Evaluation of seismic fragility of weir structures in South Korea

Abstract

In order to reduce earthquake damage of multifunctional weir systems similar to a dam structure, this study focused on probabilistic seismic risk assessment of the weir structure using the fragility methodology based on Monte Carlo simulation (MCS), with emphasis on the uncertainties of the seismic ground motions in terms of near field induced pulse-like motions and far field faults. The 2D simple linear elastic plain strain finite element (FE) model including soil structure foundations using tie connection method in ABAQUS was developed to incorporate the uncertainty. In addition, five different limit states as safety criteria were defined for the seismic vulnerability of the weir system. As a consequence, the results obtained from multiple linear time history analyses revealed that the weir structure was more vulnerable to the tensile stress of the mass concrete in both near and far field ground motions specified earthquake hazard levels. In addition, the system subjected to near field motions was primarily more fragile than that under far field ground motions. On the other hand, the probability of failure due to the tensile stress at weir sill and stilling basin showed the similar trend in the overall peak ground acceleration levels.