Structural Performance Observation of Earth Dams in Pulau Pinang using Vibrating Wire Piezometer and Surface Settlement Marker

• Published in: AIP Conference Proceedings
• Main Author: Jamaludin M.I.S.; Mahadzir M.A.; Karim A.A.; Rozli M.I.F.R.; Ghani K.D.A.; Hassan N.H.A.
• Format: Conference paper
• Language: English
• Published: American Institute of Physics Inc. 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85144041577&doi=10.1063%2f5.0109996&partnerID=40&md5=62ff08778222249cd8e4753b91d844b0

The main objective of this paper is to observe the current performance of the earth dam in Pulau Pinang since most of the dam itself have undergoes aging process which could impair their proper functioning service towards the surrounding community and environment. The existence of earth dams is very necessary as it distribute all the benefits of water availability and sources of energy within the circumstances area. However, extra care needs to be taken seriously on this structure as the dam failure could lead into catastrophic consequence resulting in widespread property devastation and human deaths. Back in the days, the were lots of recorded cases on the earthen dam failure such as overtopping by flood, foundations defects and piping or seepage failure due to the various environmental threat issues. This study was chosen to be conducted in Teluk Bahang dam and Mengkuang dam through on-site monitoring method based on the availability of the recorded data from geodetic instrumentation. The study was able to determine the amount of pressure that contribute to the changes in head of water and deformation analysis under the surface horizontal displacement (SHD) and surface vertical displacement (SVD) from February 2021 until March 2021. The recorded data were from the Vibrating Wire Piezometer and Surface Settlement Marker which were already located surround the earth dam. The data will be compared with the maximum allowable capacity which has been stated in the Manual Standard Guideline to justify either the earth dam undergoes acceptable number of calculated variables or not. As a result, both of the earth dam is under good performance and undergoes reasonable numbers of the measure variables but yet still need to be well maintenance. © 2022 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.