Detection of subcritical crack propagation for concrete dams

Subcritical propagation of cracks is a warning sign of fracture. If such propagation is detected at an early stage, timely maintenance measures can be taken to prevent the failure of structures. To detect the subcritical propagation of a crack, the crack needs to be monitored continuously in a long term, which is not realistic under certain conditions. However, cracks in concrete dams can be monitored continuously by dam monitoring to offer possible detection for subcritical propagation. In this paper, with measured crack openings from dam monitoring, a state equation for characterizing crack development is established based on the grey system theory. The relation between the stability of the equation and the subcritical crack propagation is investigated, then a criterion is proposed for detecting subcritical propagation. An example demonstrates the validity of the criterion and its potential for practical application.