Structural Analysis of a Historical Dam

Studies pertaining to earthquakes began only around the 17th century and those related to their effects on structures began even later in the 19th century. Hence structures made during or prior to this period are often not designed for seismic forces. India has many historical structures that were constructed long before the codes for seismic resistant design came in practice and, in many regions the seismic activities too have changed over time. It is therefore necessary that these monuments are analysed for safety during seismic activity. This paper aims to analyse the probable failure patterns of a composite dam about 120 years old using time history analysis. 2D modelling and analysis has been carried out using ANSYS14.0 to estimate stresses in the dam for three time histories with varying PGA values. Stress results show that failure of weaker materials at joints may cause internal crack formation in the dam.