An Investigation of Dam-Water-Foundation Rock Interaction Effects on Linear and Nonlinear Earthquake Response of Concrete Arch Dams

Dam-water-foundation rock interaction effects on linear and nonlinear earthquake response of arch dams are investigated. For this purpose, the dam-water-foundation rock system subjected to earthquake ground motion is idealized using the finite element method involving the materially and geometrically nonlinear effects. A real world arch dam is considered and the dam is analyzed for various conditions of interaction problem for both linear and nonlinear behaviors. Numerical results indicate that the dam-water-foundation rock interaction with a materially nonlinear behavior affects the arch dam response significantly and they should be included to achieve a safe design for arch dams.