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Safety of Dams Flood and Earthquake Criteria (1985) / Chapter Skim
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Continuing Development of Hydrologic and Earthquake Engineering Technologies
Pages 110-114

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
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From page 110...
... Occasior~al failures can be expected that will focus public attention on dam safety problems and the need for further improvements. Such developments in many areas of science and engineering improve the ability to design and construct dams that can meet the tests of extreme floods and earthquakes.
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From page 111...
... The ability to assign probabilities with confidence to such rare events would greatly enhance the capability to make rational decisions on allocation of resources in dam design and construction. Past experience has shown the severe limitations of methods of estimating probabilities of future extreme floods based on stream discharge records at specific sites.
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From page 112...
... Such studies include research on the nature of ground shaking at dam sites as affected by topographic and geologic features peculiar to dams and reservoirs; improved methods of identifying active faults and estimating the frequency with which they generate earthquakes; the dynamic response of dam-foundation-abutment-reservoir systems; generation of surface waves in the reservoir and behavior of pressure waves and their interaction with the dam and reservoir bottom; dynamic performance of concrete dams and their ability to withstand high tension stresses; capability of three-dimensional, dynamic analysis of embankment dams to predict permanent seismic deformations; earthquake sensors on selected dams to record the actual behavior during earthquakes; and additional strong motion instrumentation networks to further develop attenuation relationships for the various seismotectonic regimes, especially in the central and eastern United States.
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Key Terms

  • dam design
  • ground shaking
  • dynamic response
  • earthquake ground
  • probability considered

  • predict permanent
  • dam sites
  • design basis
  • additional strong
  • assign probabilities

  • acceptably thorough
  • estimating probabilities
  • field pursue
  • eastern united
  • research field

  • reservoir bottom
  • committee suggests
  • permanent seismic
  • concrete dams
  • various seismotectonic

  • establish probabilities
  • engineering improve
  • future extreme
  • severe limitations
  • geologic features

  • dynamic performance
  • storm rainfalls
  • include research
  • seismic deformations
  • strong motion


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