An Investigation into the Pseudostatic Analyses of the Kitayama Dam Using FE Simulation and Observed Earthquake-Induced Deformations

Abstract eng:
Evaluation of seismic slope stability is one of the most important activities in the design of earth structures. A number of analytical techniques, based on limit equilibrium and stress–deformation analyses, are available and proposed for conducting the slope instability analysis. Among them is the pseudostatic analyses which represent the effects of an earthquake by applying static horizontal and/or vertical accelerations to a potentially unstable mass of soil. Representation of the complex, transient and dynamic effects of earthquake shaking by a single constant acceleration is clearly crude and has significant shortcomings. The accuracy of the pseudostatic approach is governed by the accuracy with which the simple pseudostatic inertial forces represent the complex dynamic inertial forces that actually exist in an earthquake. In this study, the Kitayama Dam, which has been designed using the pseudostatic approach and damaged during the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, was investigated and analyzed. The finite element model of the dam was prepared based on the detailed available data and results of in-situ and laboratory material tests. Dynamic analyses were conducted to simulate the earthquake-induced deformations of the Kitayama dam using the computer program Plaxis code. Then the pseudostatic seismic coefficient used in the design and analyses of the dam was compared with the seismic coefficients obtained from dynamic analyses of the simulated model as well as the other available proposed pseudostatic correlations. Based on the comparisons made, the accuracy and reliability of the pseudostatic seismic coefficients are evaluated and discussed.

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