Simulation: Cracking a dam
You're going to simulate the growth of a crack in a dam! You are going to use
what you've learned so far to help you do it, using a web-version of FRANC2D.
But first, you need a dam to model! If you haven't already done so,
look up a dam near your hometown, or anywhere really, at National Inventory of
Dams and take down the information for your worksheet.
This is a review of the steps in a computer simulation.
Watch the animations of each step (they will open in a new browser window):
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First, draw a two-dimensional computer model of the dam.
[of an arch dam]
[of a gravity dam]
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| Next, the tell the computer where the dam is attached to the
ground, along the bottom of the dam.
[on an arch dam]
[on a gravity dam]
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Now tell the computer where there are loads, or pushes
and pulls, on the dam. Here, the dam is being pushed by the water on the left.
[on an arch dam]
[on a gravity dam]
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| Tell the computer where the dam is cracked.
[in an arch dam]
[in a gravity dam]
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Tell the computer to run an analysis of the cracking
in the dam. |
| The computer returns the results of the simulation, showing you
how the crack grew. |
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