Abstract
Earth filled dams are commonly used as flood prevention dams and for hydroelectric power plants. Their stability is critical for an uninterrupted operation and a reliable protection from
catastrophic incidents.
Graz University of Technology carried out a series of life-size experiments to evaluate different state of the art methods for monitoring surface movements of earth filled dams. Controlled
vertical load was applied in these experiments to an earth filled dam and the resulting deformations were measured with geodetic and fiber optic methods.
Single points on the slope were continuously tracked with robotic total stations. Additionally, the whole dam surface was monitored using a scanning total station. Finally, relative movements between points on the dam were measured with fiber optic sensors based on fiber bragg gratings.
The achievable measurement precision and the relation between acting load and resulting deformation is investigated in detail for every measurement technique.
We show in our evaluation that absolute deformations can reliably be detected with the geodetic methods. However, individual loading steps cannot be resolved due to the limited
precision of the geodetic measurements. Our results demonstrate that the sensitivity of the structural health monitoring (SHM) system can be significantly increased with the fiber optic sensors and the scanning data also contribute to assess the stability of the experiment setup
catastrophic incidents.
Graz University of Technology carried out a series of life-size experiments to evaluate different state of the art methods for monitoring surface movements of earth filled dams. Controlled
vertical load was applied in these experiments to an earth filled dam and the resulting deformations were measured with geodetic and fiber optic methods.
Single points on the slope were continuously tracked with robotic total stations. Additionally, the whole dam surface was monitored using a scanning total station. Finally, relative movements between points on the dam were measured with fiber optic sensors based on fiber bragg gratings.
The achievable measurement precision and the relation between acting load and resulting deformation is investigated in detail for every measurement technique.
We show in our evaluation that absolute deformations can reliably be detected with the geodetic methods. However, individual loading steps cannot be resolved due to the limited
precision of the geodetic measurements. Our results demonstrate that the sensitivity of the structural health monitoring (SHM) system can be significantly increased with the fiber optic sensors and the scanning data also contribute to assess the stability of the experiment setup
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | 2nd Joint International Symposium on Deformation Monitoring (JISDM) |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
| Event | 2nd Joint International Symposium on Deformation Monitoring : JISDM 2013 - Nottingham, United Kingdom Duration: 9 Sept 2013 → 11 Sept 2013 |
Conference
| Conference | 2nd Joint International Symposium on Deformation Monitoring |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | JISDM 2013 |
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | Nottingham |
| Period | 9/09/13 → 11/09/13 |
Fields of Expertise
- Sustainable Systems