Experimental study on high gravity dam strengthened with reinforcement for seismic resistance on shaking table

In order to study the dynamic failure mechanism and aseismic measure for high concrete gravity dam under earthquake, the comparative models experiment on the shaking table was conducted to investigate the dynamic damage response of concrete gravity dam with and without the presence of reinforcement and evaluate the effectiveness of the strengthening measure. A new model concrete was proposed and applied for maintaining similitude with the prototype. A kind of extra fine wires as a substitute for rebar was embedded in four-points bending specimens of the model concrete to make of reinforced model concrete. The simulation of reinforcement concrete of the weak zones of high dam by the reinforced model concrete meets the similitude requirements. A tank filled with water is mounted at the upstream of the dam models to simulate the reservoir. The Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) that induces the first tensile crack at the head of dam is applied as the basic index for estimating the overload capacity of high concrete dams. For the two model dams with and without strengthening tested, vulnerable parts of them are the necks near the crests. The results also indicate that the reinforcement is beneficial for improving the seismic-resistant capacity of the gravity dam.