Response of Earth Dams in Semicylindrical Canyons to Oblique SH Waves
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 119, Issue 1
Abstract
An analytical solution is developed for steady‐state lateral response of earth and rockfill dams built in semicylindrical canyons and subjected to obliquely incident harmonic SH waves. The dam is idealized as a linearly hysteretic elastic body deforming only in shear, while the supporting canyon is modeled as an elastic medium, representing a deformable rock half‐space. The solution accounts in a rigorous way for the complex wave reflection, transmission, and diffraction phenomena associated with the presence of the dam‐filled canyon. For the displacement fields in the dam and the canyon, closed‐form expressions are derived involving a series expansion in terms of spherical‐Bessel and Legendre functions. A parametric investigation elucidates the effects of the dam‐to‐canyon material impedance ratio, of the angle of incidence, and of the frequency of excitation on the response along the crest of the dam. Similarities and differences are noted and explained with the response of the dam to “rigid‐base”‐type (“synchronous”) excitation, as well as with the response of an alluvial semicylindrical valley to oblique SH waves.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Abdel‐Ghaffar, A. M., and Koh, A. S. (1981). “Longitudinal vibration of non‐homogeneous earth dams.” J. Earthquake Engrg. Struct. Dynamics, 9(3), 279–305.
2.
Abdel‐Ghaffar, A. M., and Koh, A. S. (1982). “Three‐dimensional dynamic analysis of non‐homogeneous earth dams.” J. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engrg., 1(3), 136–144.
3.
Abramowitz, M., and Stegun I. (1970). Handbook of Mathematical Functions. Dover, New York, N.Y.
4.
Bard, P., and Bouchon, M. (1980). “The seismic response of sediment‐filled valleys.” Bulletin of Seismol. Soc. of America, 70(4), 1263–1286.
5.
Dakoulas, P. (1990). “Nonlinear response of dams founded on alluvial deposits in narrow canyons.” J. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engrg., 9(6), 301–312.
6.
Dakoulas, P., and Gazetas, G. (1986a). “Seismic shear vibration of embankment dams in semicylindrical valleys.” J. Earthquake Engrg. Struct. Dynamics, 14(1), 19–40.
7.
Dakoulas, P., and Gazetas, G. (1986b). “Seismic shear strains and seismic coefficients in dams and embankments.” J. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engrg., 5(6), 75–83.
8.
Dakoulas, P., and Gazetas, G. (1987). “Vibration characteristics of dams in narrow canyons.” J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 113(8), 899–904.
9.
Dakoulas, P., and Hashmi, H. (1992). “Wave passage effects on the response of earth dams.” J. of Soils and Foundations, 32(2), 97–110.
10.
Dibaj, M., and Penzien, J. (1969). “Response of earth dams to traveling seismic waves.” J. of Soil Mech. and Found. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 95(2), 541–560.
11.
Elgamal, A. W. M., Abdel‐Ghaffar, A. M., and Prevost, J. H. (1987). “2‐D elastoplastic seismic shear response of earth dams: Theory.” J. Engrg. Mech. Div., ASCE, 113(5), 689–701.
12.
Gazetas, G. (1987). “Seismic response of earth dams: some recent developments.” J. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engrg., 6(1), 1–47.
13.
Gazetas, G., and Dakoulas, P. (1992). “Seismic analysis and design of rockfill dams: State‐of‐the art.” J. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engrg., 11(1), 27–61.
14.
Hall, J. F., and Chopra, A. K. (1982). “Hydrodynamic effects in earthquake response of embankment dams.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 108(4), 591–598.
15.
Haroun, M. H., and Abdel‐Hafiz, E. A. (1987). “Seismic response analysis of earth dams under differential ground motion.” Bulletin of the Seismological Soc. of America, 77(5), 1514–1529.
16.
Makdisi, F. I., Kagawa, T., and Seed, H. B. (1982). ‘Seismic response of earth dams in triangular canyons.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 108(10), 1328–1337.
17.
Martinez, B., and Bielak, J. (1980). “On the three‐dimensional seismic response of the earth structures.” Proc. 7th World Conf. on Earthquake Engineering, International Association for Earthquake Engineering, 8, 523–528.
18.
Mejia, L. H., and Seed, H. B. (1983). “Comparison of 2‐D and 3‐D dynamic analyses of earth dams.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 109(11), 1383–1398.
19.
Mejia, L. H., and Seed, H. B., and Lysmer, J. (1982). “Dynamic analysis of earth dams in three dimensions.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 108(12), 1586–1604.
20.
Nahhas, T. M. (1987). “Dynamics of earth dams.” Ph.D. Thesis, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.
21.
Ohmachi, T. (1981). “Analysis of dynamic shear strain distributed in 3‐dimensional earth dam models.” Proc. Int. Conf. on Recent Advances in Geotech. Earthq. Engrg. and Soil Dyn., University of Missouri, 1, 459–464.
22.
Prevost, J. H., Abdel‐Ghaffar, A. M., and Lacy, S. J. (1985). “Nonlinear dynamic analysis of earth dam: A comparative study.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 111(7), 882–897.
23.
Seed, H. B. (1979). “Considerations in the earthquake resistant design of earth and rockfill dams,” Geotechnique, London, U.K., 29(3), 215–263.
24.
Trifunac, M. D. (1971). “Surface motion of a semi‐cylindrical alluvial valley for incident plane SH waves.” Bulletin of the Seismological Soc. of America, 61(6), 1755–1770.
25.
Trifunac, M. D. (1973). “Scattering of plane SH waves by a semi‐cylindrical canyon,” Int. J. of Earthq. Engrg. and Struct. Dynamics, 1(3), 267–281.
26.
Wong, H. L., and Trifunac, M. D. (1974). “Surface motion of a semi‐elliptical alluvial valley for incident plane SH waves.” Bulletin of Seismological Soc. of America, 64(5), 1389–1408.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 119 • Issue 1 • January 1993
Pages: 74 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © 1993 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 23, 1991
Published online: Jan 1, 1993
Published in print: Jan 1993
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.