This paper presents a comprehensive review of modeling of alkali-silica reaction (ASR) in concrete. Such modeling is essential for investigating the chemical expansion mechanism and the subsequent influence on the mechanical aspects of the material. The concept of ASR and the mechanism of expansion are first outlined, and the state-of-the-art of modeling for ASR, the focus of the paper, is then presented in detail. The modeling includes theoretical approaches, meso- and macroscopic models for ASR analysis. The theoretical approaches dealt with the chemical reaction mechanism and were used for predicting pessimum size of aggregate. Mesoscopic models have attempted to explain the mechanism of mechanical deterioration of ASR-affected concrete at material scale. The macroscopic models, chemo-mechanical coupling models, have been generally developed by combining the chemical reaction kinetics with linear or nonlinear mechanical constitutive, and were applied to reproduce and predict the long-term behavior of structures suffering from ASR. Finally, a conclusion and discussion of the modeling are given.

The cement sand and gravel (CSG) dam is a new style of dam that owes the advantages both of the concrete faced rock-fill dam (CRFD) and roller compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam, because of which it has attracted much attention of experts home and abroad. At present, some researches on physic-mechanical property of CSG material and work behavior of CSG dam have been done. This paper introduces the development and characteristics of CSG dam systematically, and summarizes the progress of the study on basic tests, constitutive relation of CSG material and numerical analysis of CSG dam, in addition, indicates research and application aspect of the dam.

Long-term deformations of rockfill dams can be related to the type of dam, the pre-compaction achieved during the construction of the dam, the history of loading events, the rheological properties of the rockfill material used, the seepage behavior caused by defects of the sealing, the interactions of the dam building with the foundation, and the hydrothermal phenomena of the stressed rockfill material. The present paper investigates the rheological properties of coarse grained rockfill materials using a hypoplastic constitutive model. Particular attention is paid to wetting deformation under different deviatoric loading states and pre-compactions. To quantify the state of weathering a so-called “solid hardness” is used in the sense of a continuum description. It is shown that an appropriate modeling of wetting deformations requires a unified description of the interaction at least between the state of weathering, the stress state, the density and the rate of deformation. The results obtained from the numerical simulations are compared with available experimental data for a rockfill material used in Xiaolangdi earth dam.

This paper presents the application of a methodology which can be used to assess arch dam foundation stability, using the discrete element method (DEM) and the code 3DEC. A global three-dimensional model of a dam foundation was developed, in which some discontinuities were simulated and both the grout and drainage curtains were represented. The model, calibrated taking into account recorded data, was used to carry out nonlinear mechanical analysis. The same model was employed to perform a hydraulic analysis, based on equivalent continuum concepts, which allowed the water pressure pattern within the foundation to be obtained. These water pressures were applied on discontinuities involved in the possible sliding mechanism along the dam/foundation interface, and the safety of the dam/foundation system was evaluated using a process of reduction of strength characteristics, with the aim of calculating the minimum safety factors that ensure stability. Results were compared with those obtained with the usual bi-linear uplift pressure distribution at the base of the dam, commonly used in concrete dam design. The relevance of carrying out hydraulic analysis in arch dam foundation failure studies is highlighted.

Ground motion intensity measures are usually used to predict the earthquake-induced displacements in earth dams, soil slopes and soil structures. In this study, the efficiency of various single ground motion intensity measures (scalar IMs) or a combination of them (vector IMs) are investigated using the PEER-NGA strong motion database and an equivalent-linear sliding-mass model. Although no single intensity measure is efficient enough for all slope conditions, the spectral acceleration at 1.5 times of the initial slope period and Arias intensity of the input motion are found to be the most efficient scalar IMs for flexible slopes and stiff slopes respectively.

Vector IMs can incorporate different characteristics of the ground motion and thus significantly improve the efficiency over a wide range of slope conditions. Among various vector IMs considered, the spectral accelerations at multiple spectral periods achieve high efficiency for a wide range of slope conditions. This study provides useful guidance to the development of more efficient empirical prediction models as well as the ground motion selection criteria for time domain analysis of seismic slope displacements.

Based on the aerodynamic shape and structural form of the blade are fixed, a mathematical model of optimization design for wind turbine blade is established. The model is pursued with respect to minimum the blade mass to reduce the cost of wind turbine production. The material layup numbers of the spar cap are chosen as the design variables; while the demands of strength, stiffness and stability of the blade are employed as the constraint conditions. The optimization design for a 1.5 MW wind turbine blade is carried out by combing above objective and constraint conditions at the action of ultimate flapwise loads with the finite element software ANSYS. Compared with the original design, the optimization design result achieves a reduction of 7.2% of the blade mass, the stress and strain distribution of the blade is more reasonable, and there is no occurrence of resonance, therefore its effectiveness is verified.

The three-dimensional mode-deformable discrete element method (3MDEM) is an extended distinct element approach under the assumptions of small strain, finite displacement, and finite rotation of blocks. The deformation of blocks is expressed by the combination of the deformation modes in 3MDEM. In this paper, the elastoplastic constitutive relationship of blocks is implemented on the 3MDEM platform to simulate the integrated process from elasticity to plasticity and finally to fracture. To overcome the shortcomings of the conventional criterion for contact fracturing, a new criterion based on plastic strain is introduced. This approach is verified by two numerical examples. Finally, a cantilever beam is simulated as a comprehensive case study, which went through elastic, elastoplastic, and discontinuous fracture stages.

The stability of a gravity dam against sliding along deep-seated weak planes is a universal and important problem encountered in the construction of dams. There is no recommended method for stability analysis of the dam on deep-seated weak planes under earthquake condition in Chinese design codes. Taking Tingzikou dam as an example, the research in this paper is focused on searching a proper way to evaluate the seismic safety of the dam against sliding along deep-seated weak planes and the probable failure modes of dam on deep-seated weak planes during earthquake. It is concluded that there are two probable failure modes of the dam along the main weak geological planes in the foundation. In the first mode, the concrete tooth under the dam will be cut and then the dam together with part foundation will slide along the muddy layer; in the second mode, the dam together with part foundation will slide along the path consist of the weak rock layer under the tooth and the muddy layer downstream the tooth. While there is no geological structure planes to form the second slip surface, the intersection of the main and the second slip surface is 40 to 80 m downstream from dam toe, and the angle between the second slip surface and the horizontal plane probably be 25 to 45 degrees.

The 130 m high Punt dal Gall dam is located at the Swiss-Italian border in the South-eastern part of Switzerland and was completed in 1969. The dam is founded on highly folded and partially crushed dolomite and limestone formations. A grout curtain with an area of 120,000 m² was provided for controlling seepage. For the monitoring of the dam deformations five inverted pendulums were installed in the dam and three in the rock foundation of the right abutment outside of the dam. For a seasonal water level fluctuation in the reservoir of about 60 m the maximum amplitude of the radial displacement is 25 mm, which includes both the effects of the water load and temperature effects. Furthermore a comprehensive geodetic network was established, 57 joint meters were installed and cracks in the crest gallery are monitored by crack meters. There are also thermometers, piezometers and rocmeters. Springs at the left and right banks of the dam are monitored and chemical analyses of the seepage water and springs are performed regularly. The dam is equipped with strong motion instruments and several near-field earthquakes have been recorded in the past. The paper describes the long-term safety monitoring of this 42 years old arch dam. A short description of the Swiss practice in dam safety monitoring and emergency planning is also given.