Numerical simulation of collapse scenarios in reduced scale tests of arch dams

This paper is dedicated to the numerical simulation of failure scenarios of concrete dams, reproduced experimentally on reduced scale models. As far as the concrete material is concerned, a Continuum Damage Mechanics model that incorporates two independent scalar damage variables, one for tension and the other for compression, is adopted and briefly described. Both in tension and compression material softening is reproduced, and the inherent localization phenomenon is regularized through a consistent characteristic length. Two applications involving mock-ups of large concrete dams recently built are presented: one with respect to a scenario where concrete strength is gradually reduced until failure, and the other concerning a scenario where a relative displacement is prescribed on a foundation fault. Performance of the numerical model is therefore checked on rather dissimilar conditions, that is, when collapse is reached due to crushing of the crest arch, or influenced by a dominant crack crossing the dam.