Matlab Programming for Stress Analysis in Concrete Gravity Dams Considering Earthquake and Silts

Resumo

Having in sight the social and economic importance that dams have in Brazil and the great investments carried through concerning these structures, the objective of this work is to contribute for these structures study, through the development of a program in Matlab language for tensions analysis in concrete gravity dams. The developed scripts allow common verifications in dams projects, amongst which the possibility of considering the action of silts and earthquakes, beyond the possibility to vary, in one same analysis, geometric parameters and materials physical properties of the studied dam profile. The earthquake analysis is boarded according to two methods, which are, Pseudo-Static method (Westergaard Method) and Pseudo-Dynamic method (Chopra Method). Before the presentation of the developed scripts and program’s functions, the main methods of tensions analysis, caused by seismic actions, briefly are argued and, after, validations of results with the aid of the program CADAM 2000, developed for the Polytechnical School of Montreal, are made. Analysis are still presented add referring to the program potentialities, as well as the main conclusions.