Abstract： 3D numerical simulation was carried out for Jinping arch dam to discuss the effects of air-cushion isolation. The displacement formulation in Lagrangian approach and pressure formulation in Eular approach were applied to air-cushion and reservoir respectively. The displacement compatibility was satisfied automatically on the interface between dam and air-cushion. The force equilibrium condition was satisfied on the interface between air-cushion and reservoir. Numerical simulation results show that the air-cushion reduces the hydrodynamic pressure significantly. The thicker the air-cushion is, the better the isolation effect is. Compared with none air-cushion, the hydrodynamic pressure decreases by 77.1%, 83.3%, 87.7% with 1m air-cushion, 3m air-cushion, 5m air-cushion respectively. Meanwhile, the displacement response also decreases accordingly. Therefore, the air-cushion isolation technology has a brilliant application prospect in hydraulic dam construction.
2009, Vol. 28 
