Investigation of Seismic Behavior of a Clay Core Rock fill Dam Using Finite Element Method

Abstract

Clay core rock-fill (CCR) dams are chosen dam construction model due to their low cost and rapid construction advantages. The stability of dam embankment and analyzing their earthquake resistance is of great concern to geotechnical engineers. Here, we analyze static and dynamic degrading behavior of a clay core rock-fill (CCR) dam through using the finite element method. The static part of the analysis considers the stage construction, reservoir impoundment and total displacements while, the dynamic part considers the seismic response of the dam under a real earthquake data which the data corresponds to typical measures of a peak ground acceleration (PGA). The static state analyses show a gradual increase in the magnitude of vertical displacements during the impounding stage where the hydrostatic force acts on the surface of the dam body and causes additional force on the clay core section. When the dam is subjected to real earthquake data which had a 0.4 g PGA, we observe larger displacement values compared to the static phase.