Importance of Instrumentation in Hydropower Projects

Abstract

With the advancement of science and technology, humans endeavored to build massive structures, both on surface and sub –surface taking the advantage of physico-mechanical properties of the construction materials like concrete, steel, wood, rock, etc. Quality is the standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind. The term itself is subjective until and unless quantified, cannot be controlled. Instrumentation plays a major role to quantify the quality of materials and check if the resources meet the requirements of the structural design. Several types of instruments are developed and used world-wide in different structures to monitor water pressure, seepage, movements, vibration, temperature, stress, strain and other significant parameters. The role of instrumentation specialist lies in understanding the dominating phenomena in the planned structure,designing the instrumentation network, monitoring schedules and timely analysis for cautioning the engineers,designers,quality personnel and the project management to have a check on construction measures vis-à-vis structural performance. This paper describes the role of instrumentation in hydroelectric projects with a brief case study from Bhutan Himalayas.