Semi Empirical Slope Stability Analyses of Mohmand Dam using Limit Equilibrium and Finite Element Methods

This study presents a framework for semi-empirical slope stability analysis of Mohmand dam, an important ongoing mega concrete faced rockfill dam hydropower project in Pakistan. The project comprises of 213 m high hybrid dam that will produce 800 megawatt of clean hydropower energy in addition to an effective flood mitigation. Also, it will supply water for both irrigation and drinking to the provincial capital city, Peshawar. In this study, finite element and limit equilibrium methods have been used for slope stability analysis and factors of safety have been computed for all anticipated loading conditions including earthquake loading. The rockfill samples of main dam were obtained from the construction material site of Mohmand dam and the input parameters for slope stability analysis were obtained both empirically and through laboratory testing. Results of both limit equilibrium and finite element analyses have been compared and it was observed that the latter is more conservative than the former except for earthquake loading. The implications of current findings have been demonstrated using an important case study of an independent dam site that would boost the confidence of practitioners.

Experimental analysis of the behaviour of different types of joints in the steel structure model subjected to earthquake loading

The present paper reports the results of the experimental study performed to investigate the behaviour of two different types of joints (destroyed and welded ones) in the model of the steel structure under seismic excitations. The structure was subjected to three earthquakes, namely Kobe, Loma Prieta and Northridge, using the shaking table investigation. The results obtained from the study indicate that there is a significant difference between the behaviour of destroyed joints and welded ones. It was concluded that the destroyed joints experience higher acceleration than the welded joints during different earthquakes.

A Review on using Belt Truss at Different Locations on RCC Building

In past decades, shear walls and x bracing are one of the most appropriate and important structural component in multi-storied building. Therefore, it is very interesting to study the structural response and their systems in multi-storied structure during lateral load i.e earthquake loading. Shear walls and belt truss contribute the stiffness and strength during earthquakes which are often neglected during design of structure and construction. The scope of present paper is to study the effect of seismic loading on placement of belts truss in building at different alternative location. This study shows the effect of belts truss and bracing belts truss which significantly affect the vulnerability of structures. In order to test this hypothesis, RCC building was considered with and without belts truss at different location. The aim of the paper is to detail and conceptualize the varied configurations of belt truss structures system and to integrate current structures into longer structures by use of belt truss system at different location. Additionally, various advantage and disadvantage associated with outriggers and belt truss system also are discussed in this paper. A close of literature review within the field of Outrigger system is applied and therefore the summary on belts truss and gaps encountered within the study are listed during this paper. This paper introduces belt truss at different location. In which, using the belt truss structural within the RCC building so as to extend the performance of the building under the earthquake load and wind loads is studied. Concept of belt truss as Virtual outrigger is reviewed within the paper.

Seismic Coefficients for Simplified Deepwater Slope Stability Assessment Under Earthquake Loading

Pseudostatic limit-equilibrium based slope stability analyses are carried out on a routine basis to evaluate stability of submarine slopes under earthquake loading. For slopes in deepwater settings, a major challenge in performing pseudostatic slope stability analyses is selection of an appropriate seismic coefficient. Most published displacement-based methodologies for seismic coefficient selection were developed using simplified sliding block models for seismic slope performance evaluation that are unable to capture the complex deformation mechanism of deepwater slopes during earthquakes. To address this challenge, this study employs two-dimensional dynamic finite-element based deformation analysis to investigate the earthquake response of submarine clay slopes characterized by morphology, stratigraphic architecture and geotechnical properties representative for the deepwater environment. Finite-element computed seismic slope performance indicators, including horizontal peak ground acceleration at the seafloor and earthquake-induced maximum shear strain within the slope, along with horizontal seismic coefficients required to trigger slope instability in limit-equilibrium based pseudostatic stability analyses are used to develop a rational shear strain-based correlation relationship for deepwater slope seismic coefficient selection.