NONLINEAR SEISMIC RESPONSE OF CONCRETE GRAVITY DAMS WITH DAM-RESERVOIR INTERACTION

The nonlinear seismic fracture response of concrete gravity darns is conducted when the effect of the dam-reservoir interaction is taken into account. The darn-reservoir interaction is included in the time domain analysis using the staggered solution method. Smeared crack analysis model based on a nonlinear fracture mechanics crack propagation criterion is used to study the cracking and response ofthe dam. Results of the analysis are compared to the case when the dam-reservoir interaction was represented by added masses. It is found that the nonlinear analysis of gravity dams that includes dam-reservoir interaction gives a crack pattern that is more realistic than the case when the dam-reservoir interaction is approximated using the added mass approach, It is concluded that proper modelling of the dam-reservoir interaction is important in the nonlinear response analysis of concrete gravity dams