Simulating Nonlinear Behavior of AAR-Affected Arch Dams Including Detection of Crack Profiles

Abstract

Alkali–aggregate reaction (AAR) is a chemical reaction with known injuries to the old concrete structures. A concrete dam situated in a humid and hot region is commonly susceptible to the occurrence of the reaction. It is a main challenge for the engineers and owners of such structures to make the required rehabilitation measurements. As the primary step, they should estimate future performances of the AAR-affected dams by suitable computer programs. The present study deals with simulation of AAR injuries to the performances of a concrete arch dam. A FE-based computer code, NSAD-DRI, is developed to simulate AAR using a robust mathematical model. On the other side, a nonlinear algorithm has been already implemented in NSAD-DRI for identifying initiation and propagation of crack profiles during the analyses. AMIR-KABIR dam is selected as case study and is modeled by the developed program. The results indicate that AAR may alter various responses of the dam and cause new crack profiles within the dam body. Meanwhile, the current results are in good agreement with those extracted from a similar linear analysis.