Seismic Responses of Zoned Earth-Fill Dam by Instrumentation and Finite Element Simulation

Natural disasters recently occurred in the northern region of Thailand have been increasingly becoming an important issue with emphasis on the alarm and caution for damage and frequency of disasters which may cause major losses of human lives and properties. In May 2014, six provinces in the northern region of Thailand were affected by the earthquakes (the main shock of Mw 6.1 (Moment Magnitude by USGS) and hundreds of aftershocks including the one Mw 5.9 at most) that had the epicenters at Phan District, Chiang Rai Province (19.656°N 99.670°E). This research aimed to study the distribution of seismic accelerations at Mae Ngad Somboon Chon Dam in Chiang Mai. The accelerometers were installed at 3 positions in the dam, consisting of the crest, middle and base of the dam. The collected data were compared and analyzed by the Finite Element Method. Analyses of the Linear Elastic Model, the Mohr-Coulomb Model and the Hardening Soil Model with using the acceleration actually recorded at the dam were conducted to determine an appropriate analytical model. The results indicated that the accelerations obtained from the Hardening Soil Model were more suitable for actual accelerations among others. Therefore the behavior of the Hardening Soil Model is more realistic than that of the Linear Elastic Model or the Mohr-Coulomb Model.