Nearly 30 years ago, Professor Truong Dinh Du and his colleagues introduced a new construction solution when building pillars and dams to block large rivers, reducing the cost by 35-40% compared to traditional technology, saving thousands of billions. copper.
Facing the challenges of declining water resources from upstream, irrigation projects to prevent salinity and preserve fresh water have become a vital solution for Vietnam’s coastal areas. Professor Truong Dinh Du and scientists from the Vietnam Institute of Water Resources have researched and successfully applied the technology of supporting pillar dams and barge dams. This is considered a breakthrough, overcoming the limitations of traditional projects such as taking up a lot of land and complicated construction in specific locations.
Instead of building large reinforced concrete blocks as the bottom table, Professor Du and his colleagues proposed a solution to dam the support pillars using reinforced concrete pillars connected to the valve support beam and a pile system driven deep into the foundation. The dam’s supporting piers and bottom beams are constructed dry within a steel sheet pile fin frame. Bottom beams can also be assembled without drying the foundation pit. This solution does not require digging diversion channels, takes up little construction land, and does not change the environmental landscape. In particular, it is possible to build culverts with large apertures, combined with making modern traffic bridges in the form of a bridge under a culvert.
“The pier dam technology is stabilized according to the principle of anchoring in the ground and waterproofing according to the principle of vertical contours with sheet piles. This method is completely different from the principle of friction due to gravity and waterproofing using the horizontal contours of the sheet. bottom in traditional technology,” Professor Du explained. He also added that the supporting dam is designed to expand the drainage aperture. Therefore, the flow rate through the structure is less than the allowable erosion velocity of the ground. Reinforcement against erosion for the upstream and downstream areas only needs to be made with stone mats or reinforced concrete panels.
Simulate the design of abutment dams. Image: Vietnam Institute of Water Resources Sciences
The research team’s solution helps the project reduce construction volume, increase flood drainage ability and limit impact on the environment. This method can be constructed right on the river bed, reducing compensation and site clearance. “The application of pillar dam technology helps reduce the volume of materials used and minimize the impact on natural flows,” Professor Du said.
He said this technology is only suitable for large rivers. When applied on small rivers, construction costs are quite high. Therefore, he and his colleagues developed barge dam technology as an alternative solution.
The barge dam consists of a bottom and pin pillar with a rib structure and a monolithic frame to form a closed buoy box. Between the battery posts there is a valve that is responsible for regulating water. Barges can be made of steel, reinforced concrete, composite or prestressed reinforced concrete. “When water is pumped into the box, the barge part sinks in combination with two culverts to help block the water. When water is pumped out, the barge part floats up and can be moved to another location,” Professor Du said. Each project can consist of one barge or many barges linked together by a watertight structure depending on the width of the river.
With the advantage of mobility, the project can be reused in different locations, significantly reducing investment and construction costs. According to the design, the barge part can be manufactured at home or right at the construction site, then towed to the construction site to sink into the prepared foundation pit.
Thao Long Dam in Hue was built using pillar dam technology. Image: Vietnam Institute of Water Resources Sciences
According to Professor Pham Hong Giang, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, before 2003, in areas where salt and sweet water were constantly changing, many temporary dams often had to be built during the dry season and dismantled when the rainy season came. “Temporary dams are cheap, but many areas lack land for filling, so they are not timely for crops, causing pollution in the dry season. Barge dams have solved that problem,” Professor Giang said.
Pillar dam and barge dam technology have been researched and applied by Professor Truong Dinh Du and his colleagues since 1995. Since then, hundreds of large and small river containment projects have been built using these two technologies. Among them are Thao Long works (Thua Thien – Hue), Cai Lon river (Kien Giang), Dinh river (Ninh Thuan), Kinh Lo sewer, Kinh river sewer, Kinh Hang sewer, Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe – sewer. Ho Chi Minh City… Construction projects help reduce investment costs by up to 35-40% compared to traditional construction technology, saving the state budget thousands of billions of dong.
Professor Truong Dinh Du. Image: Nhat Minh
Professor Truong Dinh Du, 87 years old, from Ha Tinh. He went through a difficult childhood when he had to carry water from the mountains 4-5 km from home or sit in a well to collect every drop of water during dry seasons. It was that situation that sparked in him the dream of bringing water back to his homeland and pursuing the irrigation industry.
In 1959, Truong Dinh Du passed the exam to major in Water Resources at Polytechnic University. After graduating, he returned to his hometown to work at Ha Tinh Irrigation Company. Not long after, he was sent to the Soviet Union as a graduate student at Moscow State University of Civil Engineering.
In 1972, after completing his graduate program, he returned to his country and worked at the Institute of Irrigation Sciences. Here, he held the positions of Head of the Project Hydraulics Research Department and Deputy Head of the Vietnam Institute of Irrigation Sciences.
Before the technology of support dams and barge dams was born, he successfully researched automatic and semi-automatic gate valve technology for small and medium-sized irrigation projects. This technology applies the principle of water pressure difference to automatically open and close the valve door, independent of external energy sources, suitable for areas without electricity. This type of valve has been researched and successfully applied in the Red River Delta, Mekong River and many other areas, helping to prevent salinity, collect fresh water and alluvium, effectively drain floods, and contribute to improving agricultural land. career. His research was awarded the State Prize in 2000.
For more than 40 years, Professor Truong Dinh Du has researched and developed irrigation dam technologies, contributing to solving the problem of water security and adaptation to climate change. Two outstanding technologies developed by him – buttress dams and barge dams – were honored with the Ho Chi Minh Prize in 2012. This technology is still widely applied in the construction of irrigation works across the country. .