Methods for Assessing the Failure Process of Concrete Dams Founded on Rock

Today, good methodologies exist for assessing the ultimate load of a concrete dam but not for simulating the post failure development. This report therefore focuses on methodologies for simulating dam failures.

Numerical failure simulations were performed on a Swedish reinforced concrete arch dam with cracking induced by seasonal temperature variations. The simulations examined the effects from the cracking on the failure modes and the ultimate load. The results showed that in this case, the cracking had a limited effect on the failure mode and the ultimate load. This is largely because the cracks were aligned along the arch of the dam, wherefore the compressive stress from the water could still be transferred in an effective manner to the abutments of the dam.

The goal of the physical model test has been to investigate the failure of concrete gravity dams including the dynamic effects from the water. The effect on the adjacent monoliths after the first monolith has failed and the time for developing the failure will also be examined. The results from will increase the understanding of dam failures and work as a benchmark for future numerical simulations.