Empirical relationships for estimating the crest settlement of earth-core rockfill dams subjected to earthquakes

Abstract

In this study, new empirical predictive relationships for earthquake-induced crest settlement of earth-core rockfill dams (ECRDs) were developed. A case history database of 19 dams that had been subjected to earthquakes was utilized. The presented relationships correlate the intensity measure (IM) of the earthquake records with the observed settlements, and thus, employing IMs that appropriately describe the severity of ground motion is of vital importance. It is well known that the dynamic properties of an ECRD can change significantly depending on the severity of an earthquake, and that this phenomenon can substantially impact the dynamic responses of dams. Accordingly, two IMs were suggested, taking into account the essential characteristics of ground motions affecting the nonlinear behaviour of ECRDs. The results indicate that the proposed relationships effectively address the limitations of the existing ones, and that they are practical tools that efficiently predict the seismic settlements of ECRDs.

Seismic intensity measures and predictive equations for the evaluation of earthquake—induced crest settlements of earth dams

“…Finally, original intensity measures were also introduced by Lanzo et al 6 . and Ghaemi and Konrad 16 as the product of the Arias intensity by the strong motion duration and by the peak ground acceleration raised to −0.69, respectively.…”

“…In this framework, the need of using suitable seismic parameters or proper parameter combinations (frequently denoted as intensity measures) to better capture the variation of w c with the characteristics of the input motion has been also pointed out. As an example, Swaisgood 1 firstly introduced the combined use of the peak ground acceleration and moment magnitude and, using these two parameters, Bureau 15 introduced an earthquake severity index (quantifying the energy released by an earthquake at the dam site) as a suitable parameter for the prediction of w c ; similarly, Ghaemi and Konrad 16 suggested the combined use of moment magnitude and a mean value of the elastic acceleration response spectrum computed for a damping ratio equal to 5%. Finally, original intensity measures were also introduced by Lanzo et al 6 and Ghaemi and Konrad 16 as the product of the Arias intensity by the strong motion duration and by the peak ground acceleration raised to −0.69, respectively.…”

“…As an example, Swaisgood 1 firstly introduced the combined use of the peak ground acceleration and moment magnitude and, using these two parameters, Bureau 15 introduced an earthquake severity index (quantifying the energy released by an earthquake at the dam site) as a suitable parameter for the prediction of w c ; similarly, Ghaemi and Konrad 16 suggested the combined use of moment magnitude and a mean value of the elastic acceleration response spectrum computed for a damping ratio equal to 5%. Finally, original intensity measures were also introduced by Lanzo et al 6 and Ghaemi and Konrad 16 as the product of the Arias intensity by the strong motion duration and by the peak ground acceleration raised to −0.69, respectively.…”

“…As an alternative to these approaches some authors (e.g., Park et al, 8 Ghaemi and Konrad, 4,16 Casablanca et al, 24 Nardo et al 25 ) recently proposed empirical predictive formulas for the evaluation of the dam crest settlement calibrated on the results of numerical dynamic analyses carried out using suitable constitutive models and large sets of seismic records as input motion and relating computed displacements of the dam crest with some relevant seismic parameters.…”

“…As an alternative to these approaches some authors (e.g., Park et al., 8 Ghaemi and Konrad, 4,16 Casablanca et al., 24 Nardo et al 25…”