Active and passive defences against internal erosion

A reliable early localization and warning system for both gradual and catastrophic dam and dike failure is being developed. This monitoring system is based on the combination of geosynthetic functions, integrated fibre optic sensors and a related instrumentation to detect the first steps of internal erosion processes and hydraulic works instability. The detection of the leaks, early stage of the internal erosion process, is assessed through temperature changes measurement using the passive method without heating. The HydroDetect system has been tested on several 1:1 scale experimental works and real dikes in-use. The results from 2 of them are very promising.