This paper presents the first application of the Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV) in non-stationary conditions within a hydropower plant powerhouse. The aim of this research is to develop a methodology to include non-contact vibration monitoring as part of structural health monitoring of concrete dams. We have performed in-situ structural vibration measurements on the run-of-the-river Brežice dam in Slovenia during the start-up tests and regular operation. In recent decades, the rapid development of laser measurement technology has provided powerful methods for a variety of measuring tasks. Despite these recent developments, the use of lasers for measuring has been limited to sites provided with stationary conditions. This paper explains the elimination of pseudo-vibration and measurement noise inherent in the non-stationary conditions of the site. Upon removal of the noise, fatigue of the different structural elements of the powerhouse could be identified if significant changes over time are observed in the eigenfrequencies. The use of laser technology is to complement the regular monitoring activities on large dams, since observation and analysis of integrity parameters provide indispensable information for decision making and maintaining good structural health of ageing dams.

Safety of dams and other hydraulic structures is a complex procedure that must consider the individual characteristics of each structure and provide an insight in the structural health at every stage of the structure’s life cycle. Failures of structures permanently or temporarily retaining water may cause large economic damage, environmental disasters, and loss of lives. An engineering design should, therefore, guarantee maximum security of such structures or maximize their reliability not only in ordinary operating conditions but also under extreme hydrological load. By performing structural heath monitoring (SHM), the safety can be optimized, including the performance and life expectancy of a structure by adopting an appropriate methodology to observe the identified failure modes for a selected dam type. To adopt SHM to hydraulic structures it is important to broaden the knowledge and understanding of the ageing processes on hydraulic structures, which can be achieved by laboratory testing and application and development of novel monitoring techniques, e.g., vibration monitoring. In Slovenia, we are increasingly faced with the problem of ageing of dam structures. At the same time, we are also faced with changes in the environment, especially with the variability in time-dependent loads and with new patterns of operation on dams used for hydropower, with several starts and stops of turbines happening on a daily basis. These changes can lead to a decrease in structural and operational safety of dams. In this paper we propose a methodology where the dynamic response of concrete dams is continuously monitored in few locations on the dam using accelerometers, while all significant structural members are measured in discrete time intervals using portable vibrometers. We focused on run-of-the-river dams, which are a common dam type in Slovenia. The pilot case for the system is lower Sava River with a cascade of 5 dams used for hydropower.

In this paper, a discussion on the applicability and limitations of the limit equilibrium method is presented. In this manner, the reliability of a concrete arch dam-foundation system under static loading is evaluated by considering a set of potentially moveable rock wedges in the foundation. The safety of the system is assessed utilizing a quasi-analytical method, which employs the limit equilibrium method and numerical analysis to calculate the sliding safety factors and the dam trust forces, respectively. The reliability is evaluated using the Latin Hypercube Sampling method. Random variables in the system are the friction angle, cohesion, and the Grout Curtain Efficiency Coefficient. In the end, the influence of two parametric variables of discontinuities, elastic slip and rock mass deformability modulus, on the rock wedges’ sliding safety factor is evaluated by comparing the results of the quasi-analytical method with the purely numerical method. The results show that in the case of complicated geotechnical conditions, the limit equilibrium method may not reflect real-world failure scenarios.

Optical sensors are widely used for turbidity measurements in suspended sediment concentration studies. When conducting continuous measurements of turbidity in the field with optical sensors, results are determined according to the calibration curve (relationship between suspended sediment concentration and turbidity readings from the optical sensors). The calibration curve is developed based on the samples of the material present in and/or around the investigated stream. The concentration data are useful in water-quality-related investigations as well as for evaluating the amounts of transported (flushed, eroded) material from the catchments as suspended load. The amounts and particle sizes of transported material depend on the hydrological conditions. Usually, the particles’ size is not directly considered when developing the calibration curve. However, different particle sizes of the material from the same study site can result in different turbidity readings. Taking into account one general calibration curve for suspended sediment concentration determination can lead to misestimation of the transported material amounts. Here, the results of turbidity sensor calibration for different particle size classes are presented. Additionally, the uncertainty of the suspended material concentrations due to this effect is estimated. Further, we show how different calibration curves affect the assessment of the amount of the transported suspended load from the selected experimental catchment.