Seismic hazard assessment of arch dams via dynamic modelling: an application to the Rules Dam in Granada, SE Spain

Dams are extremely strategic structures that must be carefully designed for human and environmental safety. This paper aims to analyse the influence of probabilistic and deterministic seismic hazards, defined for the site, on the singular points of the Rules dam in southern Spain. A comparison with the data from a recent seismogenic zone (2015) has been made; the adopted criteria for the comparison have been carefully explained. Seismic input from the Safety Evaluation Earthquake has shown that maximum accelerations are three times higher than the Spanish code value. Consequently, the stress has exceeded the maximum allowed tension, creating a number of plastic hinges. To consider the fluid–structure–foundation interaction, 2D and 3D mathematical models have been developed via finite element and gravity methods. A good calibration between the observations and modelling output has been obtained.