GEOMETRICAL MODELS FOR OPTIMUM SHAPE OF CONCRETE ARCH DAMS

Concrete arch dams required less volume of concrete, when they are designed by an optimized geometrical model. These types of structures have better resistance against earthquakes because they are light, and can be built with lower prices. Optimal dam model should include all the features of the geometric, physical and mechanical specifications in the analysis. In this study, the authors use several geometric models for optimizing the shape of arch dams and will choose the most effective one. Dam volume is used as the objective function and geometric and behavior constraints are utilized for better adjustment to the nature of structure. Finite element method and feasible sequential quadratic programming are used for the analysis, and optimal shapes of several dams are obtained. The results show that parabolic model, in addition to having a minimum body volume, requires fewer numbers of optimization iterations in comparison to the other's geometrical forms.