Hydro Power

Many of our dams are now falling into a state of disrepair

A combination of aging and lack of government funding means many of these structures struggle to remain operational or even structurally sound. Today, thousands of dams are in need of rehabilitation to meet current durability design and safety standards.

Dam owners, government officials, engineers, and emergency management professionals need to move towards a risk-based decision-making approach for the design, rehabilitation, and operation of dams. A risk-based approach will enable better utilization of limited funding, and will allow for a better prioritization of projects, by focusing on repairs and operational changes that allow for a better management of these critical assets.

SIMCO’s experts have been called on by both public and private owners and managers of hydropower plants throughout North America in order to implement various concrete service-life solutions and asset management practices

As owners’ needs and assets differ, SIMCO’s methodologies used on new construction projects and on maintenance and rehabilitation projects will be adapted in accordance to the expected future performance of each structure.

With the use of its sophisticated predictive modeling technologies, SIMCO can assist owners and managers in the management of the complete lifecycle of their concrete assets and the team can be instrumental when it comes to developing durability design specifications to achieve specific service-life goals.

SIMCO’s team of durability engineering experts can perform comprehensive investigations to identify the causes of concrete deterioration problems, analyze and interpret results as well as recommend the most cost-effective strategy for maintenance and repairs.

For whatever the project, for new or existing structures, our durability engineering experts provide clients worldwide with durability design solutions that can meet even the most rigorous international standards.

Our Services

• Review and elaborate concrete mix design specifications for tender documents
• Assist structural engineers in defining concrete specifications during the design phase
• Conduct field inspections, condition assessments, and characterization of concrete properties
• Review defects, test results and construction records to identify the causes of deterioration
• Analyze data and use predictive models to determine the remaining useful life
• Develop deterioration models for any type of structure in different exposure conditions
• Execute lifecycle cost analyses for new construction projects and existing structures
• Recommend the most cost-effective intervention strategies for maintenance and repairs