Finite Element Computation of Crown Deflection of Cracked Concrete Gravity Dam under Effect of Creep in Fracture Process Zone

The concrete dams contain micro-cracks and flaws, developed during the hardening of concrete. Under the influence of static and dynamic loads, tensile stress at the crack's end causes the crack to grow, leading to structural failure. In the present study, a Finite Element (FE) computation is present to account for an effect of creep and non-linear stress-strain behavior in the fracture process zone (FPZ) for analyzing the horizontal deflection of the crown of a dam. The model test was perform for an old existing concrete dam for deflection of the dam's crown for a single crack and the results were compare with field data. The present model successfully simulates the effects of non-linear stress and creep in FPZ on the horizontal dam-crown deflection. It concludes that the analysis of dam stability in conventional methods must include the stress field behavior in FPZ.