Global Sensitivity Analysis of the Static Performance of Concrete Gravity Dam from the Viewpoint of Structural Health Monitoring

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is becoming the fourth driving force of engineering science and technology progress, in addition to the basic theory, numerical simulation and model test. In this paper, a definition of dam SHM is presented, its basic connotation is analyzed, and the general problems in existing researches are summarized. Then the sensitivity analysis of the static performance of concrete gravity dam is reviewed. For a hypothetical concrete gravity dam, a preliminary nonlinear finite element model is established. By means of the variance-based global sensitivity analysis method, phenomenological analysis of the static performance of the dam is carried out from three different horizons. And then the results are discussed in detail according to the common components of SHM. Overall, this paper provides a framework for sensitivity analysis of dams, or a way to explore the complexity of the dam system. In the long run, this paper should still be positioned as a generic and qualitative study in view of the complexity of dam system. There are still many issues as pointed out in the text need to be further understood and studied, and sensitivity analysis is a good tool.