Cracks appear in Three Gorges dam

Guardian ^ | 6/13/03 | John Gittings

[Banjoguy]

Trouble in paradise?

[DainBramage]

Say no to clacks.

[Grand Old Partisan]

Considering that the Three Gorges Dam is 20 times bigger than Hoover Dam, this could be a BIG problem.

[KneelBeforeZod]

What do you mean "I thought you ordered the rebar?"

[KneelBeforeZod]

What do you mean "I thought you ordered the rebar?"

[KneelBeforeZod]

however in other news, there are LOTS of chinese antique furniture pieces coming stateside. Just watch out for fakes!

[ovrtaxt]

Chinese steel sucks anyway.
"corn starch fix dam clack!"

[Total Package]

What do you mean, what's rebar? :)

[dawn53]

Critics acknowledge that cracks are not unknown in newly built big dams, but they fear that corners may have been cut in order to achieve the arbitrary deadlines laid down by Beijing for political reasons.

We've spent some time in China and observed construction sites. They rely more on manpower than machinery. A construction site looks like an ant hill with people being the ants, each doing a particular job by hand. We've seen them level a road for a major highway, by hand, no heavy machinery brought in, just people with shovels, wheelbarrows, etc.

I just told my husband about the cracks in the dam and his remark was that they probably hand mixed the cement. He was being sarcastic, of course, but it does make you wonder what kind of "corners" were cut.

[Falcon4.0]

It's not a question of "IF"

It is rather a question of "WHEN?"

[JudgemAll]

The whole structural integrity of the things lay in tensile and compression stresses. If you have a crack, sheer occurs which the dam is not designed to resist. The only hope for them is to have additional buttresses to fix that.

You dont fix cracks, especialy not with concrete. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.

[KneelBeforeZod]

ooops I meant to say there are lots of antiques coming stateside because of the dam... millions of displaced people being sent to live in apts. after living in homes for generations. they simply don't have room for the furniture in their new shoe box homes...

[KneelBeforeZod]

if I remember right, they already had to start over once...once that we know of!

[Cheapskate]

This reminds me about an old Gallager bit(paraphrased)
"i hear about this propisition 13 firing all the dam inspectors
"I say good, we dont need no dam inspectors, if you live downstream youre *ss ought to up there lookin for cracks"

[KneelBeforeZod]

[HighWheeler]

I'm betting that the concrete is low grade, and secondly it was poured too fast, creating a huge heat exothermic problem inside the structure. This thing may be doomed. It may be just too massive to rupture, but any leaks will steadily erode the soft concrete inside.

[harpseal]

You stated how impressed you were withthe Three Gorges project so this may interest you.

[Cvengr]

Capitalist pigdog rebar too expensive. Comrade good bamboo just as strong and better! Cracks show dam is maturing and becoming one with environment. Dam is yin, crack is yang.

[OXENinFLA]

"If water enters these cracks, there could be negative effects, so we are fixing them very carefully,"

Well, hit me in the face w/ a wet fish, I hope they pay this guy well.