Seismic Response of Earth Dam with Innovative Polymer Antiseepage Wall

Abstract

Polymer antiseepage walls have advantages over conventional antiseepage walls in terms of environmental protect and construction convenience. Therefore, it is widely applied in seepage-proofing, reinforcement projects in earth dams. Aimed at better understanding the seismic performance of the new polymer antiseepage wall, appropriate research on the seismic behavior and seismic resistance analysis of an earth dam with the new antiseepage wall were conducted by using a centrifuge modeling test and certain verified numerical simulation. For comparison, the earth dam with a conventional concrete antiseepage wall was also included in the research and analysis. The results show the polymer antiseepage wall is superior to the concrete antiseepage wall in terms of acceleration resistance, dynamic stress response, and compatible deformation capacity. During a 0.4g earthquake, the overall seismic performance of an earth dam with a polymer antiseepage wall is also good.