Elastic-Plastic Finite Element Analysis on the Spillway of a Concrete Gravity Dam

The 3-D finite element model of a concrete gravity dam’s spillway was established in this paper, and the elastic-plastic theory was applied, then the deformation and stress state of the dam under various working conditions were analyzed, it was prooved that the deformation and stress state of the dam were in normal condition. After solving the force of the dam foundation surface and taking full account of the complex geological conditions, the dam’s sliding stability was analyzed by capacity limit state design formula. The calculation results showed that, the stability parameter of the dam along foundation surface was bigger than 1.0, the dam’s sliding stability met the requirement.