Numerical modelling of masonry gravity dams considering the internal structure of the material

Abstract

Frequently, numerical models of masonry dams disregard the discontinuous nature of the material. In some cases, those discontinuities control the structural and hydraulic behaviour of the masonry dam. The masonry proprieties are influenced by the quality of the material and the laying scheme of the stones on the external faces as well as in the inner material. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) has been used on analyses of gravity masonry dams. The capacity to model the discontinuities explicitly and the ability to perform coupled analyses are two significant benefits of the DEM. The DEM application used in this paper is presented, stressing the description of the calculation cycle. Seven examples of numerical analyses of gravity masonry dams are presented. Three of them consider the discontinuous nature of the dam body, in order to study the loss of cohesion scenario, the crack propagation scenario and the seismic performance of a masonry dam. The remainder four examples are aimed at stress analysis, global stability, hydromechanical analysis and the permanent sliding resulting from a seismic event.