Risk-Based Arch Dam Optimization Using Hybrid Charged System Search

Abstract

In this paper, the failure costs of an arch dam’s optimum shape were investigated, taking into account the interaction between dam, reservoir, foundation, and hydrodynamic effects resulting from seismic loading. Construction, lifecycle, and failure costs were considered to address the risk-based arch dam optimization problem. Both the flexibility and damping effects of the foundation rock were considered. The optimization was carried out using a hybrid algorithm on the basis of the charged system search and big bang-big crunch methods. A real-world arch dam was investigated as a numerical example to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. The numerical results revealed the computational advantages of the new method and the new defined risk optimization problem for optimal design of arch dams.