You are here:
SPILL ALERT DEVICE FOR EARTH DAM FAILURE WARNING
Citation:
Koerner, R., A. Lord, AND Jr. SPILL ALERT DEVICE FOR EARTH DAM FAILURE WARNING. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-84/007.
Description:
A spill alert device for determining earth dam safety based on the monitoring of the acoustic emissions generated in a deforming soil mass was developed and field-tested. The acoustic emissions are related to the basic mechanisms from which soils derive their strength. Laboratory feasibility tests, conducted under widely varying conditions, have resulted in an instrument package consisting of a wave guide (an iron road projecting into the earth mass), a transducer (to convert the mechanical waves transmitted from the deforming soil into an electrical signal), an amplifier (to increase the signal level), and a counter (to quantify the signal). The resulting monitoring system has been field-tested at 19 sites and found to portray accurately the stability of the particular site in question.