The 17th ICOLD Benchmark on numerical analysis of dams was held in Sofia, from 8th to 12th April 2017, organized by BUNCOLD, Bulgarian national committee of large dams supported by ICOLD Technical Committee A (TC-A) “Computational aspects of dam analysis and design”. The benchmarking activities, promoted almost every two years by the ICOLD TC-A, aim to encourage the appropriate use of numerical analysis methods, identifying each time specific problems in dam engineering, encouraging the comparison and the sharing of the results and of the experiences gained.

RSE developed, in collaboration with Bulgarian colleagues, the formulation of the “theme A” of the benchmark “Three-dimensional seismic analysis of Tsankov Kamak dam (double curvature concrete arch dam)” aimed at comparing the methods used for the seismic analysis of dams. In addition, RSE was involved in the collection, the comparison and the critical analysis of the results provided by the 13 participants in the theme.

During the benchmark, Giorgia Faggiani, Sustainable Development and Energy Sources Department, presented both the solution to theme A provided by RSE, and the overall summary of the theme, through the comparison of the different results received. Tsankov Kamak dam was also the destination of the technical visit that concluded the event.

RSE provided an active and significant contribution to the success of the benchmark for its leading role in the coordination and development of theme A, which was the one with the most significant number of solutions, established new contacts with experts in the field of dam engineering and strengthened the existing ones, confirming itself as a consolidated reference in the field of numerical modeling of dams.