Dynamic response of a concrete dam impounding an ice-covered reservoir: Part II. Parametric and numerical study

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical and parametric study of the effect of an ice cover on the dynamic response of a concrete dam using the approach proposed in the companion paper in this issue. The method was programmed and implemented in a finite element code specialized for the seismic analysis of concrete dams. The 84-m-high Outardes 3 concrete gravity dam in northeastern Quebec was chosen as a model for this research. Some basic aspects of the numerical model are established in this paper and we show that the ice cover affects the dynamic response of the ice–dam–reservoir system. Main features of this influence are emphasized and discussed in a parametric study through the analysis of: (i) acceleration frequency response curves at the dam crest, (ii) hydrodynamic frequency response curves inside the reservoir, and (iii) the hydrodynamic pressure distribution on the upstream face of the dam. Key words: gravity dams, concrete dams, ice, reservoirs, mathematical models, ice–structure interaction, fluid–structure interaction, forced-vibration testing, finite elements modelling.