Time-dependent reliability analysis using Bayesian MCMC on the reduction of reservoir storage by sedimentation

Currently, an operational strategy for the maintenance of reservoirs is an important issue because of the reduction of reservoir storage from sedimentation. However, relatively few studies have addressed the reliability analysis including uncertainty on the decrease of the reservoir storage by the sedimentation. Therefore, it is necessary that the reduction of the reservoir storage by the sedimentation should be assessed by a probabilistic viewpoint because the natural uncertainty is embedded in the process of the sedimentation. The objective of this study is to advance the maintenance procedures, especially the assessment of future reservoir storage, using the time-dependent reliability analysis with the Bayesian approach. The stochastic gamma process is applied to estimate the reduction of the Soyang dam reservoir storage in South Korea. In estimating the parameters of the stochastic gamma process, the Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) scheme using the informative prior distribution through the empirical Bayes method is applied. The Metropolis–Hastings algorithm is constructed and its convergence is checked by the various diagnostics. The range of the expected life time of the Soyang dam reservoir by the Bayesian MCMC is estimated from 111 to 172 years at a 5 % significance level. Finally, it is suggested that improving the assessment strategy in this study can provide valuable information to the decision makers who are in charge of the maintenance of a reservoir or a dam.