Structural health monitoring of a buttress dam using digital image correlation

In order to improve the knowledge of the real behaviour of existing structures,structural health monitoring (SHM) is usually carried out. Initial calculations of a buttress dam located in Norway has been carried out to evaluate dam safety against the design loads. From this analysis, it was concluded that most of the pillars do not satisfy the required sliding safety factor. Despite of this, the dams shows very few signs of damage or damage development. Because of this it was believed that by installing appropriate sensors at critical locations on the dam structure the more informed decisions on future management of the dam could be made, based on the long-term measurements. This paper describes the use of Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique for displacement monitoring and cracking assessment of a concrete pillar. The SHM monitoring system deployed proved its capability to provide remotely near-real time measurements of displacement, and crack progression.It was shown that the displacements are clearly influenced by the seasonal water level and temperature variations. Despite its extended use in laboratory environment, the current project highlighted the high potential of the DIC method which can readily be deployed for extended use in outdoor environments.