The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Earthquake induced deformations of earth dams

Chang, C. Y.; Serff, Norman J.; Seed, H. Bolton; Makdisi, Faiz I.

UCB/EERC-76/04, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1976-09-01, 159 pages (480.2/S47/1976)

A finite element method for calculating the earthquake-induced deformations of an earth dam has been developed and applied to a study of the deformations induced in the upper San Fernando Dam during the earthquake of Feb. 9, 1971. The calculated deformations are in reasonable agreement with the displacements measured after the earthquake, and the calculated stresses and strains explain some of the observed effects of the earthquake on the dam, such as cracking in the outlet conduit and the development of slide scarps on the upstream slope. The method complements the existing procedure for the dynamic analysis of earth dams proposed by Seed et al. in 1973 and appears to provide a reasonable basis for determining permanent deformations in earth dams as a result of earthquake shaking.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-76-04.pdf (10 MB)