Hydrodynamic Pressure Analysis of Arch Dams with T‐Complete Functions

Abstract

The hydrodynamic pressure acting on the upstream face of arch dams is explored by a special boundary element method based on the use of a complete and nonsingular set of Trefftz functions. The arch dam, bounded by a limited, arbitrary irregular part and an unlimited regular part of the river valley, is considered to be in an arbitrary shape. Using this method, one can, with minimal effort, accurately model the compressibility of the water and the gravity waves on the water surface. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the results obtained from this method. Comparisons with other numerical solutions are provided.