Dambot Transforms Dam Inspections, Increases Safety

By Abby Korfhage, Louisville Engineer District

The Louisville Engineer District’s dam safety team joined members from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to use the Corps’ Dambot 1.0 to perform a conduit inspection September 19 at Taylorsville Lake Dam in Taylorsville, Ky.

The robot, which can be operated remotely, prevents the need for people to enter confined spaces and carries a variety of sensors, including high-resolution cameras and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), which can create a detailed model of the entire outlet works system. It also has an extendable arm to photograph difficult to reach areas, which aids dam safety personnel with assessments—an essential yet potentially hazardous maintenance task.

“This equipment offers us the ability to perform those inspections and identify issues and deficiencies in conduits without needing people to go into them,” said Kate Brandner, Louisville District Dam Safety Section chief. “Conduits are confined spaces and come with elevated risk for personnel entering them. Utilizing DamBot reduces the need, or number of times, we need to send people into those confined spaces. We can use information gathered by DamBot to identify needed repairs, plan repair methods and limit potential risks associated with the inspections.”

A multi-disciplinary team of engineers, scientists and technicians at ERDC came up with the idea of a DamBot. It was designed to provide first look at the conditions inside a dam’s outlet works before exposing people to the risks associated with confined spaces, such as hydrogen sulfide gas buildup. With help from the DamBot, inspections can be viewed remotely, meaning inspectors can do their jobs from a safe distance.

“Once everything was set up and calibrated, the inspection lasted three to four hours, though they also made two passes through the conduit,” said Roger Olson, Louisville District Dam Safety’s Upper Kentucky Basin Coordinator. “The first pass utilized the extending arm for closer views of the service gates, the tower transition section and the conduit. The second pass completed a closer, more detailed inspection of the conduit concrete and its condition.”

DamBot 1.0 is just over 5 feet wide, 10 feet long and about 6.5 feet tall with all components installed and stowed. This specific bot has also been successfully used at Buckhorn Dam in Buckhorn, Ky., to inspect the conduit in 2023, at which time the bot had an escort to monitor the operation of the extendable arm, which is now no longer required. The bot has also been used at Blue Mountain Dam in Havana, Ark. According to the ERDC team, the Taylorsville Dam inspection was the 10th time the bot had been on a site visit to help with an inspection.

In addition to its extendable arm and it being fully remotely operated with an X-box controller, the DamBot 1.0’s capabilities also include an airtight body, allowing the bot to float from an entry point of the tailwater to the stilling basin and into the conduit; complete 360-degree photogrammetry with floodlights for visibility and mounted terrestrial LiDAR; and the ability to perform inspections during no-flow and low-flow releases, minimizing the impact of the inspection to operations and downstream river gauges.

“The inspection was successful,” Olson said. “It is imperative that we are able to safely inspect the condition of the conduit to determine if repairs to the concrete are necessary to properly maintain the outlet works and keep the project in functioning order. In the event that we are unable to send personnel into the space for safety reasons, like Taylorsville Dam, the Dambot will be an invaluable tool with beneficial uses for the project, the district, ERDC and public safety.”

The ERDC team members onsite included Jordan Klein, Steven Bunkley, Check Ellison and Alex Sampley. In addition to Olson, the Louisville District team who were a part of the inspection included David Chrisman, Jackie Henn, Scott Kelly, Justin Bates, CJ Bostock and Mike Crain. The Great Lakes and Ohio River Division’s science and technology program manager, Todd Mitchell, and Dam Safety Program Manager Troy O’Neal also attended the inspection to see firsthand how the robot performed.