Structural Diagnosis of a Concrete Dam with Cracking and High Nonrecoverable Displacements
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 30, Issue 5
Abstract
Expansions in concrete dams may be caused by chemical or physical sources; however, in certain occasions the evidences observed in the dam may not be attributed to a single cause. Mequinenza is an example of a concrete dam affected by expansions and high nonrecoverable displacements that cannot be explained by the most frequent pathologies. This paper presents new hypotheses that could justify such behavior by assuming the superposition of a global phenomenon of water induced expansion in concrete in the entire dam and a localized effect consisting in the opening of cracks in the construction joints located in one of the blocks. This is validated by conducting numerical analyses through 2D finite element models that consider the nonlinear behavior of the construction joints and use zero-thickness interface elements to simulate the potential cracking planes in the dam. The results confirmed the diagnosis proposed and the capability of the model to reproduce the behavior of the dam, revealing the significant contribution of the opening of the cracks to the non-recoverable displacements in the dam.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the economic support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the projects BIA2010-20913-C02-02 and BIA2013-49106-C2-1-R. Furthermore, the authors wish to thank Endesa Generación S.A. for the invaluable economical and technical support over the years, in particular to Felipe Río and Francisco José Conesa. The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness supported the first author through the FPU scholarship.
References
Álvarez, A. (1981). “Presa de Mequinenza: Informe sobre el bloque 13-14.”, Endesa Generación, Madrid, Spain.
Ayora, C., Chinchón, J. S., Aguado, A., and Guirado, F. (1998). “Weathering of iron sulfides and concrete alteration: Thermodynamic model and observation in dams from Central Pyrenees, Spain.” Cem. Concr. Res., 28(4), 591–603.
Bhattacharjee, S. S., and Léger, P. (1994). “Application of NLFM models to predict cracking in concrete gravity dams.” J. Struct. Eng., 1255–1271.
Bhattacharjee, S. S., and Léger, P. (1995). “Fracture response of gravity dams due to rise of reservoir elevation.” J. Struct. Eng., 1298–1305.
Blanco, A., Segura, I., Cavalaro, S., Chinchón-Payá, S., and Aguado, A. (2015). “Sand-cement concrete in the century-old Camarasa dam.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil., 04015083.
Breysse, D., and Gérard, B. (1997). “Modelling of permeability in cement-based materials. 1: Uncracked medium.” Cem. Concr. Res., 27(5), 761–775.
Buil, J., Rio, F., Campos, A., López, C. M., and Aguado, A. (2012). “Numerical analysis of Mequinenza dam.” Proc., 24eme Congres des Grands Barrages, International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), Paris.
Caballero, A., Carol, I., and López, C. M. (2006a). “3D meso-mechanical analysis of concrete specimens under biaxial loading.” Fatigue Fract. Eng. Mater. Struct., 30(9), 877–886.
Caballero, A., Carol, I., and López, C. M. (2006b). “3D meso-structural analysis of concrete specimens under uniaxial tension.” Comput. Method Appl. Mech. Eng., 195(52), 7182–7195.
Campos, A. (2012). “Análisis numérico de presas de hormigón bajo acciones expansivas.” Ph.D. thesis, Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Carol, I., López, C. M., and Roa, O. (2001). “Micromechanical analysis of quasi-brittle materials using fracture interface elements.” Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng., 52(12), 193–215.
Carol, I., Prat, P. C., and López, C. M. (1997). “Normal/shear cracking model: Application to discrete crack analysis.” J. Eng. Mech., 765–773.
Cerny, R., and Rovnaníková, P. (2002). Transport processes in concrete, Spon Press, London.
Cervenka, J. (1994). “Discrete crack modeling in concrete tructures.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
Cervera, M., Oliver, J., and Galindo, M. (1990). “Simulación numérica de patologias en presas de hormigón.” Monograph 4, CIMNE, Barcelona.
Chinchón, J. S., Ayora, C., Aguado, A., and Guirado, F. (1995). “Influence of weathering of iron sulphides contained in aggregates on concrete: Durability.” Cem. Concr. Res., 25(6), 1264–1272.
Chinchón-Payá, S., Aguado, A., Coloma, F., and Chinchón, J. S. (2015). “Study of aggregate samples with iron sulphides trough micro X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).” Mater. Struct., 48(5), 1285–1290.
El-Dieb, A. S., and Hooton, R. D. (1995). “Water-permeability measurement of high performance concrete using a high-pressure triaxial cell.” Cem. Concr. Res., 25(6), 1199–1208.
Elices, M., Llorca, J., and Ingraffea, A. R. (1985). “Fractura del hormigón en régimen elástico y lineal. Un ejemplo: La presa de Fontana.” Informes de la Construcción, 37(372), 19–33.
ENHER. (1973). El salto de Mequinenza, Madrid, Spain.
Fernández Cánovas, M. (1980). “Entumecimiento higrométrico del hormigón.” Mater. Constr., 30(177), 27–43.
GiD [Computer software]. Barcelona, CIMNE.
Hillerborg, A., Modeer, M., Petersson, P., and Needleman, A. (1976). “Analysis of crack formation and crack growth in concrete by means of fracture mechanics and finite elements.” Cem. Concr. Res., 6(6), 773–781.
Hobbs, D. W. (1988). Alkali-silica reaction in concrete, Telford, Michigan.
Hohberg, J. (1992). “A joint element for the nonlinear dynamic analysis of arch dams.”, Institute of Structural Engeneering, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
Idiart, A. E., López, C. M., and Carol, I. (2011a). “Chemo-mechanical analysis of concrete cracking and degradation due to external sulfate attack: A meso-scale model.” Cem. Concr. Comp., 33(3), 411–423.
Idiart, A. E., López, C. M., and Carol, I. (2011b). “Modeling of drying shrinkage of concrete specimens at the meso-level.” Mater. Struct., 44(2), 415–435.
Ikumi, T., Segura, I., Cavalaro, S. H. P., and Aguado, A. (2014). “External sulfate attack: Porosimetry and damage based mode.” Cem. Concr. Res., 63(8), 105–116.
Linsbauer, H. N., Ingraffea, A. R., Rossmanith, H. P., and Wawrzynek, A. (1989). “Simulation of cracking in large arch dam: Part I.” J. Struct. Eng., 1599–1615.
López, C. M., Carol, I., and Aguado, A. (2008a). “Meso-structural study of concrete fracture using interface elements. I: Numerical model and tensile behavior.” Mater. Struct., 41(3), 583–599.
López, C. M., Carol, I., and Aguado, A. (2008b). “Meso-structural study of concrete fracture using interface elements. II: Compression, biaxial and Brasilian test.” Mater. Struct., 41(3), 601–620.
Mehta, P. K., and Monteiro, P. J. (2006). Concrete Microstructure, properties, and materials, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York.
Neville, A. (2004). “The confused world of sulfate attack on concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res., 34(8), 1275–1296.
Oliveira, I., Cavalaro, S. H. P., and Aguado, A. (2013a). “New kinetic model to quantify the internal sulfate attack in concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res., 43(1), 95–104.
Oliveira, I., Cavalaro, S. H. P., and Aguado, A. (2013b). “New unreacted-core model to predict pyrrhotite oxidation in concrete dams.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 25(3), 372–381.
Oliveira, I., Cavalaro, S. H. P., and Aguado, A. (2014). “Evolution of pyrrhotite oxidation in aggregates for concrete.” Mater. Constr., 64(316), e038.
Regamey, J. M., and Hammerschlag, J. G. (1995). “Barrage d’Illsee—Assaintment.” Proc., Research and Development in the Field of Dams, International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), Paris.
Saouma, V., Perotti, L., and Shimpo, T. (2007). “Stress analysis of concrete structures subjected to alkali-aggregate reactions.” ACI Struct. J., 104(5), 532–541.
Shayan, A. (1988). “Alkali aggregate reaction in a 60-year-old dam in Australia.” Int. J. Cem. Compos. Lightweight Concr., 10(4), 259–266.
Shi, Z., Suzuki, M., and Nakano, M. (2003). “Numerical analysis of multiple discrete cracks in concrete dams using extended fictitious crack model.” J. Struct. Eng., 324–336.
Sloan, R. C., and Abraham, T. J. (1978). “TVS cuts deep slot in dam, ends cracking problems.” Civ. Eng., 48(1), 66–70.
Stankowski, T., Runesson, K., and Sture, S. (1993). “Fracture and slip of interfaces in cementitious composites. I: Characteristics; II: Implementation.” J. Eng. Mech., 292–314.
Stanton, T. E. (1942). “Expansion of concrete through reaction between cement and aggregate.” Trans. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., 107(1), 57–84.
Ulm, F.-J., Coussy, O., Kefei, L., and Larive, C. (2000). “Thermo-chemo-mechanics of ASR expansion in concrete structures.” J. Eng. Mech., 233–242.
Vallarino, E. (1991). Tratato basico de presas, Coleccion Senior, Madrid, Spain.
Vonk, R. (1992). “Softening of concrete loaded in compression.” Ph.D. thesis, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 30 • Issue 5 • October 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 9, 2015
Accepted: Nov 16, 2015
Published online: Feb 22, 2016
Discussion open until: Jul 22, 2016
Published in print: Oct 1, 2016
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.