Page - 1029 - in Book of Full Papers - Symposium Hydro Engineering

REFERENCES [1] EDP. Baixo Sabor Hydroelectric Scheme. Design. Upstream dam (in Portuguese). Internal document, Oporto, 2005. [2] MIRANDA M.P., SILVA MATOS D., PIMENTEL R., GOMES A. The Baixo Sabor upstream and downstream dams. Relevant design and construction features. First Dam World Conference, Maceió, Brazil, 2012. [3] LNEC. Upstream dam of Baixo Sabor Hydroelectric Scheme. Installation of creep cells and early age tests (in Portuguese). Report 311/2014 – DBB/NO, Lisbon, 2014. [4] EDP. Upstream dam of Baixo Sabor Hydroelectric Scheme. Monitoring plan (in Portuguese). Oporto, 2007. [5] LNEC. Baixo Sabor Hydroelectric Scheme. Upstream dam. Seismic tomography between the dam foundation holes, after the first filling of the reservoir (in Portuguese). Report 209/2017 – DG/NGEA, Lisbon, 2017. [6] EDP. Upstream dam of Baixo Sabor Hydroelectric Scheme. Monitoring plan during the first filing of the reservoir (in Portuguese). Oporto, 2013. SUMMARY The first filling of the reservoir, as a real load test, is a crucial stage in the dam’s lifetime. During this phase the safety control, based on the continuous monitoring, according to a specific observation plan, is required for the early detection of any abnormal behaviour. The structural modelling is also important to allow a coherent interpretation of the causes-effects relationships. The paper describes the relevant aspects of the monitoring procedures and of the analysis and interpretation of the Baixo Sabor dam’s behaviour, an arch dam with 123 m high and 505 m long at crest (designed, built and operated by EDP Produção), during the first filling of its reservoir (with a volume of about 1095 hm3), which took place between December 2013 and April 2016. The characterization of the materials’ properties (concrete and rock mass foundation) and of the actions and responses during the first filling, as well as the structural model used to simulate the structural behaviour, are presented. This model, developed by LNEC, included a 3D representation of the dam and its rock mass foundation and it was analysed by the finite element method, considering the actions time evolution and the concrete viscoelastic behaviour. A good agreement between the monitoring results and those obtained through the mathematical modelling was achieved, which confirmed the good performance of the dam and the modelling adequacy during this important stage. Keywords: Baixo Sabor dam; Arch dam; Reservoir; First filling; Monitoring; Creep; Finite element method; Safety control. 1029