摘要
The limit equilibrium method （LEM） is widely used for sliding stability evaluation of concrete gravitydams. Failure is then commonly assumed to occur along the entire sliding surface simultaneously.However, the brittle behaviour of bonded concrete-rock contacts, in combination with the varying stressover the interface, implies that the failure of bonded dam-foundation interfaces occurs progressively. Inaddition, the spatial variation in cohesion may introduce weak spots where failure can be initiated.Nonetheless, the combined effect of brittle failure and spatial variation in cohesion on the overall shearstrength of the interface has not been studied previously. In this paper, numerical analyses are used toinvestigate the effect of brittle failure in combination with spatial variation in cohesion that is taken intoaccount by random fields with different correlation lengths. The study concludes that a possible existenceof weak spots along the interface has to be considered since it significantly reduces the overallshear strength of the interface, and implications for doing so are discussed.
The limit equilibrium method （LEM） is widely used for sliding stability evaluation of concrete gravitydams. Failure is then commonly assumed to occur along the entire sliding surface simultaneously.However, the brittle behaviour of bonded concrete-rock contacts, in combination with the varying stressover the interface, implies that the failure of bonded dam-foundation interfaces occurs progressively. Inaddition, the spatial variation in cohesion may introduce weak spots where failure can be initiated.Nonetheless, the combined effect of brittle failure and spatial variation in cohesion on the overall shearstrength of the interface has not been studied previously. In this paper, numerical analyses are used toinvestigate the effect of brittle failure in combination with spatial variation in cohesion that is taken intoaccount by random fields with different correlation lengths. The study concludes that a possible existenceof weak spots along the interface has to be considered since it significantly reduces the overallshear strength of the interface, and implications for doing so are discussed.
