The objective of this project is to gain further understanding to the linearly elastic earthquake behavior of multiple arch dams to a level comparable to that which currently exists for gravity and single arch dams, and so fill an important gap in the ongoing research effort on the dam- earthquake problem. Topics which will be investigated include identification of important features of the dynamic behavior, force transfer mechanisms, effects of water and foundation interaction, quantification of stresses generated by earthquake ground motion, and methods of retrofit such as cross-bracing. The study will focus on two existing dams which will be used as case studies. Forces vibration tests and significant earthquake records are available for one of the dams, and these will be used for comparison and correlation analyses.
