Operational Modal Analysis and Structural Health Monitoring of Yusufeli Arch Dam Using Optimum Sensor Placement

This study investigates the optimum sensor placement strategy for operational modal analysis of the Yusufeli Arch Dam within the scope of structural health monitoring. The main objective is to minimize the number of sensors required while still accurately capturing the dynamic characteristics, namely natural frequencies and mode shapes, of the dam. Initially, thirteen accelerometers were installed along the dam crest to obtain comprehensive vibration data and to establish reference dynamic properties. Based on this full-scale dataset, an optimization was conducted to determine the minimal yet effective sensor configuration. The number of sensors was successfully reduced to three without compromising data quality. To verify the optimized sensor layout, the frequencies and mode shapes obtained from the measurements were compared with the reference dataset. The results showed strong agreement, confirming that critical dynamic information can be reliably extracted even with significantly fewer sensors. This method offers a cost-effective and efficient approach for long-term monitoring of large-scale structures. By maintaining accuracy while reducing hardware and operational expenses, optimal sensor placement enhances the practicality of structural health monitoring in dam infrastructure. The findings of this study contribute to the advancement of data-driven maintenance strategies in civil engineering.