Evaluation Analysis of Reinforcement Scheme and Its Effect on a Defective Arch Dam

Various issues can cause quality defects or local damage to a dam body that pose a serious threat to the stability of the dam and its operational safety. Displacement, stress, and other mechanical responses in a traditional finite-element method cannot reflect the actual impact of reinforcement measures on the stability of dam bodies. Based on deformation reinforcement theory (DRT), a reinforcement and effect evaluation method for defective arch dams is proposed. The effect of reinforcement on the overall stability of arch dams is evaluated by plastic complementary energy (PCE) norms, and the amelioration of the local stresses of a dam body is evaluated using the unbalanced forces. This method was applied to Dayakou Arch Dam, which needs reinforcement owing to construction defects, and a reinforcement scheme for setting up a concrete body in a dam abutment notch is proposed. The reinforcement mechanism and reinforcement effect are studied and analyzed. An optimization of the reinforcement scheme is further proposed based on the analysis. Numerical calculations demonstrate that the proposed reinforcement schemes have significant effects on improvements in the overall stability of the defective arch dam and have the advantage of simplicity and friendliness to concrete construction. The actual operation of the reinforced Dayakou Arch Dam proves the suitability of the proposed reinforcement measure. (c) 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.