Dam safety | Measuring up
Edelvays Spassov from Kinemetrics gives an overview of the company’s dam seismic monitoring activities
Above: Calaveras Dam in California, US
DESPITE PROGRESS IN THE dynamic analysis of dams, it is still not possible to reliably predict how they will behave during very strong ground shaking due to difficulty in modelling their inelastic behaviour, and insufficient information on the spatial variation of ground motion. However, the factors that eventually lead to failure, as well as their severity and effect on the structure, can be measured and monitored with seismic instrumentation and monitoring systems. Each dam is unique, and the monitoring system should be tailored accordingly. Deploying strong motion accelerometers and data acquisition systems in a dam helps to detect exceedance of allowed performance criteria as well as to identify and verify structural behavior. Utilising seismic instrumentation and monitoring systems, timely notifications about any potential problems can be generated and behavior of the dam can be monitored. For over 50 years Kinemetrics says it has been
providing seismologists and structural engineers with earthquake instruments, systems and solutions to effectively monitor dams. One of the company’s comprehensive solutions is in the form of the KMIDam. This is an infrastructure management system that provides a data centre operating a network of smart, IP-ready, seismic stations. These high performance and compact accelerographs leverage the latest technology to deliver maximum flexibility and scalability. They can be operated as stand-alone free field stations or as a network of several stations that are linked via wireless technology for common trigger
and can be configured as real-time or event triggered systems. The data centre is a real-time data acquisition system that provides information to an operator in real- time or on-demand. This will give full command and control of the stations, alarm system notification, and automatic processing for reporting. KMIDam also offers a post event dynamic analysis for engineering purposes and possible detection of change in behaviour of the dam structure after a natural hazard event. The system issues an alarm based on the instrumentally recorded acceleration threshold exceedance for operational purposes. This helps to reduce both risks and costs, and can help avoid an actual disaster with a smart notification system, which allows initiation of early damage detection to help save lives and assets. Here are a few examples of dams instrumented by Kinemetrics.
Calaveras Dam, California, US In conjunction with Terracon, Kinemetrics has
successfully fabricated a turn-key system for Calaveras Dam. The dam has four monitoring points at the crest, foundation, abutment and free-field with the integrated instrumentation and software of the multi-sensor seismic network producing high-quality information. The system consists of a network of smart, IP-ready seismic stations combined with a data center for extensive dam monitoring. Spread spectrum radios provide telemetry, 90W solar panels power the stations, and Kinemetrics’ RockMonitor professional software monitors all stations in parallel.
Right: Calaveras Reservoir 22 | August 2022 |
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