Investigation of the seismic response of irrigation channel using Coupled Eularian-Lagrangian approach

Abstract

While devastating earthquakes affect cities, they can also cause serious damage to irrigation structures in agricultural areas. Cracks and structural deteriorations may occur in water structures using concrete such as dams, aqueducts and open channels. This study investigates the earthquake response of irrigation canals through fluid-structure interaction analysis. The earthquake response of an irrigation canal was examined by establishing fluid-structure interaction. Finite element models, with material properties and dimensions determined, were created and analysed with destructive earthquake records. In the finite element model, the behaviour of water inside the channel is simulated using the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) approach. In the analyses, displacement and stress values were examined in the model without water, and in addition to these, fluctuations on the water surface were examined in the model with water. The observed changes are shown with graphs and contour diagrams. As a result, it was shown that hydrodynamic effects reduced horizontal displacements by 42% but increased the maximum principal tensile stresses by 49% and the maximum principal compressive stresses by 75%, compared to the non-water model. In addition, it was observed that in both models, the dynamic analysis values at the time of the earthquake increased by approximately 7‒13 times the static values before the earthquake. These findings underscore the importance of dynamic analysis using fluid-structure interactive models for safeguarding irrigation structures against seismic hazards, thereby ensuring food security in vulnerable agricultural regions. Therefore, it is important to perform dynamic analysis with fluid-structure interactive models for irrigation structures exposed to destructive earthquake forces.