Analysis of Fill Dam Using Finite Element Method and Comparison with Monitoring Results

Nowadays, a detailed safety policy is applied for dams. These policies cover structural safety, monitoring, inspection, safe operation, and emergency plans. For high-risk dams, all these policy elements need to be included in dam safety programs. Deficiencies in embankment dams, which suffer the most damage, can be detected by visual inspection and programmed monitoring of dams. In dams, horizontal and vertical deformation, leakage, pressure, stress, loads acting on structural elements, and environmental factors are generally measured. These behaviors can be numerically modeled to determine the dam behavior. Numerical analysis methods are important for monitoring the safety of the dam. Models created with software such as Plaxis provide information about dam behavior. Although numerical analysis is very important for dams, obtaining the material parameters used in the construction of the dam needed for modeling, recording the construction stages of the dam, not taking the water level change in the dam reservoir instantaneously, and not taking the measurement records of the dam measurement instruments correctly for different reasons constitute problems and difficulties for the analyses. Within the scope of this study, İkizdere Dam in Turkey was modeled with the Plaxis finite element program; the survey and piezometer measurement data taken from the dam were evaluated by comparing with the analysis results; the difficulties and problems encountered in the modeling and analysis phase were stated, and recommendations were made on dam safety and numerical analysis. Thus, in addition to other studies, it was emphasized that it is important for dam engineers to monitor the use of numerical analysis models throughout the entire process, not only in the planning phase but also from the planning phase to the life of the dam, and to keep records of all recording intervals that will be needed in digital analysis models.