Preserving Life Through Dams

A special issue of Infrastructures (ISSN 2412-3811).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 581

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, LNEC, Av. do Brasil 101, 1700-066 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: geotechnical engineering; embankment dams; risk management; seismic risk; constitutive models; laboratorial an in situ characterization of soils; observation and behaviour of geotechnical structure

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, LNEC, Av. do Brasil 101, 1700-066 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: concrete dams; computational mechanics; physical modeling; mechanical behavior of concrete; structural health monitoring; earthquake engineering; rock mechanics

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, LNEC, Av. do Brasil 101, 1700-066 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: dam hydraulics; dam appurtenant structures; dam hydraulic safety; dam failure; emergency action plans

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to introduce this Special Issue of Infrastructures, dedicated to showcasing the latest advancements in dam engineering. This issue compiles a selection of high-quality papers presented at the Fifth International DAM WORLD Conference, which took place in Lisbon from April 13 to 17, 2025.

The DAM WORLD Conference brought together leading experts, researchers, and practitioners from around the globe to exchange knowledge, discuss challenges, and present innovations in the field of dam engineering. The conference covered a broad spectrum of themes, including the following:

- Concrete and masonry dams;
- Embankment dams and levees;
- Hydraulics for dams;
- Tailings dams;
- Environmental and social issues;
- Regulation and governance;
- Dams and climate.

The conference provided a platform for lively discussions on the latest research findings, technological innovations, and best practices. The presentations and discussions focused on both traditional dam structures and emerging challenges such as climate change, sustainability, and environmental and social considerations. By addressing these crucial topics, the conference helped pave the way for future advancements in dam safety, design, and management.

This Special Issue includes a selection of papers that reflect the diversity and depth of the discussions at the conference. From advanced analytical techniques for assessing dam safety to case studies highlighting innovative design solutions, these papers offer valuable insights for professionals and academics alike. We are confident that this collection will serve as a reference point for the ongoing development of safer, more efficient, and environmentally conscious dam infrastructure.

We hope this Special Issue will inspire further research and collaboration in the field of dam engineering, building on the foundation laid during the Fifth International DAM WORLD Conference.

Dr. Laura Caldeira
Dr. Carlos Pina
Prof. Dr. Teresa Viseu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Infrastructures is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • dams
  • concrete
  • embankment
  • levees
  • tailings dams
  • hydraulic
  • hydrology
  • foundation
  • geology
  • design
  • models
  • safety
  • seismic analysis
  • instrumentation
  • monitoring
  • construction
  • rehabilitation
  • operation
  • maintenance
  • deterioration
  • decommissioning
  • dam management
  • new technologies
  • risk assessment
  • emergency action plans
  • dam failure
  • sedimentation in reservoirs
  • climate change

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 7094 KiB  
Article
Adaptive Warning Thresholds for Dam Safety: A KDE-Based Approach
by Nathalia Silva-Cancino, Fernando Salazar, Joaquín Irazábal and Juan Mata
Infrastructures 2025, 10(7), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures10070158 - 26 Jun 2025
Viewed by 302
Abstract
Dams are critical infrastructures that provide essential services such as water supply, hydroelectric power generation, and flood control. As many dams age, the risk of structural failure increases, making safety assurance more urgent than ever. Traditional monitoring systems typically employ predictive models—based on [...] Read more.
Dams are critical infrastructures that provide essential services such as water supply, hydroelectric power generation, and flood control. As many dams age, the risk of structural failure increases, making safety assurance more urgent than ever. Traditional monitoring systems typically employ predictive models—based on techniques such as the finite element method (FEM) or machine learning (ML)—to compare real-time data against expected performance. However, these models often rely on static warning thresholds, which fail to reflect the dynamic conditions affecting dam behavior, including fluctuating water levels, temperature variations, and extreme weather events. This study introduces an adaptive warning threshold methodology for dam safety based on kernel density estimation (KDE). The approach incorporates a boosted regression tree (BRT) model for predictive analysis, identifying influential variables such as reservoir levels and ambient temperatures. KDE is then used to estimate the density of historical data, allowing for dynamic calibration of warning thresholds. In regions of low data density—where prediction uncertainty is higher—the thresholds are widened to reduce false alarms, while in high-density regions, stricter thresholds are maintained to preserve sensitivity. The methodology was validated using data from an arch dam, demonstrating improved anomaly detection capabilities. It successfully reduced false positives in data-sparse conditions while maintaining high sensitivity to true anomalies in denser data regions. These results confirm that the proposed methodology successfully meets the goals of enhancing reliability and adaptability in dam safety monitoring. This adaptive framework offers a robust enhancement to dam safety monitoring systems, enabling more reliable detection of structural issues under variable operating conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preserving Life Through Dams)
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