Many times, engineers have trouble communicating the consequences of failure of infrastructure. Words simply are not able to tell the full story. In these cases, a visualization may be more successful in communicating these consequences in a way that the lay-person can understand.

The video below is an example of a visualization of a real dam failure based on the results of engineering analyses. The 3D topography shown is based on the current conditions of the dam and was mapped using drones and the Structure from Motion technique. Minor, purely aesthetic, improvements can also be made on the 3D model to help tell the story.

In this specific example, the expected mode of failure involves a through-seepage, piping and rotational instability that results in abrupt loss of freeboard. Once that happens, the dam progressively washes away and the lake impoundment evacuates causing downstream flooding. These critical aspects are all captured by the visualization. Downstream  flooding is also included in the visualization leveraging the existing 3D topography.

Although the level of detail and realistic representation can vary depending on the level of effort, even a moderate level of visualization sophistication as the one shown in the video can go along way to effectively communicate the consequences of the dam failure.

Our team at ARGO-E GROUP has been proud to work with engineering firms in creating visualizations that are pinned to reality and based on engineering calculations and simulations, but are also successful in helping stakeholders understand the engineering analyses.

If you or your firm has similar needs, please reach out to us. Our team of engineers and visualization artists are available to support you.