Dam break risk assessment in Baker Valley (Chilean Patagonia)

An hydroelectric project was proposed by HidroAysen Company in the Aysen Region of Chilean Patagonia. It consisted of the installation of five hydroelectric power stations, two on Rio Baker and three on Rio Pascua, with an average annual energy production of 18,430 GWH. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) presented by HidroAysen lacked of a dam failure impact assessment, crucial to prevent or minimize the impact of unexpected flooding caused by a dam failure. A dam break risk assessment was performed for the so called Baker 2, a proposed concrete gravitational dam located on the Rio Baker, upstream the small community of Caleta Tortel, an area of concern for potential flooding. Using ORSA Code, software developed by a research collaboration between the University of Pavia and the University of Rome - La Sapienza (Italy), a computational model was performed to simulate the flood wave propagation associated with a dam break failure scenario. The areas subject to flooding were mapped on the digital elevation model (DEM) of the surface topography.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Natale, Elisabetta

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dara Entekhabi.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/53069

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/53069