Slab damage of concrete face rockfill dam based on heterogeneity of concrete

Considering the heterogeneity characteristics of concrete materials, the method of the mesoscopic mechanics is used to investigate the dynamic damage of slabs of concrete face rockfill dam (CFRD) combined with the statistical principle. The mechanical properties, including the elastic modulus and tensile strength, of concrete are assumed to conform to the Weibull distribution law. The elastic-brittle damage model is adopted to simulate the whole deformation and failure process for concrete on a meso-scale through 2D finite element analysis. The results show that the maximum slop-direction tensile stresses in the slabs mainly occur at the height of 0.65 H to 0.85H (H is the height of the dam), and the tensile damage of slabs mainly occur at the height of 0.8H when the randomness of concrete materials is neglected. With the decrease of homogeneity index, the region of the dynamic damage of slabs is scattered, but it is mainly concentrated at the height of 0.4H to 0.9H. Thus, this part of the slab should be the key area of seismic design for CFRD. The micromechanical damage model for concrete can reflect the damage process of slabs precisely. The research may provide guidance for the seismic design of CFRD.