Key issues in rock mechanics of the Three Gorges Project in China

The Three Gorges Project is one of the essential key projects for flood controlling and water resources regulation in the Yangtze River. The project includes a river-crossing dam, underground powerhouses, and navigation structures. Because of the huge size and complicated construction technologies, the project faced a series of challenging engineering issues. In terms of rock mechanics, there are many key technical issues, including the sliding resistance and stability of the dam section along the foundations of powerhouses No.l-5, the ,,;lope stability of the double-line five-stage shiplock, excavation of large-scale underground powerhouses, and curtain grouting under the dam. With decades of scientific research and 16 years of practical construction experiences and reservoir operations, these key technical issues in construction of the Three Gorges Project are successfully resolved, which will attribute to the development of hydropower technology. On the basis of the monitoring data during construction and normal operation periods of the Three Gorges Project, this paper presents a systematic analysis of these key rock mechanical issues in terms of behaviors, solutions, dynamic controlling, monitoring arrangement and integrated assessment.

On Erection of Shiplock Miter Gate

The extreme large miter gates of TGP permanent shiplock are of great difficulty in erection,in view of the stringent requirement of precision control and the complicated components.The major erection problems,such as the erection measurement control, the selection of erection position of gate leaf,welding and deformation manipulation,the erection of back tie rods,the installation of apex pintle and prestressing anchorages,etc., had been carefully deliberated, and the optimized approaches were adopted.The erection practice of the miter gate at No.1 lock head shows that the adopted erection technology is safe,reliable and effective, and it may be used for reference for similar miter gates.

Construction of Thin Concrete Lined Walls for Three Gorges Shiplock

With high rock slope in shiplock area, thin reinforced concrete lining walls are constructed for the shiplock system. The construction technology involves much complicated structures in formwork, frequent interference due to crossover working procedures, tight time schedule, high quality of reinforced concrete and showcase appearance requirements, hidden troubles affecting construction safety. With above-mentioned factors in consideration, a single-side-separated sliding formwork technology advanced from past sliding formwork experiences has been developed and applied successfully. This new technology is beneficial in quick and safe operation, capable to assure best quality and appearance of shiplock concrete works, and has filled up the gap in terms of construction sliding formwork in our country.

Deformation Monitoring and Result Analysis on the High Excavated Slopes of TGP's Permanent Shiplock

To ensure the stability of the high rock slopes of the permanent shiplock of the Three Gorges Project is the key to the successful construction and normal operation of the shiplock. In the course of the slope excavation, effective deformation monitoring, well understanding of the deformation characteristics, and reasonable analyzing and predicting of the deformation trend of the high slopes are important aspects of work for the slope excavation and dynamic design of the shiplock. The optimized design, successful implementation of deformation monitoring and accurate monitoring results are the important guarantee for carrying out the project. The monitoring design of the permanent shiplock was conducted in accordance with the general principles of "laying stress on the key points, considering parts as well as the whole, planning uniformly and conducting in stages". The deformation monitoring system of the permanent shiplocks is composed of survey network for horizontal and vertical displacements, monitoring points, inverted plumb lines, tension wires, extensimeters, etc.

Sarawak River Flow Behaviour after Matang Bypass Channel Construction during Low Tide Using InfoWorks River Simulation (RS)

Flood is occurring more frequently in Kuching nowadays due to the impact of climate change and rapid urbanization. The only discharge outlet for Sarawak River Basin currently is at Kuching Barrage and Shiplock. Sarawak State Government had decided to build Matang Bypass Channel from Sarawak River’s “Oxbow” to Batang Salak River for mitigating the flooding issues within Sarawak River Basin. Matang Bypass Channel had a bottom width of 250 m, 500 m reserve width and 8 Km in length. Flow behaviour with two discharge outlets during low tides are unknown yet. Therefore, this research is carried out to study Sarawak River flow behaviour after construction of Matang Bypass Channel using InfoWorks River Simulation (RS). Rainfall data used is January 2018. Four scenarios investigated are 1) Open two gates at Matang Bypass Channel opens and all gates at Kuching Barrage, 2) Open all gates at Matang Bypass Channel and Kuching Barrage, 3) Open gates at Matang Bypass Channel, but close all gates at Kuching Barrage, 4) Close all gates at Matang Bypass Channel, but open all gates at Kuching Barrage. Results revealed that when water gates are opened, sea water has the potential to backflow into Sarawak River basin through Kuching Barrage since sea level at Kuching Barrage discharge outlet is always 0.5 m higher than Matang Bypass Channel discharge outlet. When the gates at Matang Bypass Channel are fully opened and Kuching Barrage are closed, Kuching Barrage will retain the excess water and the river water will only be discharged into ocean through Matang Bypass Channel. In contrast, as the gates at Matang Bypass Channel are closed and at Kuching Barrage are fully opened, Matang Bypass Channel will store the excess water and river water will be discharged through Kuching Barrage alone.