Numerical investigation of seismically induced crest settlement of earth dams

Abstract

Earthquake-induced deformations are a major threat to the stability of earth dams. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to this issue in the design and construction of earth dams. In this study, seismically induced crest settlement of earth dam was investigated through finite difference modeling of FLAC. Comparing numerical modeling and centrifuge test results indicated acceptable accuracy of FLAC in the evaluation of seismic behavior of earth dams. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the effect of fundamental period ratio (Td/Tp) and yield acceleration ratio (ay/amax) on seismically induced crest settlement of earth dams. Results indicated that the seismic settlement ratio of earth dams decreases with increasing Td/Tp and ay/amax. Finally, two earth dam cases were numerically investigated and their seismically induced crest settlement under different seismic records was studied. Results from numerical modeling were compared to the results from the equation proposed by the authors for the evaluation of seismically induced crest settlement of earth dams.