Seite - 1302 - in Book of Full Papers - Symposium Hydro Engineering

ON-LINE STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING OF REHABILITATED DAMS Amod GUJRAL, Prateek MEHROTRA Managing Director, ENCARDIO-RITE ELECTRONICS (P) LTD., Vice President, ENCARDIO-RITE ELECTRONICS (P) LTD. INDIA 1. INTRODUCTION Dams are critical components of civil infrastructure of any country. They provide a range of economic, environmental and social benefits like hydroelectric power, irrigation, water supply, flood control and recreation. However, like other assets, dams also age and deteriorate posing a potential threat to life, health, property and environment. The safe functioning of the dam is an important matter of economic benefit and public safety. Aging dams need to be strengthened and rehabilitated. Improvement of dam instrumentation is an important structural aspect of dam rehabilitation program. This includes replacement of faulty instruments to the extent necessary and practicable. Additional instruments are installed depending on the feasibility and health of the dam. Continuous monitoring to ensure early detection of failures and to enhance response times to prevent disasters. Changes in the behavioural characteristics of the structure may be indicative of impending dam failure and it is the primary goal of the monitoring system to detect such changes. This calls for online monitoring systems that are capable of near real-time monitoring of the installed instrumentation. 1302