Advanced Geodetic Deformation Analysis Based on Multi-Sensor Data Fusion.

 

Monitoring the deformation behavior of embankment dams is essential to ensure their structural integrity and long-term performance. Conventional geodetic methods, such as precision leveling, offer high spatial accuracy but limited temporal coverage, while in-situ geotechnical sensors, such as settlement meters, provide continuous but localized measurements. This study proposes an improved method of geodetic/geometrical deformation analysis based on strain theory, by merging displacement data from leveling and settlement meters to estimate settlements at the dam surface. This approach, based on MMC principles, allows for an appropriate visualization and interpretation of the settlement occurring and can be used for the detection of abnormal settlement behavior. Applied to a real case of an Algerian rockfill dam, the proposed method shows, after some validation and comparison with subsequent research results, a good adequacy in identifying settlement behavior. The results highlight the reliability and robustness of the geodetic model improved by multi-sensor data fusion in estimating deformations in critical geotechnical infrastructures.

Key words. Geodetic model, Strain analysis, Multi-sensor data fusion, dam settlement, levelling, settlement meter.