Development of the Methodology to Identify Potential Modes of Dam Failure and to Estimate Structural Health of Water Management Dams

Here we present the project activities of an ongoing project aiming at the identification of potential failure modes of dams and the development of the methodology to be applied on water management dams in Slovenia. Water is the most important natural resource for human existence, while changes in hydrological conditions have an impact on the water balance and require innovative approaches in water management. There are currently 68 registered infrastructure facilities in Slovenia, 42 of which meet the criteria of large dams or are subject to a special regime for operational safety as critical infrastructure. According to the Slovenian National Committee for Large Dams the average age of our dams is already more than 45 years.

Objectives of the project proposal, which will last 24 months, are the following: the analysis of the current state of the practice in the field of dam surveillance in Slovenia, provision of a summary document with a set of potential failure mechanisms for each type of dams, and development of a methodology for identifying failure mechanisms and monitoring the condition of dams. Monitoring of dams is regularly carried out in Slovenia, at least in the form of technical monitoring of the structures. However, we must note that professional knowledge of the operational safety of dams has advanced considerably since the time when most of the dams in Slovenia were built. In particular, the understanding of dam safety has changed and is now understood in a broader sense, encompassing the safety of the dam and auxiliary structures under all conditions throughout its life cycle, as well as the safety of the population and the environment in the dams' impact area. The lifetime of dams is very long, and sound structural management improves their structural health of dams and extends their service life.

The main output of the project is the development of the methodology for identification of potential failure modes. The steps of the methodology will also be implemented on at least 3 pilot cases and will be presented to the professional public and to institutions working in the field of dams and dam engineering. The project addresses both the World Declaration on Dam Safety, (Porto, 2019), and the World Declaration Water Storage for Sustainable Development, from (Kyoto, 2012). The authors acknowledge that the research is financially supported by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency research project No. V2-2340 and by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning.