President, International Commission on Large Dams) said that it was generally agreed that engineers could learn more from one detailed paper dealing with unforeseen difficulties than from many papers which only referred to successful completion of major engineering schemes. From that aspect, therefore, the Paper was particularly helpful and instructive. The courage of the coritractors and their workmen deserved the highest praise.65. Mr Guthrie Brown wished to emphasize the extreme importance of providing adequate and ample safeguards for deaIing with the unexpected in controlling water at high pressures.66. The safeguards which he took in somewhat similar circumstances in providing adequate precautions would be of interest to members. One section of the Conon Basin hydro-electric project in the north of Scotland required an intake to Loch Fannich nearly 100 ft below the surface of the Loch for the tunnel to Grudie Bridge Power Station. Fig. 20 showed the arrangement whereby the tunnel was worked cautiously forward until a rock plug or barrier of only 15 ft remained between the end of the intake to the tunnel and the bed of the Loch.67. If, after this barrier had been blown, the safety precautions had not been rigidly observed, the water would have discharged at high velocity down the tunnel into the uncompleted power station and thence into the adjacent valley-a major disaster.68. About one ton of explosives was necessary to remove the 400 tons of the rock barrier which remained. As the momentary pressure exerted by the explosion on the concrete bulkhead in the tunnel was estimated to amount to 10 OOO tons, it would be appreciated, therefore, that very careful safety precautions had to be made. For that purpose, one concrete bulkhead was made 15 ft thick as the first line of defence. Should that fail, then a second concrete bulkhead 6 ft 6 in. thick was available. The third and final safeguard was a temporary steel bulkhead which was lowered down the screen shaft.69. Careful study was given to the relative advantages of exploding the rock plug in the dry or with the tunnel full of water up to the concrete bulkhead; also what negative head for the water level of the gate shaft should be provided in relation to the surface of the Loch so as to encourage the shattered rock to fall back into the sump. All the provisions for firing the expIosives were in duplicate. The explosion was a complete success, the junction with the Loch being as designed, and the broken material falling into the debris sump provided for the purpose.70. If he were asked to carry out the work again, Mr Guthrie Brown said he would adopt exactly the same procedure. While not, in any way, criticizing the arrangements provided at Furnas, he felt sure that both Authors, in the light of their experience, if they had the work to do again, would make several modifications in the design for closing the diversion tunnels.
Because Mangla formed the first keystone of a vast political settlement and was of great importance to the welfare of the 40 million inhabitants of West Pakistan, it received the enthusiastic support of all concerned with it.628. Relatively few engineers have the opportunity to be concerned with a project of so challenging a nature in both size and physical factors as to be well outside the normal range of jobs on which most of us are engaged during our professional lives. For those of us fortunate enough to be concerned with the design of Mangla, the problems associated with its great size continually surprised and occasionally astonished us even after working on the project for several years. I would like to express the gratitude of myself and my partners for the excellent response of the site staff to the many demands made upon them. 629. We hope that the Paper and subsequent discussion will adequately convey the great contributions made by large numbers of persons representing governments, financiers, contractors, manufacturers and engineers from many countries. We are delighted that all these agencies are represented at the discussion. Particularly welcome are the representative of the Pakistan High Commission and Mr Aldewereld, Vice President of the World Bank. Mr J. C. DickinsonThe timely commissioning of the Mangla generators was threatened by tilting of the power house structure. In the event it became clear that these movements were attributable to accumulation and removal of silt in the tailrace and not to fluctuation of reservoir level so that long-term problems did not exist. 631.Proper use of the synchronous bypass facilities has not to date (Nov. 1967) been possible due to difficulties with the cooling water supply and its filtration arising from irrigation valve discharge driving undue quantities of solids and fish back into the draft tubes from which supply is drawn. The Mangla generating capacity is so important to the system that loss of it can cause voltage fluctuations of an order harmful to auxiliaries, so extending the period of any outage. Part II Mr George H. AtkinsonI have always marvelled at the business side of contracting. Mangla was so large and so important that several items on the 'business side' became very large subjects in themselves. To organize the financing of a project like this in itself required the support of seven stalwart partners before we were able to bid for the job. Then there
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.