Hydrological safety and risk assessment of hydraulic structures

Abstract

Hydraulic structures (HS) are engineering structures of major hazard, intended for use of water resources and prevention of negative impact of water and pollutants, operating tens or hundreds of years and have proven to be generally stable structures. Hydrological safety is understood as stability of hydraulic structures during its operation against extreme hydrological impacts of natural and maninduced nature. Most of the HS are built based on modern projects in accordance with current regulatory documents, but the probability of accidents in hydroelectric facilities tends to grow, especially after 30-40 years of operation. Most severe emergency situations (ES) occur when hydraulic structures, such as dams of large reservoirs, let over-estimated discharge through, especially if it is associated with inept exploitation. This is evidenced by the materials of the International Commission on Large Dams, according to which about 3000 accidents of different degrees occur in hydropower stations worldwide every year. Most of the accidents associated with breaking waterfront of dam could be avoided by monitoring the technical condition of HS and ensuring necessary training of operating personnel.

Keywords

• hydraulic structures
• hydrological safety
• risk assessment
• dam-breaking wave