DDA in fluid-structure problems for the study of gravity dam failure

In this paper, we present a 2D coupled fluid-structure interaction procedure to assess the stability of a cracked gravity dam against increasing water level. In this procedure the structure is assumed to be a discontinuous deformable solid containing pre-existing cracks. Thus, the Discontinuous Deformation Analysis DDA method is used to study the solid discontinuous medium, and the continuum finite element flow model to calculate the hydrostatic forces corresponding to the water level. The contact constraints between discrete blocks are imposed through an implicit augmented Lagrangian format. Numerical results show the potential of the proposed coupled model to quantify the direct influence of the nature and location of the internal cracks on the overall stability of common gravity dams.

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