2021 – Designing dam safety emergency exercises in an inter-related risk environment to build resilience
Richard Mannix, Michael Cawood, Joseph Matthews, Siraj Perera
Guidance material available to dam owners both domestically and internationally on testing dam safety emergency plans (DSEP) and running exercises is relatively general in nature. Guidance specific to dams that assists owners to design risk informed exercise scenarios tailored to their dam(s) total risk profile and the broader context in which the consequences of dam and operational safety failures would materialise, is limited.
This paper presents a framework that guides dam owners through a progressive scenario development process that enables the systematic identification of both dam and operational safety matters that require exploration as part of DSEP exercising. This level of rigour in guidance material has, until now, been missing and is particularly relevant in the context of dam owners demonstrating due diligence and SFAIRP imperatives while also bringing dam safety management closer to achieving the safety case.
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2021 Papers
2021 – Lessons learnt from the application of HEC-LifeSim 2.0 to multiple dams across Australia
Learn moreHench Wang, Edward Funnell, Albert Shen, Matt Scorah, Peter Hill
The use of simulation models to assess dam failure consequences has progressively advanced in Australia over the past few years. For example, it is now common for HEC-LifeSim to be used to estimate potential loss of life from the failure of large dams with large populations at risk downstream. Since its introduction to Australia, numerous presentations and papers have been provided by USACE and industry professionals that highlight the benefits of using HEC-LifeSim Version 1.0.1 for a range of different case studies.
This paper identifies some of the new features in the latest version of HEC-LifeSim that can improve the robustness and defensibility of the potential loss of life estimates for dambreak consequence assessments. The techniques that have been used to overcome these challenges are also discussed using some case studies.
The first case study demonstrates the sensitivity of the model performance and potential loss of life to changes in version and number of iterations used to simulate the life loss. This is done by comparing the differences in simulation run time and life loss between the previous and new versions of HEC-LifeSim for an example model. The second case study presents an example application of both versions of HEC-LifeSim to compare the results between one version and the other for a different dam and the final case study illustrates an improved method for interrogating the available outputs from HEC-LifeSim to provide the user with more information that otherwise could not be obtained from the default outputs.
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2021 Papers
2021 – Demonstrating SFAIRP
Learn moreRichard M Robinson, Siraj Perera, Gaye Francis
SFAIRP (so far as is reasonably practicable) is the ‘modern’ definition of ‘safe’. Shrouded in the legal
concept of the ‘safety case’, it is actually the judicial form of the principle of reciprocity – the golden rule – do unto others, incorporated into the common law by the Brisbane born English law lord, Lord Atkin in 1932.In dam safety terms, it asks the question; “If you lived downstream of a dam, how would you expect the dam to be designed, operated and maintained in order for it to be considered safe?”
The answer is that it now requires a public demonstration that all reasonably practicable precautions are in place in a way that satisfies the will of our parliaments and our sovereign’s courts, otherwise known as a SFAIRP safety case.
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2021 Papers
2021 – Remedial Works To Lock and Weir One – It seemed like a good idea in the design office
Learn moreChristopher Dann, Chad Martin, Garry Fyfe, Nigel Rutherford
This paper presents a case study on remedial works that were undertaken at Lock and Weir One
along the River Murray, that to our knowledge are the first of their kind in Australia.
The weir structure’s left abutment is comprised of a stepped concrete structure founded on timber
piles, with timber sheet piles extending beneath the structure to cut off seepage through underlying
alluvium. A piping incident occurred at the left abutment in late 2014 and a filter blanket was
installed as an emergency response measure. A detailed review of historic construction documents
showed that there was a “missing” timber sheet pile upstream of the piping boil. Geotechnical
investigations, including piezometer installation confirmed the missing timber sheet pile was the
likely cause of the piping incident. A piping risk assessment showed the residual risk of further piping
was reasonably high.A range of remedial works was considered as permanent risk reduction works. However, these
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solutions required extensive temporary works to expose the missing timber sheet pile including a
cofferdam to access the defect and partial demolition of a recently constructed fishway structure.
An alternate Secant ‘Grout Column’ solution was developed that comprised targeted drilling and
backfill grouting to close the gap where the sheet pile was not installed and to grout an inferred void
under the abutment structure. This solution was successful at reducing seepage through the
abutment structure, as indicated by monitoring piezometers. -
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2021 Papers
2021 – Analysis of an embankment dam on permeable rock foundations
Learn moreJonathon Reid, Brendan Trebilco
The dam reviewed was designed and constructed in two stages, with the embankment completed in 1965. The dam comprises a 37 m high earth and rockfill maximum section on the creek alignment and zoned earthfill embankments of varying arrangements on the abutment flanks with a total crest length over 2km.
A Dam Safety Review was undertaken as part of the owners on-going commitment to maintain its portfolio of dams in a safe and functional state. The dam has suffered from high seepage rates that were first observed in 1971 after the reservoir rose to a historic high level, which was then exacerbated in 2011 after the reservoir rose a further 10m to reach the Full Supply Level for the first time. Reviews of the embankment stability at this time resulted in operating restrictions being placed on the reservoir level.
Detailed instrumentation data collected over a range of filling events showed the rock foundations to be highly responsive in the areas of observed seepage. This resulted in rapid pore pressure responses in foundation soils and the lower portion of the embankment after a rise in reservoir level, but a much slower pore pressure response in the upper parts of the embankment.
Seepage and stability analyses were undertaken based on the high quality instrumentation data to review the stability of the sections for various operating levels and with projected pore pressure increases for rapid flood loading scenarios. The paper explores the sensitivity of the analyses completed and how different construction standards applied to varying sections on the same embankment resulting in acceptable and undesirable outcomes.
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2021 Papers
2021 – Active Fault Assessment for a Proposed Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project in South Australia
Learn moreT. I. Mote, N. Vitharana, L. Johnstone, and K. Illangakoon
In Australia, the consideration of faults in seismic design has been captured in recent ANCOLD Guidelines for Design of Dams and Appurtenant Structures for Earthquake. The Guidelines recommend proper characterisation of geologic setting, foundation conditions, seismotectonic setting, and identification of both active and neotectonic faults as input to the seismic design basis for dams in Australia.
A case-study is presented at the proposed Cultana Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project in South
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Australia, summarising a fault assessment in concert with reference design. The progressive assessment of a lineament to a possible active fault to ultimately a non-seismogenic fault, allowed insights in understanding active fault rupture risk and active fault implications as it pertains to siting a dam in Australia. It highlighted the need for proper characterisation of geologic setting and faults based on targeted geotechnical investigations and the challenges in phasing these with an aggressive design program. These insights are relevant to many other projects in Australia either in existence or being planned for construction.