Authors: TU Jin, LI De-yu, CHEN Hou-qun, OUYANG Jin-hui (China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100048, China)

Abstract: Based on the integral seismic safety concept of clam-foundation system for arch dam, a corresponding analytical technique using FEM was developed. In this paper, the seismic safety of Dagangshan Arch Dam subjected to a design peak ground acceleration of 0.557 5g resulted in seismic overloading and shear strength reduction of the slide surfaces in the wedges are investigated respectively. In the numerical model, dam-reservoir-foundation interaction and nonlinear contact between contraction joints, dam-foundation interface as well as slide surfaces in abutment wedges are taken into account. Both dam body and critical abutment wedge are treated as an integral system and the system safety are determined by one single safety criterion, defined as the point of inflection of the relationship curve between dam displacement and seismic overloading factor or shear strength reduction factor.

Key words: high arch dam, failure mechanism, seismic safety

Published in: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 42, No. 2, 2011

Article ID: 0559-9350 (2011) 02-0152-08