A cross-scale finite element analysis of concrete-faced rockfill dam

In this paper, a new cross-scale finite element method is developed to study the mechanical response of concrete-faced rockfill dams, in which an arbitrary-node hexahedron element is used to deal with the mesh transition between the concrete slab and dam body. By using the proposed method, the mesh sizes of concrete slab and rockfill may be very different. Moreover, since the cross-scale method doesn't change the finite element calculation framework, the proposed method is easy to use. In the simulated CFRD, the mechanical behavior of the concrete slab is described by an elastic-plastic constitutive model, and a nonlinear elastic model is applied to the rockfill materials. The computational accuracy and performance of the proposed method are analyzed. The numerical results and analysis provides an effective approach to study the local behavior of concrete face slabs.