Arch Dam Geometry Generator

Salazar F.1, San Mauro, J.1, Vicente D.J.1, Irazábal, J.1 Baena, C.M.2, Granell, C.2, Oñate, E.1
1
International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE), Barcelona, SPAIN
2
Jesús Granell Ingenieros Consultores, SL, Madrid, SPAIN
E-mail: fsalazar@cimne.upc.edu

Double curvature arch dams feature geometrical and structural complexity. Although
the Finite Element Method is currently a standard tool for the design and analysis of
this kind of structures, the process to generate the geometry and mesh is still
cumbersome. Certain design criteria have been published, but they must always be
adapted to the geometry and geology of each location, which is frequently highly time-
consuming.

In this contribution, we present a GiD-based tool to automatize the process of

generation of numerical models of arch dams. The description of some of the
functionalities has been previously published [1], since they were already in
preliminary versions of the tool. In the current version, it can be fully integrated into
Kratos Multiphysics [2], while there is an option to export the model to other
environments. Further improvements focus on increasing the flexibility to adapt to a
wider range of situations: for preliminary studies, simplified models can be created,
easier to compute and compare; for more detailed analysis, additional elements such
as outlets, abutment walls and spillways can be considered. An example of application
is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Example output of the application. Left: overall view from downstream. Right: detailed view of
the right abutment, where the excavation can be observed, as well as the finite element mesh.
 References
[1] Vicente, D.J., San Mauro, J., Salazar, F. and Baena, C.M. (2017). An Interactive Tool for Automatic
Predimensioning and Numerical Modeling of Arch Dams. Mathematical Problems in Engineering,
vol. 2017, Article ID 9856938, doi:10.1155/2017/9856938.
[2] Dadvand, P., Rossi, R., and Oñate, E. (2010). “An Object-oriented Environment for Developing
Finite Element Codes for Multi-disciplinary Applications”. Archives of Computational Methods in
Engineering. 17, 253–297.