Non‐linear earthquake response of concrete gravity dams part 2: Behaviour

The earthquake response of the idealized Pine Flat Dam—water—foundation system of Part 1 is investigated with emphasis on the non-linear behaviour associated with concrete cracking and water cavitation. It is shown that water cavitation has little effect on the dam response. On the other hand, concrete cracking plays a significant role, as demonstrated by several analyses on dams with initial cracks or weak lift joints and by a final analysis on a homogeneous dam. The analyses encountered a number of numerical difficulties requiring further mesh refinement, and these are described. A possible failure mode associated with inclined cracks is revealed.