Digital twins |
and they alert us when the values received in real time do not match the estimated values.” Endesa currently has digital twin diagnostic models implemented in the 38 largest hydroelectric power plants, which cover nearly 70% of all installed capacity. There is ongoing monitoring of the main and the most critical equipment and, at the same time it is remotely displayed for operation and maintenance specialists.
For safety’s sake Accessibility to dam sites can be problematic when
monitoring and inspections are required. At New Bullards Dam in California’s Yuba Valley in the US, surveyors had to endure a treacherous and time- consuming hike to reach the facility. It not only took a week for the return journey, carry out the surveys and then process the data once back safely in the office, it was also a safety hazard that exposed personnel to challenging conditions and necessitated additional training in rope access and fall protection in high-risk locations. In addition, limited survey points across this 197m high and 700m wide double curvature arch dam meant that it couldn’t be fully monitored.
Eventually dam safety engineers at Yuba Water Agency began to think about alternatives, especially as they’d seen other dam operators looking into digital twins for their facilities. However Yuba Water Agency wasn’t sure if it was possible as they’d only seen them used on embankment dams, and didn’t know of any on such a vertical structure as theirs, which is the second tallest dam in California and the fifth tallest in the US.
However, Bentley Systems came to the rescue and installed its iTwin Capture digital twin software system that created a 3D reality mesh of New Bullards Bar Dam from thousands of drone captured images. The system was able to cover the entire face of the dam and monitor its movement and behaviour over time under different conditions. In comparison to previous manual data collection, there were one thousand times more monitoring data points which were able to give an up-to-date representation of the facility, and led to a 50% improvement in data accuracy. As digital twins look set to become the norm in the dams industry, they may well lead to less reliance on inspection methods that can often require extensive scaffolding in high risk areas and expose workers to safety hazards, and may even provide a solution to the shortage of skilled workers that is encompassing the global industry.
References
Park, D.; You, H. A Digital Twin Dam and Watershed Management Platform. Water 2023, 15, 2106.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w15112106
www.prototypesforhumanity.com/project/ digital-twins-4-tailings-dams/
www.forbes.com/sites/
jenniferhicks/2023/07/30/new-bullards-bar- dam-is-using-a-digital-twin
www.newcivilengineer.com/the-future-of/ future-of-water-improved-monitoring- to-lengthen-ageing-californian-dams- life-01-12-2023
Above, right and bottom: Tajo de la Encantada dam in Andalusia, Spain has been fitted with digital twins technology
20 | April 2024 |
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