A Finite Element Analysis Procedure for Earthquake Analysis of Dam-Water-Foundation Rock Systems: Validation of Method for 2D Problems

Abstract eng:
An extended finite element analysis procedure (extended FEM) is presented for performing nonlinear earthquake analysis of concrete dams. The procedure overcomes the limitations of the "standard" FEM by applying wave-transmitting boundaries to simulate the semi-unbounded reservoir and foundation-rock, and specifying at these boundaries earthquake-induced tractions and pressure gradients determined from the design ground motion specified at a control point at the free surface. The procedure is validated numerically by computing the dynamic response of an idealized two-dimensional dam-water- foundation rock system and comparing against benchmark results obtained using the substructure method, in which the semi-unbounded fluid and foundation-rock domains are modeled rigorously. The results demonstrate that the extended FEM is an accurate, efficient and versatile analysis procedure that allows for modeling of arbitrary geometry and material behavior of dam-water-foundation rock systems without introducing unrealistic assumptions of massless rock or incompressible water sometimes used in engineering practice.

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