A numerical simulation method of composite geomembrane for seepage control panel dams in reservoir basins

Abstract This paper discusses the numerical simulation method of composite geomembrane for a seepage control panel dam in a reservoir basin. As a key component of a pumped storage power plant, the seepage control performance directly affects the safety and economic benefits of the power plant. In the study, the coupled calculation method is used to analyze the deformation and stress characteristics of the geomembrane under different working conditions by combining the geomembrane planar unit and the soil hexahedral isoparametric unit. The results show that the geomembrane can effectively adapt to the settlement of the reservoir bottom, and the displacement calculation results when using the geomembrane unit are smaller and more uniformly distributed compared with those when the geomembrane is not used, which reflects its tensile capacity. At the same time, the calculation shows that the geomembrane has a good safety margin within the design allowable tensile strain, which guides geomembrane research in similar projects.