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The distribution of hydrodynamic pressure acting on the structural face of a dam significantly influences the stability of the dam. The present study investigates the development of the hydrodynamic pressure acting on the surface of a dam at different heights with respect to time during earthquakes with different dominant frequencies using a shaking table. The results demonstrate that the variation in the hydrodynamic pressure significantly follows the seismically accelerated wave motion in the absence of resonance. However, under conditions of resonance, the fluctuations in the hydrodynamic pressure exhibit similarities with a sine wave, and the positive peak values present some hysteresis. The experimental pressure values in the absence of resonance present parabolic distributions with respect to the water height that are in good agreement with the corresponding hydrodynamic pressures determined by Westergaard’s equation, while conditions of wave resonance produce a uniform distribution of hydrodynamic pressures with greater values and much longer periods of increased hydrodynamic pressure than the case of nonresonance. In addition, the seismic frequency, fundamental frequency of the reservoir, maximum peak seismic acceleration, and initial water depth are treated as variables. An empirical equation is derived to predict the maximum hydrodynamic pressure in conjunction with wave resonance conditions.

A shallow-water equation (SWE) is used to simulate earthquake-induced water waves in this study. A finite-difference method is used to calculate the SWE. The model is verified against the models of Sato and of Demirel and Aydin with three kinds of seismic waves, and the numerical results of earthquake-induced water waves calculated using the proposed model are reasonable. It is also demonstrated that the proposed model is reliable. Finally, an empirical equation for the maximum water elevation of earthquake-induced water waves is developed based on the results obtained using the model, which is an improvement on former models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]