Dynamic failure analysis of concrete dams under air blast using coupled Euler-Lagrange finite element method

In this study, the air blast response of the concrete dams including dam-reservoir interaction and acoustic cavitation in the reservoir is investigated. The finite element (FE) developed code are used to build three-dimensional (3D) finite element models of concrete dams. A fully coupled Euler-Lagrange formulation has been adopted herein. A previous developed model including the strain rate effects is employed to model the concrete material behavior subjected to blast loading. In addition, a one-fluid cavitating model is employed for the simulation of acoustic cavitation in the fluid domain. A parametric study is conducted to evaluate the effects of the air blast loading on the response of concrete dam systems. Hence, the analyses are performed for different heights of dam and different values of the charge distance from the charge center. Numerical results revealed that 1) concrete arch dams are more vulnerable to air blast loading than concrete gravity dams; 2) reservoir has mitigation effect on the response of concrete dams; 3) acoustic cavitation intensify crest displacement of concrete dams.