Structural Health Monitoring – ASH Ponds, Dykes & Tailing Dams
Ash ponds, dykes, and tailing dams are vital containment structures in mining, energy, and heavy industrial operations. Their failure can lead to catastrophic environmental, economic, and human consequences. As industry regulations tighten and the need for environmental sustainability grows, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) has become an essential risk mitigation strategy.
At Record Tech Electronics, we specialize in delivering customized, end-to-end SHM systems for these critical infrastructures, combining cutting-edge global technologies with our in-house innovation in sensor integration, real-time monitoring, and intelligent analytics.
SHM Objectives in Containment Structures
- Ensure geotechnical stability of embankments under dynamic loads, rainfall, and seismic events
- Monitor seepage and leakage trends to prevent internal erosion or piping
- Track deformations and ground movement to detect failure precursors
- Ensure compliance with international safety and environmental standards
- Enable early warning and preventive action using AI-powered analytics
A. Our Comprehensive Solutions
Turnkey SHM Systems: We offer project-specific monitoring architecture from the ground up—whether retrofitting existing embankments or greenfield deployments. Our system design encompasses:
- High-precision sensor placement (Piezometers, Inclinometers, Multi-point Borehole extensometers, horizontal Extensometers, Vibration Sensors / Accelerometers, etc.)
- Modular & scalable architecture tailored for complex topographies.
- Wired, wireless (LoRa, GSM), and hybrid communication solution with Single / Multi-Channel Dataloggers.
- Comprehensive Software for Data Visualization.
Advanced Instrumentation: Leveraging technologies from global leaders and our proprietary systems, we deploy:
- Vibrating Wire and MEMS Piezometers – to track pore pressure buildup
- In-place Inclinometers & Shape Arrays – for slope stability and deformation
- Strain gauges & Extensometers – to monitor embankment and Dam face behavior
- Tiltmeters & Settlement Sensors – to monitor vertical and angular displacements
- Seepage Monitoring Arrays
Real-Time Data Acquisition & Visualization Our IoT-enabled systems offer:
- Remote monitoring dashboards (cloud or on-premises)
- Live data feeds trend analysis and predictive alerts
- Threshold-based alarms for immediate action on structural anomalies
- Customizable reports & visualizations for regulatory submissions.
Environmental & Seismic Monitoring
- Water Quality Sensors – for real-time tracking of contamination risk
- Groundwater Monitoring Networks – to assess seepage migration
- Seismic Arrays – to assess post-quake structural condition
- Radar-based Surveys – for surface displacement and crack propagation
Instrumentation Audits & Revival Services We provide diagnostic audits for non-functional or legacy monitoring setups:
- Full assessment of sensor health, connectivity, and data integrity
- Feasibility planning for system upgrades, reuse, or retrofitting
- Revival of dormant installations to restore SHM capability with minimal disruption
- Installation, Commissioning & Lifecycle Support
- Turnkey site execution including trenching, borehole installation, and calibration
- Training programs for client teams
- AMC support, diagnostics, and long-term data management
B. Common Modes of Failure in Ash Ponds (also applicable to dykes and tailing dams)
Slope Instability / Embankment Failure
- Cause: Excess pore water pressure, poor compaction, seismic loading, or over-steep slopes.
- Effect: Sudden collapse or sliding of embankment slopes leading to structural failure and ash slurry release.
- Detection: Inclinometers, piezometers, and surface extensometers.
Seepage & Internal Erosion (Piping)
- Cause: Poor drainage design, high water pressure, cracks in the core or liner.
- Effect: Formation of channels inside the embankment due to seepage, leading to progressive erosion and breach.
- Detection: Piezometers, seepage sensors, flow meters, and temperature-based leak detection cables.
Liquefaction
- Cause: Saturated, loosely compacted ash layers subjected to dynamic loading (e.g., earthquakes).
- Effect: Loss of shear strength, leading to sudden collapse or flow of ash materials.
- Detection: Pore pressure transducers, seismic arrays, and soil densification analysis.
Overtopping
- Cause: Insufficient freeboard, excessive rainfall, or upstream flooding.
- Effect: Erosion of crest and downstream slope; may trigger catastrophic breach.
- Detection: Water level sensors, rainfall gauges, early warning threshold monitoring.
Foundation Failure / Differential Settlement
- Cause: Poor subsoil conditions, uneven loading, degradation of foundation materials.
- Effect: Cracking or tilting of the embankment, seepage paths opening up.
- Detection: Settlement sensors, tiltmeters, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and inclinometers.
- Structural Cracking
- Cause: Desiccation, seismic activity, or differential movements.
- Effect: Surface and internal cracks that can serve as seepage pathways or stress concentrators.
- Detection: Crack meters, visual inspections, and fiber optic strain sensors.
- Chemical Attack / Erosion
- Cause: Interaction with aggressive leachates or acidic runoff from ash.
- Effect: Degradation of liners, concrete elements, and drains.
- Detection: pH monitoring, water quality sensors, and liner integrity tests.
- Upstream Raise Instability (in staged construction)
- Cause: Using wet ash for successive embankment layers without proper drainage.
- Effect: Shear failure between layers, liquefaction risk.
- Detection: Borehole logging, instrumentation between lifts, pore pressure monitoring.
C. Additional Modes of Failure Specific to Dykes & Tailing Dams)
Crest Settlement & Cracking
- Specific To: Dykes and tailing dams under prolonged loading.
- Cause: Consolidation of foundation soils or internal ash/tailings.
- Effect: Depressions or cracks along the crest → leads to water accumulation and overtopping.
- Monitoring Tools: Settlement plates, total station surveys, crack meters, and GNSS/GPS.
Filter/Drainage System Clogging
- Specific To: Tailing dams with internal drainage filters or toe drains.
- Cause: Fines migration, biofouling, or chemical precipitation.
- Effect: Pore water pressure buildup → internal erosion, instability.
- Monitoring Tools: Piezometers, flow meters, pressure transducers in drains.
Residual Strength Loss of Tailings
- Specific To: Upstream-constructed tailing dams.
- Cause: Shear strain localization in loose, saturated fine tailings.
- Effect: Flow failure / sudden large-scale collapse.
- Monitoring Tools: CPT (cone penetration test) data, stress-strain sensors, piezometers, seismic profiling.
Cyclic Loading Failure
- Specific To: Seismic zones and tailing dams storing fine-grained, saturated materials.
- Cause: Earthquake-induced cyclic stress → pore pressure increase.
- Effect: Liquefaction, post-seismic deformation, or collapse.
- Monitoring Tools: Geophones, strong motion accelerometers, pore pressure transducers.
Hydraulic Fracturing of Core / Embankment
- Specific To: Zoned earth fill tailing dams or dykes with impermeable cores.
- Cause: High differential water pressure across core, low confining pressure at the top.
- Effect: Cracking in core, rapid internal erosion (piping).
- Monitoring Tools: Piezometers across core zones, temperature-based leakage monitoring, GPR.
- Erosion Due to Wave Action / Wind Setup
- Specific To: Large surface impoundments with long fetch (e.g., tailings dams or ash ponds).
- Cause: Wind-generated waves, repeated surface erosion.
- Effect: Slope instability, crest erosion, progressive failure.
- Monitoring Tools: Water level monitoring, slope cameras, visual inspection, UAV-based terrain models.
- Liner System Failure (for lined dykes or tailings basins)
- Specific To: Modern tailings dams and dykes with HDPE liners.
- Cause: Liner puncture, UV degradation, poor installation.
- Effect: Subsurface contamination, loss of containment, structural instability due to seepage.
- Monitoring Tools: Leak detection layers, electrical resistivity testing, geosynthetic monitoring systems.
- Retaining Wall or Spillway Structural Failure
- Specific To: Dykes or dams with concrete control structures.
- Cause: Poor construction, lack of maintenance, scour under spillways.
- Effect: Localized breach or complete structural failure.
- Monitoring Tools: Strain gauges, crack meters, ultrasonic sensors, vibration monitoring.