Seismic Analysis of Concrete Gravity Dam considering Massless Foundation

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-697-5_32How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Gravity Dam; Seismic Analysis; Massless Foundation

Abstract

This paper presents the seismic analysis of an 88.90 m high Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) gravity dam non-overflow block considering a massless foundation model in accordance with EM 1110-2-6051 provisions. A three-dimensional finite element analysis of the dam monolith has been developed to study the behavior of the structure under earthquake loading. In this study, the reservoir is not modelled explicitly, instead, its effect during seismic events was incorporated using hydrodynamic pressure formulation, which accounts for the inertia of reservoir water acting on the upstream face of the dam.

The analysis is carried out for various loading conditions including normal reservoir level, flood condition, and seismic loading corresponding to design basis earthquake (DBE) and maximum credible earthquake (MCE). Material properties of RCC concrete and foundation rock are adopted based on laboratory test results and previously established engineering parameters. The dynamic behavior of the dam is estimated using time-history seismic analysis, which provides information on crest displacement, acceleration response, and stress distribution in the dam.

The seismic response of dam monolith is evaluated by examining the stress distribution within the structure under various static and seismic loading conditions. Higher stress concentrations are observed particularly near the heel and toe regions, which are generally critical locations in gravity dams. The analysis demonstrates that the massless foundation modelling approach, combined with hydrodynamic pressure formulation, provides a practical method for assessing the seismic behavior of concrete gravity dams.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Tarun Singhal
AU  - Ajay Kumar
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/04
TI  - Seismic Analysis of Concrete Gravity Dam considering Massless Foundation
BT  - Proceedings of the Conference on Bridging Engineering Disciplines with AI and Machine Learning (BEDAIML 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 384
EP  - 399
SN  - 1951-6851
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-697-5_32
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-697-5_32
ID  - Singhal2026
ER  -