Analysis on Cracking Cause and Propagation Trend of Concrete Dam

Some cracks are observed in a heightening project of a concrete gravity. In order to investigate and solve this problem, the three-dimensional finite element simulation and nonlinear cracking analysis are implemented in this paper to analyze the causes of cracks and their propagation trends. This work is helpful to design the proper crack controlling plans. The research shows that large tensile stress has accumulated during construction, especially after an early air temperature sudden drop in November, the tensile stress increases 3MPa in general on the concrete surface, which exceeds the tensile strength of concrete and causes cracking. Therefore, the crack is the result of both the accumulated temperature stress during construction and temperature sudden drop. The crack will further propagate during another temperature sudden drop, but extended range is limited. If concrete tensile strength is greater than 2.5MPa, the cracks will not penetrate throughout the dam body along the water flow direction.