In this paper the effect of nonlinear behaviour of concrete is investigated on seismic performance of a double curvature concrete dam. The Morrow Point concrete dam has been selected as the case study and dam-reservoir-foundation interaction considered in the model. Finite element method has been used for modelling and analysis of case study by applying the El Centro earthquake components considering nonlinear behaviour of concrete. The obtained results of nonlinear dynamic analysis illustrate the increasing of displacement of dam crest along the river and decreasing of maximum principle stresses in critical points. The results demonstrate the importance of consideration of nonlinear behaviour of material in seismic performance of arch dams to achieve the optimal design of models.

Considering the importance of the effect of concrete arch dam body strength on their seismic performance, this research evaluated the effect of Young Modulus of both the body concrete and foundation as strength parameters and examines the responses to achieve the optimal body stiffness using probabilistic and uncertainty method. The ANSYS software was used to complete the finite element analysis of the dam-reservoir-foundation system and the Monte Carlo method, which is a new method for parametric study and sensitivity analysis, was used for uncertainty analysis. For seismic analysis, the horizontal and vertical components of Northridge, San Fernando and El Centro earthquakes are separately applied in 3d directions. The earthquake components were scaled to the maximum credible level of ground motion acceleration. The foundation rock is simulated using a massless foundation model and dam-reservoir-foundation interaction is considered for seismic analysis of system. The results show the effect of the modulus of elasticity of the concrete which is directly related to the stiffness of the system. The results indicate the effect of the dam body concrete stiffness on the responses. According to the design criteria, it is possible to investigate the safety status of the dam and select the optimal state in terms of structural strength for the model. However, in order to properly select the modulus of elasticity of the concrete of the dam body, it is necessary to consider the simultaneous effect of the stiffness of the foundation and to select the optimal value.

The application of precast post-tensioned segmental (PPS) bridge piers is growing in order to reduce global damages through rocking motion of the segments when subject to lateral excitations. However, local damages still exist in form of concrete spalling and crushing at the compression zones when one segment rocks on top of the underlying segment. Hence, this work will address reduction of these local damages in PPS piers through confinement of concrete segments by glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) tubes and use of elastic layers between segments at the joints. To achieve this goal, a robust Finite Element (FE) model is first developed in ABAQUS software, and is experimentally validated using the existing literature. The cyclic behaviour of the experimentally-validated FE model is then determined. It was found that the GFRP tubes and elastic layers significantly reduce local damages of PPS piers at the joints.