Behaviour of Earth Fill Dam under Earthquake Load Using Finite Element Method: A Case Study of Semenyih Dam

In this project, an earth-fill dam in Selangor which is Semenyih Dam, a major dam in the Klang Valley with a capacity of 60.6 million cubic metres, a height of 49 metres, and a crest length of reservoir embankment of 830 metres, is being used as a study subject. The Finite Element Method was used in this work to assess the stress and deformation of Semenyih Dam, an earth dam in Selangor that was resting under hydrostatic pressure. The second objective is to study the Semenyih dam’s seismic response due to the Ranau Earthquake loading. The analysis of the Semenyih Dam’s structural performance under historical seismic loading from the Ranau Earthquake with a peak ground acceleration of 0.013g was done using the LUSAS Modeller 14.3 software. As a result, it was discovered that the dam’s deformation and displacement caused by the Ranau earthquake with hydrostatic pressure was larger, at 5.33 mm, as opposed to 1.822 mm when there was no hydrostatic pressure. The dam’s deformation is different in the two scenarios. When the Ranau earthquake combined with hydrostatic pressure, the dam deformed significantly. From the bottom of the dam to the top, there was an increase in stress distribution. Both hydrostatic pressure and an earthquake would put further strain on the dam. Semenyih Dam’s maximum stress is 189.152 N/m2 (with hydrostatic pressure), 27.4948 N/m2 (without hydrostatic pressure), which are less than the silty clay’s 290 kN/m2 allowable stress capacity. According to the investigation, when a dam is subjected to a variety of loads and forces, the stress distribution within it increases.