PROVISION FOR OPERATIONAL RELIABILITY OF WATER-DEVELOPMENT WORKS AT THE SAYANO-SHUSHENSKAYA HPP

All water-development works (WDW) are considered potentially dangerous for the people, environment, and the economics of the entity. Their reliable condition is evaluated by the owner on the basis of regular field inspections. The safety of water-development works is monitored with respect to a set of diagnostic parameters. Analysis of these parameters permits advance evaluation of the condition of the structure, and timely adoption of a solution for preventive repairs or overhaul; this represents a guarantee of its dependable and long-lived service. Thus, for example, timely discovery of a horizontal crack in the thrust face of the dam has made it possible to perform successfully large-scale repairs where it had been localized; this has provided for normal operation of the “dam-bed” system. Provision for the safe operation of WDW requires quantitative evaluation of operational reliability. The simplest and most effective means of on-going evaluation of the condition of a structure is to compare measured values with criterial values established by a Declaration of Safety. Safety-Monitoring System for WDW. Field observations and various investigations conducted by the owner in cooperation with scientific-research and design institutes make it possible to evaluate the modern status of the structure, and formulate necessary changes to technical and organizational solutions adopted for the construction and operation of the WDW, as well as to introduce required constrains in the case of the appearance, or development of dangerous processes in the dam and enclosing geologic medium. Provision for the operational reliability of water-development works is an exceptionally critical scientific-technical, economic, and social problem, in the solution of which properly organized monitoring of the condition of the WDW