Aircraft Impact Response of Concrete Gravity Dams: A Finite Element Study

The safety of critical infrastructures like concrete gravity dams against high-strain dynamic loads has gained significant attention due to their strategic importance. This study presents a finite element analysis to evaluate the structural response of five differently shaped concrete gravity dam models under aircraft impact loading. A three-dimensional simulation was performed using the Finite Element Method (FEM), employing the Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) model to accurately capture the nonlinear behavior of concrete under high-strain rates. The impact of a Phantom F4 aircraft impacting at a velocity of 215 m/s, simulated using Riera’s reaction-time force history, targeting the freeboard region of each dam model. Comparative analysis revealed that the maximum deformation (620 mm) and tensile damage were concentrated around the impact zone, particularly for Dam 1, while other dam geometries exhibited distributed stress patterns and lesser damage. Stress-time history plots demonstrated tensile dominance near the impact region and compressive dominance near the dam base. The findings indicate that dam geometry significantly influences the damage and stress distribution under aircraft impact, with certain profiles being more vulnerable. This research provides critical insights for the design and assessment of concrete gravity dams to enhance their resilience against potential high-energy impact scenarios.