Research on optimal sensor placement (OSP) has become very important due to the need to obtain effective testing results with limited testing resources in health monitoring. In this study, a new methodology is proposed to select the best sensor locations for large structures. First, a novel fitness function derived from the nearest neighbour index is proposed to overcome the drawbacks of the effective independence method for OSP for large structures. This method maximizes the contribution of each sensor to modal observability and simultaneously avoids the redundancy of information between the selected degrees of freedom. A hybrid algorithm combining the improved discrete particle swarm optimization (DPSO) with the clonal selection algorithm is then implemented to optimize the proposed fitness function effectively. Finally, the proposed method is applied to an arch dam for performance verification. The results show that the proposed hybrid swarm intelligence algorithm outperforms a genetic algorithm with decimal two-dimension array encoding and DPSO in the capability of global optimization. The new fitness function is advantageous in terms of sensor distribution and ensuring a well-conditioned information matrix and orthogonality of modes, indicating that this method may be used to provide guidance for OSP in various large structures.

Accurately predicting ski-jump flood discharge atomization is crucial for designing effective disaster-mitigation measures, particularly because low ambient pressure increases the risk of atomized protection in high-altitude regions. However, owing to the complex effects of low ambient pressure on strongly coupled atomized field sources, it is difficult to fully describe the comprehensive behaviour of such sources theoretically, which limits the further development of random splashing numerical models. In this paper, a refined random splashing numerical model characterized by low ambient pressure is developed based on experimental results and applied to high-altitude earth–rockfill dam projects. Compared with the reference ambient pressure condition ( P ₀ = 101.457 kPa), which corresponds to the same flood discharge flow, a decrease in ambient pressure by 0.1P ₀ leads to a maximum change rate not exceeding 10 m for the characteristic boundary of the 10 mm/h atomized rain intensity line at the QX Hydropower Station. This observation also applies to both the 40 mm/h and 10 mm/h atomized rain intensity lines at the RM Hydropower Station. For the two groups of flip bucket types designed for the RM Hydropower station, the loads associated with atomized protection are predominantly concentrated on the left bank. The maximum height of the 10 mm/h atomized rain intensity line affected by atomized rain ranges from 0.83 to 0.85 times the maximum dam height of 315 m. The distance between the farthest downstream boundary and the Spillway No. 3 outlet is between 666.80 and 692.40 metres. Since the flip bucket shape variations only slightly affect the atomization zone extent, further optimization is needed. The study can provide valuable methodological and decision-making support for safeguarding against existing and potential impacts within areas affected by flood discharge atomization from high-altitude hydropower stations.

As excess water is discharged from a high dam, low frequency noise (air pulsation lower than 10 Hz, LFN) is generated and propagated in the surrounding areas, causing environmental hazards such as the vibration of windows and doors and the discomfort of local residents. To study the generation mechanisms and key influencing factors of LFN induced by flood discharge and energy dissipation from a high dam with a ski-jump type spillway, detailed prototype observations and analyses of LFN are carried out. The discharge flow field is simulated and analyzed using a gas-liquid turbulent flow model. The acoustic response characteristics of the air cavity, which is formed between the discharge nappe and dam body, are analyzed using an acoustic numerical model. The multi-sources generation mechanisms are first proposed basing on the prototype observation results, vortex sound model, turbulent flow model and acoustic numerical model. Two kinds of sources of LFN are studied. One comes from the energy dissipation of submerged jets in the plunge pool, the other comes from nappe-cavity coupled vibration. The results of the analyses reveal that the submerged jets in the plunge pool only contribute to an on-site LFN energy of 0–1.0 Hz, and the strong shear layers around the high-velocity submerged jets and wall jet development areas are the main acoustic source regions of LFN in the plunge pool. In addition, the nappe-cavity coupled vibration, which is induced when the discharge nappe vibrates with close frequency to the model frequency of the cavity, can induce on-site LFN energy with wider frequency spectrum energy within 0–4.0 Hz. By contrast, the contribution degrees to LFN energy from two acoustic sources are almost same, while the contribution degree from nappe-cavity coupled vibration is slightly higher.

According to the results of a dynamic prototype test for the surface outlet radial gate on the Jinping high arch dam during the flood discharging process, a novel cause of vibration fundamentally different from the traditional causes of flow-induced radial gate vibration, is analyzed for the first time. Under the condition that the flood is discharged only from mid-level outlets, an accompanying vibration of the surface outlet gate is induced by the vibration of the closely spaced mid-level outlet gates. It is counterintuitive that the most intense vibration occurs when the surface outlet gate is closed and, on the contrary, the vibration is reduced when the gate is opened and subjected to flow excitation. In order to analyze and explain this accompanying vibration phenomenon, a theoretical model is developed based on the conventional theory of passive vibration absorbers. The difference between the proposed and conventional theoretical models is that more complex load and damping conditions are considered, and more attention was paid to the dynamic behavior of the accessory structure. Then, the cause and mechanism for the surface outlet gate vibration is clarified in detail, based on the proposed theoretical model. The comprehensive analysis and mutual verification of the prototype test, theoretical derivation and numerical simulation, indicate that the clarification and the proposed theoretical model is reasonable and accurate. The research reported in this paper will be beneficial for the design, operation and maintenance of the hydraulic gates installed on high arch dams.

In this study, the riverbank inundation caused by moderate frequent flooding events (with recurrence periods of less than 20 years), along with the increasingly serious hazards of backward flows in dike-through drainage ditches in the Ningxia Reach of the upper Yellow River (NRYR), were investigated. Then, a comprehensive method for hazard assessment of the floodplains and backward flows in the NRYR was proposed, which fully integrated geographical information systems (GISs), remote sensing (RS), and a digital elevation model (DEM), as well as river dynamics theory. This study first established a one-dimensional unsteady hydrodynamic model for the NRYR. The historical flood hydrology observation from 2012, along with the aerial image measurement data of the study area, were used to calibrate and verify the accuracy of the model. The hazards of riverbank inundation and damages to water affected engineering facilities, as well as the backward flows of dike-through drainage ditches caused by the moderate frequent flooding events, were comprehensively analyzed. Also, this study configured the hazard map and proposed revisions to the flood hazard ranking regime definitions, and discussed the impacts and prevention and control measures of moderate frequent flood damages. The proposed method could effectively meet the hazard analysis demands of the moderate frequent flooding events in the NRYR.

During the flood discharge in large-scale hydraulic engineering projects, intense flow-induced vibrations may occur in hydraulic gates, gate piers, spillway guide walls, etc. Furthermore, the vibration mechanism is complicated. For the spillway guide wall, existing studies on the vibration mechanism usually focus on the vibrations caused by flow excitations, without considering the influence of dam vibration. According to prototype tests, the vibrations of the spillway guide wall and the dam show synchronization. Thus, this paper presents a new vibration mechanism of associated-forced coupled vibration (AFCV) for the spillway guide wall to investigate the dynamic responses and reveal coupled vibrational properties and vibrational correlations. Different from conventional flow-induced vibration theory, this paper considers the spillway guide wall as a lightweight accessory structure connected to a large-scale primary structure. A corresponding simplified theoretical model for the AFCV system is established, with theoretical derivations given. Then, several vibrational signals measured in different structures in prototype tests are handled by the cross-wavelet transform (XWS) to reveal the vibrational correlation between the spillway guide wall and the dam. Afterwards, mutual analyses of numeral simulation, theoretical derivation, and prototype data are employed to clarify the vibration mechanism of a spillway guide wall. The proposed mechanism can give more reasonable and accurate results regarding the dynamic response and amplitude coefficient of the guide wall. Moreover, by changing the parameters in the theoretical model through practical measures, the proposed vibration mechanism can provide benefits to vibration control and structural design.