Evaluating the effects of reservoir level and foundation depth on the dynamic behaviour of a rockfill dam using three-dimensional finite elements modelling

Abstract

This paper presents a three-dimensional Dynamic analysis of a rockfill dam with different foundation depths by considering the dam connection with both the reservoir bed and water. ANSYS was used to develop the three-dimensional Finite Element (FE) model of the rockfill dam. The essential objective of this study is the discussion of the effects of different foundation depths on the Dynamic behaviour of an embanked dam. Four foundation depths were investigated. They are the dam without foundation (fixed base), and three different depths of the foundation. Taking into consideration the changing of upstream water level, the empty, minimum, and maximum water levels, the results of the three-dimensional FE modelling of the rockfill dam show that adding the water effect decreases the natural frequencies of the system, but not more than 45%. While, with the increase of the reservoir water level of the dam from minimum to maximum, the natural frequencies of the dam decreased, but not more than 13% in the case of maximum water level changes. The results show that the influence of changing the upstream water level affects the horizontal displacement of the dam more than the vertical displacement.