A Review: The Tectonic Perspective and seismic response of Darbandikhan Dam Stability and potential solutions

Abstract

Darbandikhan dam is a rockfill dam constructed northwest of Iraq in the early sixties. Even though the dam is located in a mountain zone with high seismic influence, the dam was not designed to resist a high seismic motion. This study is a review of Darbandikhan dam current situation and the possible factors of its potential failure. The dam can be regarded as a vulnerable condition. Due to the unstable geologic formations and the existence of limestone and anhydrite which can impact the dam stability. On the other hand, rainfall dwindling and the temperature rising affected the hydrological system in the area. Climate change causes drought, desertification followed by a flood in a very short period. Therefore, the dam reservoir elevation has been diminished due to the reduction of the inflow. The dam has experienced a strong seismic motion in November 2017, it causes serious fissures on the dam road, failure on the left side slope and rocks toppling. The sliding of soil and the falling rocks in the dam lake when the earthquake hit the dam location, lead to clay accumulation which has prevented the gates to be opened. Serious and fast maintenance have to be implemented to fix the landslides and dam safety against earthquakes.