3D printed 180 m high hydroelectric dam on the Tibetan plateau

Chinese researchers are using artificial intelligence to turn a dam project in Qinghai province into the world's largest 3D printer.

The 180-meter-tall Duong Khuc hydropower plant will be built in thin layers using diggers, trucks, bulldozers, concrete mixers and driverless wheelchairs. All machines are controlled by artificial intelligence (AI), similar to the additive manufacturing process used in 3D printing. When completed in 2024, the Duong Khuc dam will supply nearly 5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually from the upstream tributaries of the Yellow River into Henan, home to 100 million people. Electricity will be transmitted through a 1,500km long high voltage line.

Duong Khuc Dam will be ready for operation in two years.

According to Liu Tianyun, the scientist leading the project, in the study published in the journal Tsinghua University, the dam construction process and 3D printing are "in essence identical". After years of development and testing, 3D printing for large infrastructure is ripe enough for large-scale application and "frees people from heavy and dangerous manual work".

Liu, a researcher in the laboratory of hydrological science and engineering at Tsinghua University, and his colleagues came up with the idea of ​​"printing" a large-scale construction project about 10 years ago. They argue that an entire construction site can be turned into a giant printing press with many automated machines working seamlessly together like different parts in one machine.

3D printers were originally developed as a low-waste way to manufacture components from precious materials. 3D printing produces less waste than cutting and grinding. Since then, some architects have started to apply technology to buildings, although these projects are quite small. The first 3D printed office building that houses the Dubai Futures Association is just 6 meters tall.

Chinese civil engineering engineers are no stranger to AI, which was widely used to build Bach Hac Than, the second largest dam in the world, in just four years. Up to now, this technology has mainly played a coordinating role in the project. Testing the technology on many previous construction projects has shown that intelligent machines can outperform humans, "especially in harsh and dangerous environments", Liu's team said.

According to media reports, the construction of the Yang Khuc dam began late last year in the Hainan Tibet Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province. After dividing the computer model of the dam into several layers, the AI ​​will assign an army of robots to gradually build each layer. Unmanned excavators can identify and load materials from the yard onto fleets of automated trucks, some of which are electric.

Following the optimal route calculated by AI, the truck will deliver the corresponding materials to each place at the right time. Bulldozers and robotic concrete mixers will use that material to build the dam structure layer by layer. The wheelchair automatically compacts the newly poured layer, and is equipped with sensors. The AI ​​uses that sensor to monitor construction quality by analyzing ground vibrations and other data.

Breakthroughs in AI technology, including enhanced deep learning, mean that machines can now recognize nearly all objects in place, handle the unexpected in ever-changing environments, and perform multiple tasks. Flexible duties. Machines also don't make the common mistakes humans make. According to Liu, truck drivers often carry materials to the wrong places, while collisions and strong vibrations prevent wheelchair operators from running in a perfect straight line. In addition, most workers cannot read technical blueprints. The biggest advantage of machines, however, is their ability to work in potentially life-threatening environments without the headaches of hypoxia or exhaustion after working continuously all day.

Not all work during dam construction is handled by machines. The team said that the work of digging backfill rock from nearby mountains is handled by workers because of the complexity of the work. The team says the technology could be used in other infrastructure projects such as airport construction and road construction.

An unnamed civil engineering scientist in Nanning, said that 3D printing technology has some limitations but has more potential applications in the future. "It can't print a building consisting of different materials like reinforced concrete and cement. But the army of construction robots can make up for the sharp drop in workers due to the slow birth rate." this person said.