Monitoring the deformation of a concrete dam: a case study on the Deriner Dam, Artvin, Turkey

Abstract

This paper investigates the behaviour of the double-curvatureDeriner dam, which is in the operation phase and also one of thehighest dams in the world. In order to determine the displace-ments, a geodetic network consisting of twelve reference andseven object points was measured in four periods by means ofthe Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) data. Theh2-Criteria method was used to determine the extent of thedeformation. The deformation analysis results based on the GNSSmeasurements revealed significant horizontal and vertical dis-placements on the object points on the dam crest. Hence, thevertical displacements found based on the GNSS measurementscan be considered erroneous, because they are greater thanexpected. This may be due to the narrow topography of the val-ley. Another conclusion drawn from the results is that there is astrong relationship between the change in the reservoir waterlevel and horizontal deformations, as can be seen from the hori-zontal deformation vectors.