Simulating structural responses of a generic AAR-affected arch dam considering seismic loading

Alkali-Aggregate Reaction (AAR) is a deteriorative phenomenon for concrete that impresses the performance of structures. This study focuses on the seismic and post-earthquake behavior of an AAR-affected dam. A computer program is developed for simulating the structural behavior of AAR-affected dams including the seismic and post-earthquake durations. A thin high double-curvature arch dam is selected as case study and is modeled in a series of analyses within the assumed 30-year operating period. Each analysis includes an earthquake excitation in a different specified time. In each analysis, the seismic record is applied to the dam at different status of AAR progression considering the proposed ARI index. The results show that AAR affects seismic performance of the dam, i.e. with the AAR progression; the dynamic responses are significantly changed. On the other side, the effect of earthquake occurrence time on the dam post-earthquake behavior is not noticeable. This may be explained by the linear elastic behavior assigned to the body material in the provided FE model.