Gaiacode is part of the biggest rehabilitation project of dams in the world. In less than two years, we have provided and installed more than 60 Digital SIGMA accelerometers and four Digital ALPHA seismometers to an ambitious program, under which the government of India is rehabilitating and improving about 250 of the approximately 5300 dams in the country.
Under the acronym DRIP (Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project) India is spending the equivalent of more than US$500 million to ensure the long term stability and functionality of these vital components of water security on the subcontinent. Gaiacode's contribution currently provides the basis for monitoring the structural health and integrity of more than 10 percent of the dams targeted by DRIP, mainly in southern India.
Teaming up with Encardio-Rite
To participate in this project, Gaiacode teamed up with its Indian partner Encardio-rite, a global leader in real time safety monitoring solutions for risk assessment of mega construction projects and existing infrastructure. Together we delivered and installed more than 64 digital three component forced-feedback accelerometers (SIGMA) and seismometers (ALPHA). Although governed by the country wide DRIP-Project, the dams are operated by separate State Authorities, like the Kerala Irrigation Department, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department and the Tamil Nadu Generation & Distribution Corporation Limited.
27 Dams Instrumented
Each of the 27 dams is equipped with at least three accelerometers, one on the crown of the dam, one inside the gallery and one as a free-field installation at least 50 meters away from the dam structure. All accelerometers are set to a clip level of +/-2 g. Besides the digital sensors the installation includes sheet metal housings and power supplies with battery backup. The data communication unit is based either on 4G GSM modems or satellite telemetry.
