Over the past few decades, several Concrete-Faced Rock-fill Dams (CFRD) have been constructed around the world. Current design practices are largely empirical for lack of observational evidence, particularly under earthquake dynamic loading. The structural complexity of this dam type and the high social, environmental and economic costs associated with failure require very reliable analyses of its behaviour and performance. For such analyses, detailed understanding of the behaviour of the concrete face - rockfill interface, the rockfill mass and the interaction between the concrete face and the rockfill is required. The present paper focuses on the dynamic behaviour and analysis of CFRDs. A detailed discussion is made on the effectiveness of available numerical tools that are essential to the analysis of CFRDs under seismic ground motions. Specific case studies are used to illustrate their degree of effectiveness. This study is expected to establish a strong basis for the choice of methodology to carry out a comprehensive investigation on the seismic behaviour and response of CFRDs.
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