Seismic liquefaction analysis of a reservoir dam foundation in the South-North Water Diversion Project in China. Part II: seismic response simulation

As shown in Part I of this study, the saturated surface silt of the dam foundations in Tianjin is vulnerable to liquefaction with a seismic intensity of VII. According to the Chinese codes for the seismic design of buildings (Hydropower Research Institute of China), specifications for seismic design of hydraulic structures (DL 5073-2000), China Water Power Press, Beijing (in Chinese) 2000, Ministry of Construction of China, code for seismic design of buildings (GB 50011-2001) and China Building Industry Press, Beijing 2001), specific procedures were selected for anti-liquefaction treatments in this project. Numerical simulation analyses, which have become an indispensable step in engineering practice, especially for large projects such as this, have been applied to dam foundations before and after anti-liquefaction treatments to see how they will behave in an earthquake. Simulated results of the dam foundations during an earthquake were obtained for excess pore water pressure, acceleration, displacement, and properties that are considered useful for earthquake geotechnical design. The simulation is in good agreement with empirical methods for the performance of the dam foundation during the earthquake. Results also show that the anti-liquefaction treatments that made use of a cutoff wall and a platform beyond the dam improved the integral stability of the dam. The cutoff wall can prevent lateral spreading (of the left side foundation soil in the case presented here), and the platform prevents an increase in pore water pressure.