| Abstract: Dams are vital infrastructure objects which must be maintained properly to avoid catastrophic failures or major accidents. Recent development of dam monitoring systems capabilities provides massive datasets that are overwhelming for traditional approach to dam safety analysis, which usually relies on expert’s abilities to identify and undertake necessary measures in a timely manner based solely on observed variables. In most cases, the variables that may not be directly measured are of the biggest importance for structural safety (e.g., damage criticality, load capacity, etc.). These variables can be estimated using various numerical methods, such as finite-element method. The concept of “digital twin” applied to dam structures provides tools for the experts to assess various safety parameters of the dam in near real time by coupling numerical methods with live data from monitoring systems. This paper presents development of a dam safety management system, which serves to improve the maintenance, safety, and functionality of a dam. Dam safety management system is based on elaborate monitoring system and detailed FEM models of the dam and power plant which are used to provide estimations of structural behavior and implementation of various “what-if” analysis. The system also uses MLR models of various dam responses for quick checks of observed values. The integration of data from monitoring system with FEM and MLR models is achieved through efficient data management framework. Quality control of data is performed through fully automated process to provide inputs for data assimilation in numerical models. This way a digital twin of the dam is created that is used for dam safety assessment and evaluation of reactive and proactive measures. |