You searched for soil-instruments
Lest we forget: learning from international dam incidents
28 October, 2010
The combination of ageing dams, retirement of experienced dam engineers and increased consequences of dam failure due to downstream development underscore the need to better ensure the future safety of dams worldwide. Past experience must not be forgotten and lessons learned must be captured for future generations. The Centre for Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation (CEATI International) is paving the way forward in global communication, coordination and collaboration through their Dam Safety Interest Group (DSIG). A selection of case studies from the organisation’s recent workshop on international dam incidents and failures is presented below
CFRDs in highly seismic regions
14 April, 2010
Until the Wenchuan earthquake of 12 May 2008 no large concrete face rockfill dam (CFRD) was subjected to strong ground shaking. Quite a few dam engineers were of the opinion that CFRDs are inherently safe against earthquakes, because any leakage in the concrete face would not lead to the failure of the dam. Even if such a state could be achieved excessive leakage could not be tolerated and the reservoir would have to be drawn down if severe damage of the concrete face and/or the water proofing system has to be assumed. In this paper the main measures to be considered to achieve a safe CFRD in highly seismic regions are discussed
Uncovering Samanalawewa
01 April, 2010
Kamal Laksiri gave IWP&DC a detailed report on the story behind Sri Lanka’s 100m high Samanalawewa dam
Some new perspectives on climate change: report of a national meeting
15 February, 2010
A joint meeting of the Royal Meteorological Society and British Hydrological Society took place on Saturday 13th February 2010 at the Blackett Lecture Theatre in London, organised by James Dent. Frank Farquharson introduced the meeting saying that it was important for members of both societies to come together and discuss climate change. He pointed out the great variability of temperature, rainfall and riverflow and wondered how the effects of man’s activities could be discerned from past, present, and future observations: it was a challenge for everyone.