Earthquake Stresses in Arch Dams. I: Theory and Antiplane Excitation

Abstract

A procedure is presented for analysis of earthquake response of concrete arch dams to nonuniform motion of the canyon walls. A dam is modeled by the finite‐element method. The nonuniform, free‐field motion of canyon walls is obtained by solving the two‐dimensional wave equation. The transient, upstream‐downstream (antiplane) motions of the canyon walls induced by plane SH‐waves are illustrated. The response of an idealized arch dam is investigated neglecting the dam‐canyon interaction, and the effects caused by the wave propagation across the canyon. The dam response to the nonuniform canyon accelerations decreases by about 25–30% with respect to the case of excitation by the uniform canyon motion.