Design considerations and earthquake analysis for embankment dams in high seismic regions

Embankment dams are widely used in areas with high risk of seismic activity because of their good performance for both, normal and exceptional loading cases. Nevertheless, linked to higher seismicity, the dam design gets even more complex, especially in combination with challenging dam locations in terms of foundation conditions, availability of construction materials etc. Therefore, thorough knowledge of used materials and analysis methodologies, in other words advanced dam design, became indispensable. This paper introduces state of the art analysis approaches for embankment dams in regions with higher seismic activity. Recommendations of various standards in respect to dam design are introduced and discussed. Some important aspects regarding structural stability in terms of earthquake shaking are highlighted through a case study. The aim of this paper is inter alia to point out the importance of unified international standards, regulations and guidelines and the continuing need to enhance dam safety in order to avoid collapse events or crucial damages which happened in the past.