Safety analysis of sanliping concrete faced rockfill dam by finite element method

A 3D FEM model is established to analyze the safety of Sanliping Concrete Faced Rockfill Dam during the process of water storage. The stress and deformation of the dam body, concrete face, peripheral and vertical joints are detailed studied. The numerical results reveal that the maximum displacement in horizontal direction is 24.3 cm under the check flood level. The maximum settlement occurs at the location of 1/2 dam height, which reaches 63.5 cm (0.49% of the dam height) under check flood level. The maximum principal stress in dam body under dead water level is 1.5 MPa, while that under normal storage level and check flood level is 1.6 MPa, which appears at the bottom of the dam. The minimal principal stress in dam body under dead water level and normal storage level is 0.4 MPa, while that under check flood level is 0.5 MPa. The maximum bending deflection occurs at about 1/3 height of the concrete face from the bottom, the value of which is 34.9 cm. The major principal stresses of the concrete face under dead water level, normal storage level and check flood level are 2.4 MPa, 2.8 MPa and 2.9 MPa, respectively. The tensile stresses under the same water levels are 2.0 MPa, 2.8 MPa and 3.0 MPa, respectively. The largest shearing, expanding and settling displacements of the peripheral joint are 0.88 cm, 1.69 cm and 1.31 cm, respectively. The largest expanding and compressing displacements of the vertical joint are 2.34 cm and 0.56 cm, respectively. © Copyright 2016 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.