Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety Earthquake Analysis and Design of Dams

Course Description:

These guidelines provide a basic framework for the earthquake design and evaluation of dams. The general philosophy and principles for each part of the framework are described in sufficient detail to achieve a reasonable degree of uniformity in application among the Federal agencies involved in the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and regulation of dams. The guidelines deal only with the general concepts and leave the decisions on specific criteria and procedures for accomplishing this work up to each agency. Because these guidelines generally reflect current practices, it will be necessary to make periodic revisions, additions, and deletions to incorporate state-of-the-practice earthquake engineering.

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the selection of design or safety evaluation earthquakes
• Understand the characterization of ground motions
• Know the seismic analyses of the dams and foundations