Impact of rockfill dam structure heterogeneity on reinforced concrete face stress-strain state

Introduction. One of the main principles in designing modern ultra-high rockfill dams with reinforced concrete face is the principle of zoning rockfill of various quality in the dam body. It envisages that rockfill in the shell upper part should be compacted very carefully in order to minimize to the maximum the deflections of the reinforced concrete face. In the shell lower part it is allowed placing heterogeneous rockfill with less degree of compaction. Analysis of the results of field observations over settlements of the already constructed dams shows that this pattern of zoning may lead to considerable irregularity in distribution of rockfill deformation moduli between the upstream and the downstream parts of the dam. Numerical modeling of the existing Aguamilpa dam carried out by use arlier showed that this effect may be caused by unfavorable stress-strain state of the reinforced concrete face threatening with crack formation. Were come ended using dams of homogenous structure. However, this conclusion caused doubts of some experts. More detailed studies who see results are described in this article were conducted in order to confirm or disprove this conclusion. Materials and methods. The studies were conducted by finite element method on the example of 100 m high rockfill dam. Different alternatives of rockfill deformation properties in the shell upstream and downstream parts were considered. Results. Analysis of the results of studies confirmed the conclusions made earlier about the features of the rockfill dam reinforced concrete face stress-strain state. It was revealed that increase of rockfill deformation in the dam shell downstream part leads to appearance of additional tensile longitudinal force in the face. It increases the risk of appearance of through transversal cracks in the face. However, the heterogeneous structure of the dam shell may not have a decisive impact on stress values because the value of bending moment plays a great role. Conclusions. The results of the fulfilled study as well as modern dam construction practice show the necessity of modifying the traditional pattern of rockfill zoning in the dam body. It is necessary to provide decrease of differences in rockfill deformation of the upstream and downstream parts of the dam.