Questions raised over safety check procedure for UK dams

摘要

A leading geotechnical researcher has said the UK's ageing dams require better and more rigorous safety checks. Building Research Establishment (BRE) associate Andrew Charles made the call during his presentation at the 48th Rankine Lecture held on 19 March at Imperial College London. "Is the surface inspection every 10 years of dams such as for the UK's ageing infrastructure, introduced in the 1970s, sufficient?" he said. "Shouldn't they really need a safety assessment?" Charles queried current practise during the conclusions of his lecture: The engineering behaviour of fill - the use, misuse and disuse of case histories. The lecture centred on his assertion that for the foreseeable future, fills will have increasing significance in geotechnical engineering.