Performance-Based Evaluation

Performance‑based evaluation (PBE) technology is transforming how dam owners, regulators, and engineers assess the structural integrity and performance of concrete structures. This process is used to better understand the behavior of large structures such as concrete dams. Schnabel applies performance‑based evaluation as part of our integrated, multidisciplinary approach to infrastructure engineering. By grounding evaluations in measured performance, we help clients make confident, cost‑effective decisions that improve safety, resilience, and long‑term asset performance.

PBE compliments traditional engineering methods through enhanced knowledge of behavior. The method incorporates non-destructive field testing to measure actual response to applied loads. These measurements are used to better estimate actual physical properties as they relate to the load response. Evaluations can be performed to estimate overall system stiffness (load distribution), effective mass, load amplification, and load attenuation. Those characteristics can help validate numerical models, monitor performance, and even measure existing post-tension anchor loads.

PBE has been used to calibrate and validate the results from complex finite element models that are used to evaluate structural behavior for potential extreme floods and earthquakes. The non-destructive field testing program has also been used to monitor the health and performance of structures such as spillways.

Schnabel’s PBE group can provide a wide range of services to better characterize, evaluate, and analyze structural characteristics and behavior, including:

• Non-destructive field tests using sensors to measure the structural response to applied loads
• Analysis of the measured transient response to estimate properties, characteristics, and behavior
• Use of measured properties and characteristics to validate numerical models
• Performance of periodic field tests to monitor the long term health and safety of the structures
• Real-time monitoring of spillways during spill events to assess current health and safety
• Provision of results to support engineering decisions

Our PBE services team tailors the level of analysis to the requirements of each project, ranging from targeted evaluations to more advanced assessments.