Seismic Analysis of Concrete Face Rockfill Dams

In this article, the observed behavior of existing rockfill dams during earthquakes is compared with published data regarding the estimated seismic performance of several recently designed embankments. An empirical factor related to peak ground acceleration and magnitude of the causative earthquake, the Earthquake Severity Index (ESI), is proposed to estimate earthquake-induced crest settlements for concrete face and other types of rockfill dams. New methods are proposed to include the effects of the reservoir-embankment interaction in the computed response and obtain the non-recoverable earthquake-induced deformations of the dam directly.