AbstractA new analytical development of the seismic hydrodynamic pressure inside pre‐existing cracks on the upstream face of concrete dams is presented. The finite control volume approach is utilized to derive an expression for the seismic hydrodynamic pressure using the continuity principle and the linear momentum theorem for the fluid inside the crack. The derived pressure expression is a function of the relative crack‐opening acceleration and velocity. The acceleration and velocity terms are then recast in the form of added mass and damping matrices which can then be included at the nodes inside the discrete crack of a finite element model. This procedure linearizes the solution of the problem. A dam, 55 m high and having an initial crack opening of 2 mm at the base or near the crest and subjected to two different accelerograms, is analysed. For high‐frequency ground motion, the seismic hydrodynamic pressure inside the crack, at the base of the dam, appears to be 50 per cent higher than the corresponding hydrostatic pre
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