Welcome to the presentation

Experience of Instrumentation and

Performance of Mtera Dam

THE 22nd AFRICAN HYDRO Aballah .O Ikwasa

SYMPOSIUM
15th to 17 th September 2010
ARUSHA, Tanzania
Hydro Power plant
Civil Engineer
Mtera Hydro Power
Plant

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
1 2010
 Out line of presentation

Introduction

Dam safety

Importance of Regular Inspections of Dams

Dam Safety Monitoring for Mtera Dam

Monitoring Instruments Installed at Mtera
Dam

Conlusion and Recommendation

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
2 2010
 Introduction
 Mtera dam was part of the
Great Ruaha Power Project
 The dam was constructed to
serve as a water magazine
for operation of
Mtera(80MW) and Kidatu
(200MW)
 The dam is the largest one
The 22nd African Hydro
in the country
Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
3 2010
 Introduction…
 The dam is located within
Rufiji Basin along Great
Ruaha river at Mtera

 The dam also serves as the

road bridge along Iringa -
Dodoma road.

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
4 2010
 Introduction…Mtera Dam Data

 Dam Type – Concrete buttress dam

 Reservoir Volume (million m3) -3200
 Dead storage Volume (million m3) -600
 Dam height – 45m
 Crest Length – 260m

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
5 2010
 Introduction…Mtera Dam Data

 Spillway capacity – 4000 m3/s

 Full supply level 698.50 m.a.s.l.
 Minimum Supply level 690.0 m.a.s.l
 Reservoir area (km2) at FSL - 660
 Reservoir area (km2) at MSL -200

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
6 2010
 Dam safety
 Why do we maintain dams
 Recognize problems in their early
stages and eliminate them before
they become complex and
expensive
 Minimize risk to others and
potential liability in case of failure

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
7 2010
 Dam safety

100 The Events to

50 East
0 West be considered
1st 3rd
Qtr Qtr
North in dame safety
monitoring
includes:
 Natural events
 Ancillary Projects
The 22nd African Hydro
Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
8 2010
 IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR
INSPECTIONS OF DAMS

 Every dam will always deteriorate over

time.
 Dam may either deteriorate slowly or
quickly
 Problems that are not recognized and
corrected will always progress
The 22nd African Hydro
Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
9 2010
 MTERA DAM SAFETY MONITORING

 One of the most important activities in a dam

safety program is to identify and record any
unusual behaviour of monitoring instruments.

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
10 2010
 MTERA DAM SAFETY MONITORING….

 A number of monitoring instruments have

been installed a Mtera dam to measure:
 Upstream water levels
 Leakages
 Pore water pressure
 Deformations

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
11 2010
 Table below shows monitoring
instrumentation

S/N Measurement Location Condition

1 Seepage From inspection galleries below Good
the gravity dam and condition
Spillway dam (MW2)
From the down stream part of Good
the spillway dam (MW1) condition
2 Pore water In the foundation rock below the stand pipes
Pressure dam using stand pipes are in good
condition
Below the spillway and gravity No
dam using manometer The 22nd African
Manometer
Hydro
Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
12 2010
 Table below shows monitoring
instrumentation cont..

S/N Measurement Location Condition

3 Up stream Gauge with Automatic Gauge not

water levels recorder installed at the working
buttress monolith B6
Water level scales (Gauge The scales are
plates) fixed to the front working
side of the gravity dam
Pneumatic water level The gauge not
instrument installed at the working
intake of he power plant
The 22nd African Hydro
Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
13 2010
 Table below shows monitoring
instrumentation cont..

S/N Measurement Location Condition

4 Stresses in Twelve strain gauges Recording

Concrete were initially installed at instruments is
level +664 connected to defective
the stress measuring
instrument in the cabin
on top f buttress
monolith B6
5 Deformation At the dam body Deformation
points available
The 22nd African Hydro
Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
14 2010
 CONLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

 Defective dam
instrumentation should be
repaired/replaced
 Dam designer’s operating
criteria is required for
comparison with observed
behavior of the dam

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
15 2010
 CONLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION...

 For hydro power future

projects, the limiting
values should be
established and provided
to Tanesco before
commissioning.

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
16 2010
 THANK YOU

The 22nd African Hydro

Symposium 15th to 17th Sept.
17 2010