Decision Support System in Thailand's Dam Safety With a Mobile Application for Public Relations: DS-RMS (Dam Safety Remote Monitoring System)

Introduction

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is currently operating fourteen large dams constructed for irrigation, flood prevention, power generation and so forth. In order to ensure dam safety, EGAT has analyzed and monitored dam behavior through its dam safety program since 1982 and has been improving the processes according to international standards and guidelines, one of which was to initiate an automated Dam Safety Remote Monitoring System (DS-RMS) in 2013. The first objective is to automate the conventional acquisition of safety-related measurements by using remote-monitoring technology like dam safety management systems named KDSMS from Korea introduced by Jeon et al. (2009), MISTRAL Italy Lazzari and Salvaneschi (1923), ESMHS Egypt Abd-Elhamid et al. (2008), or PAEWEB Brazil Leone-Filho et al. (2014). Existing dam instruments were connected to reliable remote terminal units (RTUs), communication links and computer servers running advanced information software so that comprehensive information can be remotely obtained in real time.

SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) high functions: dam behavior visualization showed by Nuntawattanasirichai et al. (2019), earthquake monitoring, flood routing simulation, safety evaluation and warning system are the goals objectives. DS-RMS is designed to support three major dam types: concrete, embankment and impervious faced rockfill dams, with special requirements for the Bhumibol Dam and the Lamtakong Jolabha Vadhana Power Plant, presented in Figure 1 with detailed information in Table 1.

Figure 1.

Locations of the fourteen large¹ dams operated with DS-RMS. Dams in Northeastern Thailand are outside of earthquake hazard. Adapted from (National Electronics and Computer Technology Center [NECTEC], 2019)

(Data Source: Geotechnical Engineering Research and Development Center [GERD], 2014)