FEM–DEM modeling of pseudo static experiments on scaled-down rockfill dams with dry stone pitching

Abstract

Rockfill dams with stone pitching are specific hydraulic structures generally built in the early XXth century where stones used to be hand-placed without mortar to constitute the upward and downward dam faces. Few studies have been carried out to quantify the specific and critical role of the pitching in the dam stability against both static and seismic forces. Herein, a numerical model is proposed to model pseudo-static tests performed on four different scaled-down rockfill dams with a stone pitching. A mixed FEM–DEM approach is used, and two different constitutive models were considered for the backfill. A validation of the numerical model is first proposed based on the scaled-down tests. Then, the stone pitching displacement profiles and the dams safety factors against failure are analyzed and compared for the four studied cases. This study allows qualitative conclusions to be drawn and pave the way to upcoming investigations on actual structures of the same kind.