Page - 1310 - in Book of Full Papers - Symposium Hydro Engineering

Multiple authorized users at different locations assigned with an individual password are allowed to view any data or report from the structure simultaneously. Graphs & reports can be viewed using popular web browsers like Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox amongst others. Details like sensor identification tag, last recorded sensor reading and values of programmed alert levels can generally be viewed on the master plan of the project. If any of the alarm levels of any sensor exceeds, the colour of the marker representing the sensor location changes. Clicking the pop-up table brings up an associated data window where the sensor data can be seen either as a table or as a graph. Site administrators can set alarm limits, which are generally considered as “alert level” and “evacuate level”. WDMS can also be programmed to send SMS alert messages or e-mail to selected users as soon as any sensor data crosses its predefined alarm levels, either while going above or going below the alarm level. Features of the data management software can be summarized as follows:  Data from multiple sensor types are converted into meaningful information in graphical as well as numerical format  Results available on a wide variety of fixed and mobile devices  Access to all sensors on one screen  Instant alerts via SMS or e-mail to authorized personnel  Combined charts in one report  Create graphs from any combination of parameters and time period  Variety of visualization and analysis tools to identify potential failure scenarios  No special software required for accessing the user sites as information can be viewed using most standard and popular web browsers 4. CONCLUSIONS While rehabilitation and improvement of dams and its operations and regular maintenance result in restoring their full operational capacity, a balanced and well-executed instrumentation system can provide data for greater understanding triggering mechanisms and deformation behaviour of a dam in great detail. It ensures improved performance on a long-term basis with reduced risk of failure/safety incidents. By monitoring a dam, corrective action may become possible earlier than the occurrence of any failure. The solution for setting up a dam safety instrumentation & on-line monitoring system is not expensive with the advent of new technologies in this field. Considering holistically, the cost of instrumentation and monitoring is a small fraction of what is spent later on in repair and rehabilitation operations. 1310