Frequency Analysis of Concrete Gravity Dam with Finite Element Model and LHS Method

In this paper, the dynamic response of a concrete gravity dam along with reservoir domain is investigated by frequency analysis and Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) statistical methods using finite element model. In this analysis, the frequency value is assigned to the model as an input variable. Then, the effects of frequency parameter are studied on maximum horizontal displacement of the dam crest, maximum tensile stress in the heel, maximum compressive stress in the toe and hydrodynamic pressure on the heel of the dam. The ANSYS software, according to finite element method (FEM), is applied for modeling and analysis. In order to represent the effect of the dynamic loading frequency, which is an important parameter in the analysis of the structures, the maximum response values are presented as sensitivity and probability curves. According to the sensitivity diagram of the hydrodynamic pressure response vs. the input frequency, it can be concluded that in the frequency of loading near the natural frequency of reservoir, the most critical condition occurs for seismic display, which should be highly considered in designing concrete dams.