It is known that Jinping-I arch dam is the highest arch dam in the world with a height of 305 m. However

the dam foundation lithology is quite poor due to f5

f8 and other faults exposed on the construction base layer. In addition

the foundation is highly asymmetric. Hence

the evaluation of the ultimate bearing capacity of Jinping-I arch dam cannot reach an agreement due to the geological complexity. Based on the deformation reinforcement theory and 3D nonlinear FEM program T-FINE

the concrete elastic modulus and dam foundation deformation modulus during impounding period are inverted using a direct method and values of the forward inverted plumb monitoring stations. Moreover

the validity and feasibility of the inversion parameters are verified in the impoundment period prediction and the ultimate bearing capacity analysis. The stress and displacement of dam body under normal conditions are simulated with the inversion parameters. Based on project analogy method

the ultimate bearing capacity of Jinping-I arch dam is evaluated completely

considering the yield zones

unbalanced force

plastic complementary energy norm

safety factors and other indexes. The reliability of design parameters is also verified by comparing the calculated results of inversion parameters and design parameters. The results show that K1 (the safety factor when crack initiating) of Jinping–I arch dam is double overload while K3 (the safety factor for ultimate load) is 8 times overload. Hence

it is confirmed that Jinping–I arch dam has a higher ultimate bearing capacity than other arch dams in 300 m height and thus the whole stability is guaranteed.