Study of the compression and tension factors of safety with a 3D fem model for an arch dam and rock foundation: A case study of the KarunIII arch dam in Iran

KarunIII Arch dam is under construction on Karun River in Iran, which is one of the most important of arch dams in Iran. This study is accomplished by implicit of Arch dam-foundation interaction and by results of numerical analysis of 3D Finite element model of KarunIII Arch dam and rock Foundation. Numerical analysis is accomplished by ANSYS program and dam and rock foundation is modelled in a continuous finite element model. FEM is a large model and contains 37000 elements for dam body and rock foundation. Safety factors in rock and dam body is defined in two types, compression and tension and evaluated in a defined procedure. Compression safety factor in rock elements is defined by using of Hoek-Brown failure criterion. By using of these safety factors, critical regions in dam and rock foundation are identified and advised for more investigations. Results of this study bring out adequate facilities for controlling the dam and rock foundation stability in local and global scales.