Abstract
Stability and stress analyses are the most important elements that require rigorous consideration in design of a dam structure. In the current research, dynamic structural stability of a roller-compacted-concrete (RCC) dam was performed. The RCC dam was modeled using the finite element method to investigate the stability against sliding and the structural stability of the body of the dam. The commercially available finite element software (SAP 2000) was used to analyze stresses in the body of the dam and foundation. A linear finite element dynamic analysis was performed. Response spectrum and time history methods were used with different earthquake loads. The response spectrum of the 1995 Aqaba earthquake and a representative elastic-spectrum with smooth plateau for both Operating Basis Earthquake (OBE) and Maximum Credible Earthquake (MCE) were used in this study. The analysis was carried out assuming that no slip will occur at the interface between the dam and the foundation. The greatest tension was found to develop in the rock adjacent to the toe of the upstream slope. The factor of safety against sliding along the entire base of the dam was found to be greater than 1 (FS>1), for both loading conditions.
Highlights
To help meet the irrigation needs of suburban parts of Amman, Jordan, a hybrid dam was built in the Mujib Canyon area, which is located about 60 km south of Amman
The results of the stress analysis of dynamic loading for Maximum Principal Stresses (S11) and shear stresses along the base of the dam for both Operating Basis Earthquake (OBE) at 10 % damping ratio and Maximum Credible Earthquake (MCE) cases are shown in Figures 5 to7, respectively
Using Eq.1 and the normal stresses calculated from the dynamics analysis, the factor of safety against sliding was calculated for both cases OBE and MCE
Summary
To help meet the irrigation needs of suburban parts of Amman, Jordan, a hybrid dam was built in the Mujib Canyon area, which is located about 60 km south of Amman. The drainage path of Al Mujib is toward the Dead Sea. The dam is a composite structure, consisting of an RCC middle section and clay core rock fill (CCR) sections at both abutments. The properties of the material for both the dam and its foundation are shown in Table 1 [2]. 3.1 Structural idealization The dam was modeled using 2-D plain strain isoperimetric elements. The FEM analysis was performed based on the following assumptions: (i) plain strain linear elastic behavior, (ii) simplified soil-structure interaction entailing massless elastic foundation, and (iii) a uniform and homogeneous foundation. The primary seismic sources contributing to the hazard at the dam site is the active Jordan Valley fault which extends from the dead sea of Galilee with an expected earthquake magnitude of M=7.5 and greater
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