Direct finite element method for nonlinear earthquake analysis of concrete dams: Simplification, modeling, and practical application

Summary A direct finite element (FE) method for nonlinear response history analysis of semi‐unbounded dam‐water‐foundation systems has recently been presented. The analysis procedure employs standard viscous‐damper absorbing boundaries to model the semi‐unbounded foundation and fluid domains and specifies the seismic input as effective earthquake forces—determined from a control motion defined at the foundation surface—at these boundaries. Presented in this paper are several simplifications to this direct FE method that greatly facilitates its implementation in commercial FE software. Also addressed is the modeling of the principal nonlinear mechanisms for concrete dams, calibration of damping in the numerical model to ensure consistency with values measured at actual dams, and practical procedures for implementation of the direct FE method with a commercial FE program.