Quasi-Static and Dynamic Analysis of Vertical and Horizontal Displacements in Earth Dams (Case Study: Azadi Earth Dam)

Seismic analysis of earth and rockfill dams is generally done in two ways: quasi-static and dynamic. However, a quasi-static method with easy application and simple assumptions may lead to unsafe and uneconomical results. In the present study, two static and dynamic analyzes have been used nonlinearly using the Rayleigh Damping rule to calculate the settlement and horizontal displacement of Azadi Dam in the stages of the end of construction and steady-state seepage. Also, in numerical analysis, Abaqus software and a simple elastoplastic behavior model based on the Mohr-Coulomb criterion have been used. The seismic analysis results show that settlement is more sensitive to horizontal displacement, so that settlement at the upper, middle, and lower levels of the shell is 66%, 55%, and 52% more than horizontal displacement, respectively. The highest amount of settlement occurred in both quasi-static and dynamic states in the dam's upper levels, with the difference that in the dynamic state and the full reservoir, the upstream shell is more affected by settlement. Also, settlement in the dynamic analysis is 37% higher than the quasi-static analysis