Abstract
Problem statement: Freeboard requirement, a major consideration in the design of embankment dams, is controlled to a great extent by the crest settlements during earthquakes. Approach: The parameters that influence earthquake induced crest settlement had been studied using 152 published case histories on performance of embankment dams during earthquakes. Results: Based on the results a correlation had been proposed for obtaining preliminary estimates of earthquake-induced crest settlements. The correlation used the ratio of the peak horizontal ground acceleration and the yield acceleration as the estimator. Conclusion/Recommendations: The database analysis also indicated that crest settlements are larger where the fundamental periods of the embankment were similar to the predominant periods of the earthquake. Earthquake magnitude and the vertical component of earthquake ground motion, on the other hand, appeared to have a small influence on crest settlement.
Highlights
Earthquake-induced deformations of embankment dams are commonly estimated from the sliding block procedure[35]
There is a considerable scatter in the data, there appears to be a strong negative relationship between ∆ and ay/amax. These results provide a useful practical guidance by demonstrating that the likelihood of large crest settlements becomes small if the yield acceleration exceeds about 1.3 times the peak horizontal ground acceleration
The crest settlement could exceed 1 m if amax was to exceed about 1.3 times the yield acceleration
Summary
Earthquake-induced deformations of embankment dams are commonly estimated from the sliding block procedure[35]. Contrary to the assumption of these methods that the cohesivefrictional strength between the sliding wedge and the soil mass below do not degrade with continued earthquake shaking, loose or soft soils tend to soften during earthquakes because of development of pore water pressure. Another difficulty with the use of sliding block method is the need for a suite of design earthquake acceleration time histories, which, in many cases, is not available. Because of the simplicity of these methods, they often are the procedures of choice in a preliminary design project
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