On October 22, reporters learned from the Pinglu Canal Group that the concrete pouring volume for the main lock at the Madiao Hub of the Pinglu Canal has recently surpassed 1 million cubic meters, with a peak daily concrete pouring record of 8,800 cubic meters.
In order to advance the concrete pouring process with the highest standards and quality, a construction management team composed of the Pinglu Canal Group, the China Communications Construction Company Water Transport Planning and Design Institute, Zhejiang Highway and Waterway Engineering Supervision Co., Ltd., and the Second Navigation Bureau of China Communications Construction Company has intensified resource investment during the critical dry season. In particular, the team has focused on enhancing technological applications to give the construction process a “boost.”
The management team continuously improves construction techniques by innovatively employing specialized formwork, precise horizontal joint cutting methods, secondary concrete vibration processes, and a three-step leveling approach for walkway slabs, ensuring the quality of the concrete pouring. At the same time, they have leveraged their pioneering advantages by developing and utilizing a comprehensive monitoring and management system for the concrete production process, setting up a state-of-the-art 2×7 cubic meter forced pre-cooling mixing station and cooling system, and introducing a distributed cooling water circulation system. This has laid a solid technical foundation for the successful pouring of large volumes of concrete.
Additionally, the construction management team has deployed a total of 65 pouring devices, including crawler-type concrete distributors, crawler cranes with mixing tanks, and shuttle-type concrete distributors. They have also introduced newly developed lifting platforms for distributors and large-particle, low-slump concrete transport vehicles for coordinated operations, contributing to the peak daily concrete pouring rate of 8,800 cubic meters.
The Pinglu Canal features three tiered hubs: the Madiao Hub, the Qishi Hub, and the Qingnian Hub. Since the successful pouring of the first chamber concrete at the Madiao Hub in November 2023, the project has achieved significant milestones, including the completion of the first layer pouring for the water outlet slab of the secondary state water pool in the lock, the topping of the water diversion corridor at the first middle pier of the lock, and the topping of the mid-floor slab in gate chamber 11. These accomplishments have provided invaluable experience for subsequent concrete work.
Currently, the management team is accelerating the conversion of roadways at the Madiao Hub, further opening up work surfaces to ensure the orderly construction of the edge piers and middle piers of the lock chambers, all while striving to meet annual and dry season construction production targets.