Simulation of construction of RCC dams. II: stress and damage

Abstract

The increasing number of roller compacted concrete (RCC) dams being built around the world demands accurate methodologies for the realistic short- and long-term evaluations of the risk of thermally induced cracking in these constructions. In this work a numerical procedure for the simulation of the construction process of RCC dams is presented. It takes into account the more relevant features of the behavior of concrete at early ages, such as hydration, aging, creep, and damage. A 2D model of the Urugua-i RCC Dam, built in Argentina, is used to perform the corresponding analyses. In this second part of the paper, the mechanical aspects of the simulation are presented; long-term effects are included by incorporating a creep model that naturally accounts for the aging effects, and the risk of tensile damage is also considered. The methodology determines the stress field inside the dam at any time during the construction and in the following years. Results for the reference case assess the suitability of the adopted design. This is compared to alternative studies considering different construction schedules to conclude that for these cases changes should be introduced in the dam design.