Coupled Elastoplastic Analysis of Dam Seismic Stability

A nonlinear procedure for coupled elastoplastic analysis of the dam seismic stability was presented in this paper. The soil nonlinear dynamic behavior was modeled using by a multiple yield surface model based on the numerical framework of u-p formulation. The strength reduction method was used to determine the factor of safety of dam slope and the location of failure surface. A case study of a 293.5 m high clay core rockfill dam was used to demonstrate the application of the method. Based on the computed results, it is founded that the maximum acceleration amplification coefficient is 1.72, which is almost 20% less than that obtained from the equivalent linear analysis. The most dangerous slip surface was at the shallow zone of the lower part of the upstream slope, which was different from the predicted location from the equivalent linear analysis. The earthquake induced pore water pressure and permanent deformation were also studied in detail.