Smart engineering makes smart dams

‘Smart’ motorways make use of powerful modern digital monitoring and computing technology to apply ‘A Theory of Traffic Flow on Long Crowded Roads’ (Lighthill and Whitham, 1955b) to reduce the speed of vehicles on the motorway, thereby increasing its capacity and relieving congestion.

In embankment dam engineering it is not possible to reduce the loads from earthquakes and floods that would cause instability or external or internal erosion. Smart engineers must therefore design or re-design, and if necessary remediate, dams using the ‘theories’ now available, and inspect and monitor smartly afterwards to confirm that the dam remains as designed. The paper discusses the theories available to design against instability and surface and internal erosion to an acceptable standard, and surveillance and monitoring to confirm that those standards are maintained in the long term.