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Engineering Greatness: Three Gorges Dam ; 长江三峡水利枢纽工程

Engineering Greatness: Three Gorges Dam ; 长江三峡水利枢纽工程. Yangtze River. Scale of river. Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) Origins: Kunlung Mts. of Tibet (altitude: 16,000 ft) Also source of Mekong and Salween World’s 3 rd longest: 3,343 miles Rapid waters; lots of sediment

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Engineering Greatness: Three Gorges Dam ; 长江三峡水利枢纽工程

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  1. Engineering Greatness: Three Gorges Dam ; 长江三峡水利枢纽工程

  2. Yangtze River

  3. Scale of river • Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) • Origins: Kunlung Mts. of Tibet (altitude: 16,000 ft) • Also source of Mekong and Salween • World’s 3rd longest: 3,343 miles • Rapid waters; lots of sediment • Divides China North and South • 700 tributaries • About 50,000 dams along Yangzi and tributaries

  4. The Need • Flooding • 215 catastrophic floods in 2000 years • 1931: 186 counties; 145,000 dead; • 1935: 142,000 • 1998: 4,000 dead; 14 million homeless; $24 billion economic losses • Dam to prevent 100-year floods • Energy • Equivalent of 15 nuclear power plants

  5. Wuhan Flood Memorial, 1954

  6. Mao Zedong SwimmingGreat plans are afoot:A bridge will fly to span the north and south,Turning a deep chasm into a thoroughfare;To hold back Wushan's clouds and rainTill a smooth lake rises in the narrow gorges.The mountain goddess if she is still thereWill marvel at a world so changed

  7. The Benefits • Flood control • Energy • 84.7BkWh/yr = • burning 50 million tons of coal or • 25 million tons of crude oil • effect = annually cutting • 100 million tons of carbon dioxide • up to 2 million tons sulfur dioxide • 10,000 tons of carbon monoxide • 370,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and • 150,000 tons of particulates • National Grid • Transmission lines to rest of country

  8. Three Gorges Dam • Biggest hydroelectric plant in world • Fierce current now a 400-mile long placid lake • Flood control • Increase shipping • Generate clean power • Divert water to parched north • 2009 Reservoir reached maximum height • Milestone • $30B

  9. History • Sun Yatsen, 1919 • International Development of China • 1932, GMD preliminary work • 1939 Otani Plan by Japan • 1944 involvement by US Bureau of Reclamation • 1980s plans revived • 1992 approved by National People’s Congress • Dec. 14, 1994 construction started • 20k-30k workers in shifts on 24-hour schedule since • 1.3 million relocated • 2009 initially expected completion date • Fully operational by 2011

  10. Yangzi River and 3 Gorges Reservoir

  11. The 3 Gorges

  12. Great Wall across the Yangzi • Dam itself (completed in 2006) • 594 feet high • Stretches 1.5 miles • Reservoir extends 410 miles upstream (1/2 length of California) to Chongqing • river dam, spillway structures, powerhouse, and buildings for navigation • Reservoir • 5 trillion gallons

  13. Scale • 32 main electric generators • 26 shore (completed 2008) • 6 underground (2011) • 700MW capacity each • 22,500 MW • 8+ times the electricity of Hoover Dam • Sent to Central and East China, Chongqing, Guangdong • Predicted to produce 1/9 of China’s electrical power • 10,000 ton ocean going vessels to interior • 7.0 Richter scale (2008 Sichuan earthquake: 8.0)

  14. Three Gorges: Symbol of Pride

  15. Source: http://www.ctgpc.com/benefifs/benefifs_a_2.php

  16. Three Gorges

  17. Annual Production of Electricity: October 2010, Targets Reached

  18. Dissecting a Megaproject • Why? • Who? • Benefits? • Costs?

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