Assessment of monitoring technology - applications to earth dam safety. Research technical completion report. Pacific Northwest Regional Commission. Grant # 10890704

In order to obtain well defined causes of earth dam failures, statistical analysis of past earth dam failures was made. A comprehensive list of earth dam failures was collected and listed after Middlebrooks (1953) and others. The results of this list were analyzed to determine the major failure mechanism(s) and to help establish an inspection tool for earth dams. The most common failure mechanisms appear to be seepage and embankment sliding. A survey of existing technology was made in an effort to determine which type of equipment would best detect seepage and slope stability within selected guidelines. The method selected was the Acoustic Emission Monitoring System. Field work was done on four dams in southern Idaho with known problems. The acoustic monitoring system appears to meet the guidelines set down. Acoustic emission appears as a promising tool for the detection of seepage and more work is being done in this area as a continuation of this project. Submitted to Idaho Department of Water Resources