Inverse soil parameter identification of an earth and rockfill dam by genetic algorithm optimization

The paper presents a study of constitutive parameter value identification by inverse analysis on an earth and rockfill dam application. The objective is to examine if the technique of inverse analysis can be effectively used for this type of case. In the inverse analysis procedure discussed here, values of constitutive parameters are determined based on data recorded from installed instrumentations in the dam. The quantities that are monitored in the dam can be numerically predicted by a finite element simulation. To perform a finite element simulation, constitutive models have to be chosen and values have to be assigned to the parameters included. In inverse analysis, constitutive parameter values are chosen in such a way that the error between data obtained by measurements in the dam and numerical simulation is minimized. This is accomplished by optimization. The genetic algorithm was utilized as the optimization strategy, to search for the minimum error, in this study. Optimizations have been performed both against a synthetic dam case and a real dam case. It was concluded, that the inverse analysis technique studied, could be effectively used for this kind of earth and rockfill dam application. However, the technique was time consuming. Inverse analysis has the potential to become a valuable tool for dam engineers assessing dam performance and dam safety if it becomes readily available in commercial finite element software.Godkänd; 2013; 20130422 (poovah