Earthquake Response of Earth Dams

The widely used shear wedge approach for earthquake analysis of earth dams is compared with a two-dimensional dynamic stress analysis technique which uses the finite element concept. Natural frequencies and mode shapes of typical earth dam cross sections as well as their responses to the El Centro earthquake of 1940, as obtained by the two methods, form the basis for the comparison. The results presented demonstrate that a two-dimensional analysis is necessary to satisfactorily determine the earthquake response of an earth dam cross section.