EARTHQUAKES AND DAMS IN INDIA: AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

Dam is one of the biggest structures built on the Earth. It is known as a life line structure, as it serves the purpose of irrigation, hydro-electric power generation, flood control, domestic and industrial water supply etc., which are important for human existence. This makes dam as a reliable structure. For this reason, dam should always be designed for highest safety, resisting worst forces of nature. India is a country with over 5,100 large dams. India is also a seismically active country with over 1,040 active faults. Earthquake events like 1988 Bihar, 1991 Uttarkashi, 1993 Killari, 1997 Jabalpur, 1999 Chamoli, 2001 Bhuj, 2002 Andaman, 2004 Sumatra, 2005 Kashmir, and 2011 Sikkim have caused enormous loss of life and property in the country. Also events like 1992 Landers, 1994 Northridge, 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu and few other events that took place around the world proved how devastating an earthquake could be, particularly if it is near-field. Near-field ground motions could cause more damaging effects on structures, as they were observed to differ dramatically from the characteristics of their far-field counterparts. The propagation of fault rupture towards a site at very high velocity causes most of the seismic energy from the rupture to arrive in a single or multiple large long period pulse of motion, which occurs at the beginning of the record. This characteristic of near-field ground motions could cause damage to a wide range of structures including dams. Several dams that were built in India, which are in highly seismic zones are prone to near-field ground motions. In this regard, behavior of a dams subjected to near-field ground motion should be studied using discrete element modeling, where initiation and propagation of cracks can also be observed.