Abstract

The aim of this paper is to assess the effects of seismic loads on the earth dam for design purposes by developed graphical user interface computer software. The Ghohoord earth dam in Hamedan province of Iran which is located in a high seismic zone named as Sanandaj-Sirdjan seismotectonic province is used as a case study. A seismic geotechnical based method of analysis was used by employing a designed and developed computer code, with earthquake record analysis for evaluation of 1D site response, thereby saving computational time. The records were determined based on Building and Housing Research Center web site of Iran. This method and its modeling are being implemented using the combination of several computer codes with MATLAB programming tool. The data used in this study include geologic maps, an elevation model, borehole data, shear wave velocities and ground motion records.

Key words: Ghohoord earth dam, site characterization, geotechnical investigation.