Three Dimensional Versus Two Dimensional Liquefaction Analyses of a Hydraulic Fill Earth Dam

Abstract eng:
This project is a 200-foot-long, 63-foot-high earthfill dam that stores water on a seasonal basis. Deformations of the dam induced by strong ground motion and localized liquefaction were analyzed using 2D and 3D numerical models. The 2D and 3D analyses were conducted using the programs FLAC2D and FLAC3D with the User Defined Model option, respectively. Since the dam spans a relative narrow valley, a 3D analysis was considered more representative than the 2D plane strain formulation. In both the 2D and 3D analyses, soil behaviors were simulated using a bounding surface plasticity model (Wang, 1990). This constitutive model simulates the shear induced contractive and dilative behaviors of sandy soils in an integrated way. The model was rewritten from the original Fortran in C++ and then compiled as a user defined model to achieve acceptable run times. In this case the deformation prediction of the 3D model was considerably less than of the 2D analysis, consistent with expectations.

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