Jinsha River Udongde Hydropower Station Sets Multiple World Records

Jinsha River Udongde Hydropower Station sets multiple world records

On June 29, the first units of Wudongde Hydropower Station were put into production.
Wudongde Hydropower Station has set many world records such as the world's largest dam unit top arc long discharge and the world's first underground plant height.

Behind these "high-gloss data", there are unprecedented challenges in the current situation of complex construction conditions, construction scale and difficulty.

The maximum height of the Udongde Dam is 270 meters, the average thickness is 40 meters, and the thickness-to-height ratio is only 0.19. It is currently the world’s thinnest 300-meter double-curved arch dam and the world’s first special dam to apply low-heat cement concrete. High arch dam.

The dry and hot valley of the Jinsha River where the dam is located, the dam body is easily affected by uneven temperature, and cracks are easily generated. Building a "seamless dam" is a hard core indicator of the Udongde Hydropower Project, and to achieve "seamless", it is necessary to "work" on concrete.

The low-heat cement in the concrete can be called the "antipyretic agent" of the dam-the low calorific value can significantly reduce the maximum temperature of the concrete and help prevent the occurrence of dam temperature cracks. As early as during the construction of the Three Gorges Project, the Three Gorges Group began the study of low-heat cement and applied it for the first time in the construction of the dam of the Wudongde Hydropower Station to help achieve the goal of "seamless dam".

While pursuing material innovation, Wudongde Hydropower Station is also taking a step forward in "intelligent construction".
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Thousands of monitoring instruments were buried in the dam body in the "smart water supply system" first adopted by Udonde. These instruments are like a sensitive "thermometer", which records and feeds back the temperature of the dam body at all times. When the system detects that the dam body is overheated, it cools the heat-generating parts through the pipes pre-buried in the dam body to achieve the temperature "Fine adjustment".

In addition to the dam, the surrounding mountains are also within the scope of "strict surveillance" by the builders. Mountain cracks will affect the reservoir's water storage, and in case of leakage, it will also affect the safety of the dam. To this end, the builder needs to pour cement slurry into the mountain cracks to make the rock gaps, dams and mountains "seamlessly drillable."

In order to improve the quality of grouting, the Three Gorges Group has developed a fully automatic control intelligent grouting system for two years, which was first applied in the Udongde project. The system can automatically add water, add pulp, and mix pulp. "The whole process is as simple as operating an automatic washing machine at home." said Huang Wei of the Dam Project Department of the Three Gorges Group Udongde Engineering Construction Department.

According to Yang Ning, the dam project department of the Udongde Engineering Department, the "black technology" dam has penetrated all aspects of the work: the Udongde project for the first time combined infrared video surveillance technology with artificial intelligence and applied it to the dam concrete The whole process of pouring effectively improves the fine control of construction quality.


The underground power plant of Udongde is arranged on the left and right sides of the mountain by the river bed. The maximum width of the main plant excavation is 32.5 meters and the height is 89.8 meters, which is equivalent to 30 floors. It is currently the world's highest underground power plant main plant.

According to Weng Yonghong, deputy chief engineer of the Yangtze River Survey, Planning, Design and Research Institute, and chief engineer of Udongde project design, the construction of an underground powerhouse is like "construction in a tofu block." These cave buildings hidden in the mountain and underground are as difficult to build as or even higher than the dam.

There are many types of geological problems in the underground powerhouse, and the builders took timely and targeted measures, such as shallow and deep reinforcement treatments, to avoid the impact of the mountain deformation and collapse caused by the excavation on the project progress; The "deep hole, first hole, back wall, and anchor cable deep reinforcement" construction plan ensures the balance of the mountain's stress, and at the same time performs joint grouting to enhance the integrity of the rock mass, thereby suppressing deformation growth.

In order to "supplement calcium tofu blocks", Udongde underground plant comprehensively adopts targeted consolidation grouting and anchor treatment technologies during the excavation, which effectively guarantees the construction safety. Due to the impact of construction, the state and stress of the rock mass around the underground powerhouse change in real time.

In order to grasp the relevant situation, the "high-side wall excavation dynamic real-time feedback analysis system" comes in handy. It can carry out three-dimensional design and perform real-time calculation based on safety monitoring data, without letting go of any "small defects" and "small movements" in the surrounding rock mass.

At the same time, the "personal equipment positioning system" can also help managers see the location of concrete transportation vehicles, vibrators, cable cranes and other equipment in real time, helping to optimize the construction plan; "face recognition" technology is applied to important parts of the project instead of Traditional work number plate. "The application of many new technologies has subverted the tradition. Such changes are revolutionary." Liu Ke, Technical Management Department of the Udongde Engineering Construction Department.

Memorabilia of Wudongde Hydropower Station

1950s

Udongde Hydropower Station started preliminary exploration work.

year 2002

The development right of Wudongde Hydropower Station clearly belongs to the Three Gorges Group. Subsequently, the Three Gorges Group organized the pre-feasibility survey and design work.

year 2010

The pre-feasibility study report of Wudongde Hydropower Station passed the review. The National Development and Reform Commission agreed to carry out the preliminary work of power station construction.

December 2015

The Udongde Hydropower Station is approved to start construction and will rebuild a "Three Gorges" on the Jinsha River.

December 2019

The first rotor of the underground power station unit of Wudongde Hydropower Station weighing 2100 tons was hoisted successfully, and the installation of the unit entered the critical stage of final assembly.

May 4, 2020

It took more than three years for the Udongde Dam to be poured to the top.

June 29, 2020

The first units of Wudongde Hydropower Station were put into production.

Expected July 2021

All units of Wudongde Hydropower Station were put into production.

Wudongde Hydropower Station

1. The world's thinnest 300-meter super-high arch dam

The 270-meter-high Udongde Dam, with a total concrete pouring volume of 2.7 million cubic meters, is currently the world's thinnest 300-meter-level ultra-high arch dam.

2. The world's highest underground power plant

The main plant of Udongde Underground Power Station is equipped with 12 hydro-generator units of 850,000 kilowatts. The length is equivalent to 3 standard football fields. It is 89.8 meters high and nearly 30 floors high, ranking first in the world.

3. The highest level of intelligent construction of dam technology in China

More than 8.06 million pieces of internal temperature monitoring data of Udongde Dam concrete, more than 4.39 million pieces of cooling water flow data, and more than 160,000 pieces of mark-on records... Thanks to this system, Udongde Dam is known as the world One of the "smartest" dams is the highest level of intelligent dam construction technology in China.