Our engineers perform stability assessments for power conduits, dam blocks, spillways, and control structures. We complete seismic assessments of historical structures considering the material strengths and building practices typical for the structure’s era of construction. Because we know stability against uplift is a primary concern for service and auxiliary spillways, we investigate the condition and performance of concrete joints, foundation anchors, and drainage systems and assess chute slab stability.

Geosyntec designs and provides support services for materials extraction and testing programs to validate assumed properties for structural modeling and capacity calculations. To support assumptions of drainage efficiencies, and thus uplift pressures, for stability analyses of concrete gravity dams, Geosyntec engineers have analyzed and reported on historical records of hydraulic pressures from permanently installed piezometers.

Our engineers have extensive experience in commercially available structural finite-element analysis software packages, including SAP2000, ETABS, LS-DYNA, and ABAQUS. We conduct comprehensive structural analyses, thermal analysis, response spectrum analysis, response history analysis, and frequency response function analysis, depending on specific project performance requirements.