Dam Safety Inspection Scheduling

Safety inspection of dams can be scheduled on a probabilistic basis considering detectability and repair probability. The paper proposes to relate the expected availability of a dam to the frequency of dam inspection, the detectability of the inspection routine, the likelihood of owners' compliance to repair orders, and the construction quality of the given dam. The deteriorating characteristics of a dam with time could also affect its availability. The case of inspection scheduling for a nonaging dam is first developed, followed by the case of an aging dam. Examples are given to demonstrate the proposed procedure.