| Digital twins Important questions
As Mark Macaulay and Alec Cameron from Dentons discuss, the use of digital twins also raises important legal and contractual questions and may even increase the need for robust legal frameworks. Areas of potential concern include ownership of the model, liability when predictions fail, and admissibility of digital records in disputes. They give the example of the Punt dal Gall Dam which straddles the borders
Above: Punt dal Gall Dam in Switzerland.
clear protocols for sensor calibration, data validation, and model updates will enhance long-term system reliability and comparability across installations. Additionally, fostering collaboration between hydropower operators, researchers, and technology providers can accelerate the development of modular diagnostic tools. While investment in training for plant personnel on digital twin functionalities and decision-making based on simulation results is also advised to fully realise the operational benefits of the system
Bosnia and Herzegovina A digital twin approach has also been used to quantify
the durability and failure risk of concrete gravity dams by integrating advanced numerical modelling with field monitoring data. Building on a previously developed finite element model for dam-reservoir interaction analysis, Emina Hadzalic and Adnan Ibrahimbegovic’s research published in Computation, extends to the assessment of existing, fully operational dams by using digital twin technology. The Salakovac dam in Bosnia and Herzegovina is used as a case study. Construction of the Salakovac Dam began in early 1977. It was completed in December 1981 and became fully operational in 1982. Since then, the 70m high concrete gravity dam has been consistently operating at full capacity.
With an average annual energy production of 356.6GWh, the installed capacity of the Salakovac Dam is 208.5MW. Along with the Grabovica Dam, Jablanica Dam, and Mostar Dam, the Salakovac Dam forms a chain of hydropower facilities on the Neretva River that play a significant role in the country’s electrical energy production.
With construction of the Salakovac Dam dating back to
1977, rehabilitation and modernisation of the monitoring system was undertaken in 2012, which included the installation of new measurement equipment. This includes thermometers for monitoring the concrete temperature; one thermometer for monitoring the water temperature in the reservoir installed upstream at an elevation of 102.33masl; one thermometer for monitoring the air temperature; as well as automatic monitoring of horizontal displacements of the dam. The air temperature, water temperature, concrete
temperature, and horizontal displacement of the dam are recorded automatically every two hours, whereas the horizontal displacements of the dam at the alignment points are measured manually once a month.
of Switzerland and Italy. Although the dam’s digital twin improved earthquake resilience and extended asset life, researchers noted regulatory conflict between Switzerland and Italy over data use. The case shows how cross-border infrastructure requires alignment not just of engineering standards, but also of data law and liability regimes. Source: Dentons - Smart dams and digital twins: re-imagining water infrastructure in the age of AI
Evaluation Integrating advanced finite element modelling and
monitoring data to construct Salakovac Dam’s digital twin enabled evaluation of the dam’s response under both long-term operational and transient extreme conditions. Despite the limited availability of monitoring data, the authors say obtained error metrics confirm a good overall agreement between the modelled and observed responses, reinforcing the reliability of the model. Furthermore, the ability of the model to evaluate the failure threshold and capture the associated failure mode under increasing lateral loads is also demonstrated, illustrating its potential for safety assessments under earthquake events. The authors say their approach presented in this study can be adapted and applied to other dams, serving as a learning tool for further refinement and enhancement of the proposed approach based on the specific characteristics and requirements of each case. This adaptability ensures that the numerical framework can be continuously improved, making it a versatile tool for assessing current condition and predictive analysis across various dam structures and conditions. For instance, future research will aim to apply the model to analyse the performance of the dam under various representative earthquake ground motions, accounting for cyclic behaviour, high-frequency excitation, and potential resonance effects.
Overall, Emina Hadzalic and Adnan Ibrahimbegovic believe their study provides a robust numerical framework for dam–reservoir interaction modelling for use in monitoring structural health, safety assessment, and the predictive analysis of ageing dams.
Above: Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina
References
Machalski,A.;Szulc, P.; Błonski, D.; Nycz, A.; Nems, M.; Skrzypacz, J.; Janik, P.; Satława, Z. The Concept of a Digital Twin for the Wały Slaskie Hydroelectric Power Plant: A Case Study in Poland. Energies 2025, 18, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ en18082021
Hadzalic, E.; Ibrahimbegovic, A. Quantifying Durability and Failure Risk for Concrete Dam–Reservoir System by Using Digital Twin Technology. Computation 2025, 13, 118.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ computation13050118
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