ABSTRACT
The Wuqiangxi Hydropower Station with the highest lock lift among all dock-type locks in China is located in Hunan Province. The ship lock has been in operation for eight years since 1995. In January of 2001, a maximum opening displacement of 39 mm at the top of two chamber walls was observed when the water level rose to 107.7 m. A great number of cracks were found in on-the-spot inspection after emptying. In this paper, the stress and deformation of the ship lock subject to the change in temperature and water pressure are calculated and the cracking is simulated by manifold method. In the calculation, bar elements are used to represent the reinforcing bars and discrete cracking model is used for crack initiation and propagation. The results show that, water is among the major causes of cracking, and seepage pressure plays an important role in the propagation of cracks.
