Dynamic response of concrete face rockfill dam affected by polarity reversal of near-fault earthquake

In China,an increasing number of high concrete face rockfill dams(CFRDs)are located in high intensity earthquake zones,some of which are close to the seismic fault line.Recordings suggest that near-fault ground motions are characterized by large one-sided velocity pulses.The conventional dynamic analysis of dams,however,neglects the features of strong ground movements.In this study,under different ground motion levels some numerical dynamic studies considering the one-sided broadband pulses of near-fault earthquakes are presented for CFRDs based on a generalized plasticity model for rockfill materials.The results indicate that the displacements of dam crest corresponding to positive and reverse input of near-fault ground motion make a significant difference,while the displacements of the dam crest under artificial seismic waves are similar.Furthermore,using the horizontal and vertical components as simultaneous excitations near the faults,the displacements of the dam crest before and after reversing the motion produce a larger difference than that using a single component.More importantly,the difference of horizontal displacements of the dam crest caused by polarity reversal of near-fault ground motions increases with the increase of earthquake intensity.Due to the randomness and uncertainties of earthquakes,using a stochastic near-field motion input as excitation without considering the polarity(i.e.,positive vs reversed waveform),does not necessarily obtain a conservative result.

Refined mathematical model for the breaching of concrete-face sand-gravel dams due to overtopping failure

Overtopping is one of the main reasons for the breaching of concrete-face sand-gravel dams(CFSGDs).In this study,a refined mathematical model was established based on the characteristics of the overtopping breaching of CFSGDs.The model characteristics were as follows:(1)Based on the Renormailzation Group(RNG)k-εturbulence theory and volume of fluid(VOF)method,the turbulent characteristics of the dam-break flow were simulated,and the erosion surface of the water and soil was tracked;(2)In consideration of the influence of the change in the sediment content on the dam-break flow,the dam material transport equation,which could reflect the characteristics of particle settlement and entrainment motion,was used to simulate the erosion process of the sand gravels;(3)Based on the bending moment balance method,a failure equation of the concrete face slab under dead weight and water load was established.The proposed model was verified through a case study on the failure of the Gouhou CFSGD.The results showed that the proposed model could well simulate the erosion mode of the special vortex flow of the CFSGD scouring the support body of the concrete face slab inward and reflect the mutual coupling relationship between the dam-break flow,sand gravels,and concrete face slabs.Compared with the measured values,the relative errors of the peak discharge,final breach average width,dam breaching duration,and maximum failure length of the face slab calculated using the proposed model were all less than 12%,thus verifying the rationality of the model.The proposed model was demonstrated to perform better and provide more detailed results than three selected parametric models and three simplified mathematical models.The study results can aid in establishing the risk level and devising early warning strategies for CFSGDs.

Features of seismic hazard in large dam projects and strong motion monitoring of large dams

Earthquakes can affect large dam projects in many different ways.Usually,design engineers are focussing on ground shaking and neglect the other aspects.The May 12,2008 Wenchuan earthquake has damaged 1803 dams and reservoirs,and 403 hydropower plants with an installed capacity of 3.3GW.Among these dams were the 132-m-high Shapai RCC arch dam and the 156-m-high Zipingpu concrete face rockfill dam.These recently completed dams are dam types which,up to now,have not experienced strong ground shaking.The widespread mass movements have caused substantial damage to dams and surface powerhouses in Sichuan.The different features of earthquake hazard are presented,i.e.,ground shaking,faulting and mass movements.It is proposed to prepare project-specific safety plans for all dams,which consist of a matrix where the possible hazards and the corresponding countermeasures are listed.The earthquake behaviors of the Sefid Rud,Zipingpu and Shapai dams,which,in the past,have experienced strong ground shaking from nearby earthquakes,are discussed.Finally,the need for strong motion instrumentation of large dams is discussed.It is proposed that major dams with large damage potential,dams located in areas of high seismicity,and dams showing signs of abnormal behavior be equipped with strong motion instruments.