Comparative Study on Interface Elements, Thin-Layer Elements, and Contact Analysis Methods in the Analysis of High Concrete-Faced Rockfill Dams

Table 5

Comparison of the maximum openings.

	Stage-I slab		Stage-II slab
	Width (m)	Depth (m)	Width (m)	Depth (m)
In-situ observation	0.15	7.2	0.10	5.0
Contact analysis method	0.13	8.0	0.40	14.0
Thin-layer element method*	0	0	0.05	13.2
Interface element method*	0	0	0.08	26.4

∗The depth of the tensile stress zone in the interface/thin-layer element is taken as the opening depth, and the relative displacement is taken as the opening width.