VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF CONCRETE GRAVITY DAMS

Abstract

Dams retain large reservoirs of water & play an important role in the development of a region. Statistically, failures of dams have been much fewer than those of other types of structure; however, in many cases, their failure has led to disastrous consequences. The primary objective of this study is to perform the seismic safety study of existing dams in India by performing Non-linear Static Pushover Analysis & Non-linear Incremental Dynamic Analysis so as to assess the seismic vulnerability of concrete gravity dams. The concrete damage plasticity model is used to model the non-linear behaviour of concrete. Finite element software ABAQUS has been used for 2-D non-linear analysis of concrete gravity dams. The pushover curve & damage propagation are shown for the Non-linear Static Pushover Analysis. The damage propagation & the percentage damage of the dam, subjected to base acceleration time history of the Uttarkashi earthquake scaled to different values are obtained from Non-linear Incremental Dynamic Analysis. A comparison of the results obtained from the two methods is also done.