numerical study of the hole formed in the body of earthen dams and its effect on the phenomenon of seepage and static and dynamic stability of earthen dams (case study: the ghale chay dam)

The discontinuity and non-integration of the materials used in the construction of earth dams makes this structure unable to withstand bending and tensile forces and all forces can be borne through the weight of the dam body and with the contribution of shear strength of the materials. however, this structure is known as an earthquake-resistant building, and even many researchers and experts have mistakenly stated that the earth dam is a completely earthquake-resistant structure, while several reports of damage to earth dams induced by earthquake has been published. in this study, by investigating the conditions of the hole created in the dam body to investigate the stability of the dam in static and dynamic conditions, the seepage phenomenon in the earthen dam of the ghale chay has been investigated and analyzed using computer models based on finite element methods with geo-studio software. using the seep/w module, we will examine the seepage and pore pressure at the instrumentation points. then, the stability of the dam in the slope/w module in the static state and in the quake/w module under the earthquake load has been investigated. the results indicated that the presence of a hole in the downstream of the dam mitigates the stability coefficient by 18% and it also increases the probability of the dam overturning. the results also showed that increasing the intergranular friction angle increases the stability coefficient by a maximum of 23% and reduces the adverse hole effects.