68th Canadian Geotechnical Conference and 7th Canadian Permafrost Conference

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF LIQUEFACTION MECHANISM IN HYDRAULIC FILL DAMS

Session: Earthquakes and Geohazards I / Séismes et géoaléas I

Mahya Hatambeigi, Kharazmi University (Iran)
Amir Hamidi, Kharazmi University (Iran)

As one of the most complex and controversial topics in geotechnical engineering, liquefaction is a major seismic hazard to various earth structures. Loose and saturated sandy deposits in seismic areas are most susceptible to this phenomenon. Reports of failure in Hydraulic fill dams indicate that one of the most prevalent and destructive failure modes in such geotechnical structures is liquefaction. In this paper, using FDM, the behavior of the Lower San Fernando dam during 1971 earthquake was studied and the corresponding liquefaction induced slide was investigated. So, using nonlinear soil constitutive models, the excessive pore water pressures and displacements in different points of the model were computed. Furthermore, the results were compared with those obtained from field investigations and numerical analyses conducted by other researchers. Based on the current comparisons, the predicted displacements, pore pressures and deformation patterns are in a reasonable agreement with the findings of previous studies.