Seismic Behavior and Stability Analysis of an Embankment Dam on a Permeable Foundation

Abstract

This study analyses the behaviour of an embankment type homogenous earth dam with a plastic clay core subjected to an earthquake excitation and its deformation with time. The displacement vs time graph has been plotted under the earthquake excitation and deformation for the structure is found out. The analysis tries to depict the real-life performance of the dam under earthquake excitations for its additional safety consideration. GeoStudio has been used to perform the QUAKE/W analysis on the dam. QUAKE/W models the dynamic stresses arising from earthquake shaking and simulates the impact of these stresses on the earth’s structures. The software is based on the finite element method. The study also consists of seepage analysis of the dam body with impervious clay core and generation of the zero-pressure line along with the flow lines and generation of flow vectors within the body of the dam. The SEEP/W analysis has been used for the generation of the seepage across the dam body which may be further used to check the stability of the dam. In addition to that, a slope stability analysis has also been performed using SLOPE/W analysis to get the desired value of the factor of safety.