Masonry gravity dams : a numerical application for stability analysis

摘要

This work presents a numerical application for stability analysis of masonry gravity dams. From thegeometrical dimensions, the material characteristics, hydrostatic loads and seismic loads, theapplication automatically determines the following results: thrust line for the dead weight load and thedead weight together with the other loads; stress diagram and safety factors for the failure of the damfoundationcontact as part of an overall analysis; safety factors for the failure of horizontal planesalong the body of the dam; parametric properties analysis (volumetric mass) and the resistantcharacteristics (friction angle) on the base of the dam.The analyses of three historical masonry dams located in Algeria was made. This work highlightsthe versatility of the numerical application as it can work with different section geometry, includingcurved and discontinuous sections, and the importance of assessing several scenarios in order toobtain a safe result.