Seismic behavior of a rockfill dam with asphalt-concrete core has been studied utilizing numerical models with material parameters determined by laboratory tests. The case study selected for these analyses, is the Meyjaran asphalt core dam, recently constructed in Northern Iran, with 60 m height and 180 m crest length. The numerical analyses have been performed using a nonlinear three dimensional finite difference software and various hazard levels of earthquakes. This study shows that due to the elasto-plastic characteristics of the asphalt concrete, rockfill dams with asphalt concrete core behave satisfactorily during earthquake loading. The induced shear strains in the asphalt core, for the case presented in this research, are less than 1% during an earthquake with amax=0.25g and the asphalt core remains watertight. Due to large shear deformations caused by a more severe earthquake with amax=0.60g, some cracking may occur towards the top of the core (down to 5-6 m), and the core permeability may increase in the top part, but the dam is safe.

Keywords: Asphalt concrete core, Dynamic analyses, Laboratory tests, Three dimensional numerical models.

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