Pardoen, Benoît
[UCL]
Konrad, Jean-Marie
[Université Laval]
The behaviour of interfaces between granular materials in zoned embankment dams can influence their overall behaviour. Soil-structure interfaces have been largely studied but only a few analyses of interfaces between the granular materials composing rockfill dams have been realised. Consequently, there is a need to consider the influence of material interfaces within dams. A numerical modelling of a rockfill dam is performed to simulate its mechanical behaviour during the construction phase. The behaviour is analysed based on the numerical methods used to model the interfaces and on interface characteristics, through sensitivity analyses. A particular attention is paid to the influence of interface shear strength on the dam shear deformations, settlements, and plasticity. The numerical results highlight that the contact condition and the interface characteristics influence the dam behaviour. Low shear resistance of interface engenders an increase of relative displacements, settlements, and shear strains in the dam. Moreover, the dilative behaviour of the interfaces also affects the dam overall behaviour.
Bibliographic reference |
Pardoen, Benoît ; Konrad, Jean-Marie. Numerical Modeling of Zoned Rockfill Dam during Construction Considering Granular Interface Behavior. In: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 145, no.3, p. - (2019) |
Permanent URL |
http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/214491 |