Seismic stability and failure process analysis of earth-filled dam

Abstract

Earthquake is one of the primary influence factors for the stability and safety of the earth-filled dam. An efficient way for the seismic stability and failure process analysis of the earth-filled dam is proposed in this paper. In this study, taking the dynamic mechanical behavior of soil and the ground motion characteristics into account, the seismic stability, and failure process of a two-dimensional earth-filled dam is analyzed via the explicit finite element method. A dynamic visco-elasto-plastic constituted model for soil is established and written in FORTRAN as a user subroutine of the finite element method code ABAQUS. The seismic response, residual deformation, and failure process of the earth-filled dam under natural earthquake conditions are analyzed using the dynamic visco-elasto-plastic constituted model and the explicit finite element method. Moreover, the influence of the ground motion characteristics on the seismic stability of the earth-filled dam is analyzed via the specified elastic response acceleration spectrum. The analysis results of this paper suggest that the seismic stability and the progressive failure process analysis of the earth-filled dam under the seismic condition can be analyzed efficiently by explicit finite element method. The dynamic mechanical behavior of soil and the ground motion characteristics are both critical influence factors for the seismic stability analysis of the earth-filled dam. The research work of this study is helpful for the analysis of the failure process of the earth-filled dam collapse.