INVESTIGATION OF EARTHQUAKE BEHAVIOUR OF THE CONCRETE GRAVITY DAMS UNDER VARIOUS INTERACTION CONDITIONS

Modeling the material behavior and estimation of the earthquake behavior of concrete gravity dams under the dynamic loading is very important for safety operation purposes of dams. In this study, Boyabat dam which is concrete gravity (CG) dam located in a highly seismic zone is numerically modeled considering its full reservoir condition using finite element method. In addition, the seismic response of selected (CG) dam is examined considering two-dimensional dam–reservoir–foundation interaction which is modeled by four different interaction properties using contact-target element couples. Materially and geometrically linearity was taken into account in seismic analyses. Two-dimensional fluid finite elements based on the Lagrangian approach are used to model the hydrodynamic pressure of the reservoir water. The acceleration records of 1999 Düzce earthquake (Mw 7.1) are used in all seismic analysis. According to analysis solutions, the horizontal displacements and principle stress components during earthquake are compared and evaluated for various interaction conditions.