2022 Volume 10 Pages 138-154
Earthquakes are natural phenomena that cause terrible disasters for human society. Many of the disasters caused by earthquakes around the world serve as warnings to us about the fragility of life and the immaturity of science - especially construction science. For earth dams, which are made up mostly of compacted earth, the most common type of construction in the world, an earthquake can have enormous consequences if it causes a dam failure. Thus, proper seismic safety evaluations are of the utmost importance in terms of assuring the safety of earth dams. Along with the advancements in science and technology, knowledge in the field of earthquake engineering has been expanding. Many studies have been done on the effects of earthquakes on earth dams and many methods have been developed to estimate the deformation of these dams during earthquakes. This paper firstly presents the observed seismic performance of earth dams in past earthquakes which can help provide insight into the general effects of earthquakes on earth dams as well as the seismic response of dams during an earthquake. The paper also summarizes the methods presently available for estimating the seismic deformation of earth dams. These methods can provide design engineers with confidence when dealing with one of the most difficult geotechnical engineering challenges they will ever face.
