Analysis of working behavior of Jinping-I Arch Dam during initial impoundment

To study the stress, deformation, and seepage pressure during the initial impoundment of the Jinping-I Arch Dam, monitoring analysis and numerical calculation were used in a dam behavior analysis that focused on the working behavior of the dam during the late period of the initial impoundment up to the end of November 2014. The numerical calculation was performed based on feedback analysis of the deformation and stress of the arch dam through inversion of the elastic moduli(E) of the dam body and foundation, using a three-dimensional finite element model for the linear elastic material of the arch dam. The main monitoring indices presented insignificant changes in the late period of the initial impoundment, and the results of feedback analysis were consistent with monitoring results. Analysis results also show that the deformations of the dam body and dam foundation were within the design range; the dam stress distributions were normal, with values lower than the design control criteria; and the seepage flows through the dam body and dam foundation were lower than the design drainage capacity of the deep-well pump house, demonstrating that the Jinping-I Arch Dam was in good working condition, and the initial impoundment had been successfully completed. The results of the working behavior analysis of the Jinping-I hydropower project during the initial impoundment can provide references for safe operation of similar projects.