam. Longer duration will lead to greater accumulation damage to which aseismic design of the dam should be given attention.     

Dynamic behaviour of R/C highway bridges under the combined effect of vertical and horizontal earthquake motions

Measurements of ground motions during past earthquakes indicate that the vertical acceleration can reach values comparable to horizontal accelerations or may even exceed these accelerations. Furthermore, measurements of structural response show the possibility of significant amplification in the response of bridges in the vertical direction that can be attributed to the vertical component of ground motion. In this study, the relative importance of the vertical component of ground motion on the inelastic response of R/C highway bridges is investigated. Particular emphasis is placed on modelling of the deck and piers to account for complex loading histories under combined vertical and horizontal earthquake motions. Analyses of actual bridges indicate that, in general, the vertical motion will increase the level of response and the amount of damage sustained by a highway bridge. Vertical motion generates fluctuating axial forces in the columns, which cause unstability of the hysteresis loops and increase the ductility demand. Furthermore, vertical motion can generate forces of high magnitude in the abutments and foundations that are not accounted for by the current seismic design guidelines. Thus, it is important to consider this component of the ground motion in the design of highway bridges, especially for those located in regions near seismic faults.     

Hydrodynamic effects in the dynamic response of concrete gravity dams

Hydrodynamic effects in the acceleration response of concrete gravity dams to harmonic ground motion are investigated. The effects include the presence of water, compressibility of water, interaction between the fluid and underlying foundation medium, shape of the fluid domain, and the extent of excitation applied to an infinite fluid domain under vertical ground motion.     

Earthquake analysis of concrete gravity dams including dam-water-foundation rock interaction

A general procedure for analysis of the response of concrete gravity dams, including the dynamic effects of impounded water and flexible foundation rock, to the transverse (horizontal) and vertical components of earthquake ground motion is presented. The problem is reduced to one in two dimensions, considering the transverse vibration of a monolith of the dam. The system is analysed under the assumption of linear behaviour for the concrete, foundation rock and water. The complete system is considered as composed of three substructures—the dam, represented as a finite element system, the fluid domain, as a continuum of infinite length in the upstream direction, and the foundation rock region as a viscoelastic half-plane. The structural displacements of the dam are expressed as a linear combination of Ritz vectors, chosen as normal modes of an associated undamped dam-rock system. The effectiveness of this analytical formulation lies in its being able to produce excellent results by considering only a few Ritz vectors. The generalized displacements due to earthquake motion are computed by synthesizing their complex frequency responses using Fast Fourier Transform procedures. The stress responses are calculated from the displacements. An example analysis is presented to illustrate results obtained from this analytical procedure. Computation times for several analyses are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the procedure.     

The earthquake experience at koyna dam and stresses in concrete gravity dams

A number of questions concerning the response of concrete gravity dams to earthquakes, motivated by the structural damage caused to Koyna Dam, which has an unconventional cross section, by the December 1967 Koyna earthquake, are considered in this work. The study is not restricted to the earthquake experience at Koyna Dam, but includes consideration of a dam with a typical section and another earthquake motion having similar intensity but different peak acceleration and frequency characteristics compared to the Koyna ground motion. The earthquake response in a number of cases is analysed by the finite element method and results are presented. These results lead to a number of conclusions. Significant tensile stresses must have developed in Koyna Dam during the Koyna earthquake and similar stresses would have developed even in typical gravity dam sections. The Koyna ground motion is relatively more severe, compared to California earthquakes of similar intensity, on concrete gravity dams. The extra concrete mass near the crest of a gravity dam to support the roadway, etc. is responsible for causing a significant part of the critical tensile stresses; attention should therefore be given to developing lightweight supporting systems.     

基于非平稳随机地震动模型的重力坝抗震可靠度分析

基于正交展开的非平稳随机地震动模型,并考虑混凝土材料的非线性和坝体与库水之间的流固耦合,对印度Koyna重力坝进行有限元分析,得到坝顶水平位移和坝颈拉应力,结合概率密度演化方法和等价极值事件的思想,获得丰富的概率信息。这为坝体结构的随机地震反应分析和可靠度研究提供新的途径。     

Earthquake response of arch dams to spatially varying ground motion

The response of two arch dams to spatially varying ground motions recorded during earthquakes is computed by a recently developed linear analysis procedure, which includes dam–water–foundation rock interaction effects and recognizes the semi‐unbounded extent of the rock and impounded water domains. By comparing the computed and recorded responses, several issues that arise in analysis of arch dams are investigated. It is also demonstrated that spatial variations in ground motion, typically ignored in engineering practice, can have profound influence on the earthquake‐induced stresses in the dam. This influence obviously depends on the degree to which ground motion varies spatially along the dam–rock interface. Thus, for the same dam, this influence could differ from one earthquake to the next, depending on the epicenter location and the focal depth of the earthquake relative to the dam site. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.