News

Malcolm Dunstan & Associates are constantly involved in Roller-Compacted concrete dam construction, and listed below are news stories relating to MD&A and its partners.

29th June 2006
San Vincente Dam
The Contract for the detail design and construction supervision of the raising of San Vincente dam in South California was awarded to a Joint Venture of MWH and URS with MD&A as their Specialist Advisor for the RCC aspects of the Project

15th June 2006
RCC placement in stage 2 at Yeywa
The RCC placement in Stage 2 of the dam at Yeywa was completed on 15 June. 268000 m3 of RCC has been placed in just over four months at an average rate of 64500 m3/month using only half of the concrete plant which has a nominal capacity of 480 m3/hour (i.e. only 240 m3/hour)

8th June 2006
RCC Placement at Lower Dam at Ghatghar
The RCC placement at Lower Dam at Ghatghar was ompleted at 04.00hrs on 8 June. 639000 m3 of RCC has been placed in 12.2 months at an average rate of 52400 m3/month, making the Lower Dam the ninth fastest large RCC dam so far completed.

12th May 2006
Site Visit to the Lower Dam at Ghatgar
A site visit to the Lower Dam at Ghatgar took place on 12 May following a Seminar on RCC dams at Pune at which Dr M.R.H. Dunstan gave the Keynote Address

1st April 2006
Son La
The river at Son La is passing through the two 12x12m culverts and the 90-m wide diversion channel while the excavation in the river bed is progressing smoothly.

18th February 2006
Another World Record
The World record for the placement of RC in a permanent dam body was broken at LOngtan when 18476 m3 was placed in 24 hours on 18 February 2006

8th February 2006
First RCC Placement at Yeywa
The placement of the first RCC in the main body of the dam at Yeywa stated with a ceremony on 8th February 2006

24th January 2006
The Third (and final) full-scale trial completed at Yeywa
The Third (and final) full-scale trial was completed at Yeywa. The trial was used to train the operatives and engineers of CGGC, the newly-appointed Chinese Contractor for the construction of the dam body at Yeywa.

31st December 2005
World Record
The World record for placing in a month was smashed at Longtan where 400654 m3 o RCC (and over 100000 m3 of traditional concrete) was placed in December.

6th December 2005
Son La
The River closure at Son La was completed in a ceremony attended by the Prime Minister of Vietnam

30th November 2005
Dong Nai 3
The River at Dong Nai 3 was diverted through the three diversion culverts

17th November 2005
The Placement of RCC in the Lower Dam at Ghatgar recommenced after the 2005 Monsoon
The Placement of RCC in the Lower Dam at Ghatgar recommenced after the 2005 monsoon. An additional convrete plant had been added of the monsoon raising the overall capacity of the concrete plants to a nominal 400 m3/hour

22nd August 2005
The Second Full Scale Trial at Yeywa
The Second full-scale trial was completed at Yeywa. This was used to further train the DHP operatives and engineers in the procedures of RCC construction and also to investigate various retarders to extend the initial set of the RCC required 18 to 24 hours

23rd June 2005
Preliminary full-scale trial for Son La
A preliminary full-scale trial was completed at the Son La site to prove that the materials available could be successfully used in an RCC dam. Significant steps forward were made in the training and expertise during the trial.

13th June 2005
Consulting services for the detailed design of Dong Nai 3 and 4, Vietnam
Following the signing of a Contract between PECC2 and Colenco/MD&A for Consulting Services for the detail design of Dong Nai 3 and 4, Dr M.R.H. Dunstan made a visit to Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam. Dong Nai 3 and 4 are the sixth and seventh large (> 100 m in height) RCC dams with which MD&A presently has an involvement in Southeast Asia. Four of these are under construction, one has completed tender documents and Dong Nai 3 and 4 are having tender documents prepared. The total volume of the seven dams is 28M m3 and the heights range from 110 to 235m.

24th May 2005
First full-scale trial at Yeywa
The first full-scale trial at the Yeywa site has been successfully completed, investigating various options for joint treatment and various retarders. The trial was undertaken in temperatures that exceeded 40 C on most of the days.

19th May 2005
Consulting Services for Teesta IV Low Dam, India
The first visit to the Teesta IV Low Dam (Low refers to the lower section of the Teesta river rather than to a low-height dam) was undertaken on 19th May following the signing of a Contract for Consulting Services for the design and construction of Teesta IV between NHPC (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd.) and MD&A.

4th March 2005
RCC dam Workshop, Mumbai, India
Dr M.R.H. Dunstan was the Keynote Speaker at a Workshop on ‘The use of flyash in RCC dams’ held in Mumbai, India on the 4th of March, 2005. This was followed by a night visit to the Lower Dam at Ghatghar and a visit to the Upper dams of the same Project on Saturday 5th March.

20th January 2005
Another award for Olivenhain
Olivenhain has been selected by the ASCE as one of the five finalists for the ‘International Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement’ for 2005. The winner will be announced at the ASCE Awards Dinner on 13 April. Nevertheless Olivenhain has already been awarded the OCEA (Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement) Merit Award.

19th January 2005
Completion of impounding at Olivenhain
The reservoir at Olivenhain reached spillway level on 19 January and the dam continues to perform exceptionally well.

14th December 2004
Start of RCC placement in the Lower Dam at Ghatghar
The placement of RCC in the Lower Dam at Ghatghar started at 17.50hrs on 14 December.

13th December 2004
RCC placement at Longtan
The first large RCC placement at Longtan was completed in December, 102 500 m3 of concrete was placed in just over a week. The placement of 15 880 m3 on 8 December was a World record for RCC placed in a day in a permanent dam.

12th December 2004
River diversion at Yeywa
The Myitwge River – a tributary of the Ayeyarwady – was diverted through the diversion tunnels on 12 December, thus completing a further Stage of this important Project.

1st October 2004
Another award for Olivenhain
The State of California Section of ASCE recognized the Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir as the ‘2004 California Outstanding Civil Engineering Project’. This is the first project from the San Diego region to ever win such an award. The project has also been nominated for the ASCE’s national award. This is the ninth award given to the Olivenhain Project to date.

1st September 2004
Impounding of Upper Reservoir at Ghatghar
The Upper Reservoir at Ghatghar was impounded during the 2004 monsoon and both dams were found to be impermeable with negligible seepage.

1st April 2004
Another award for Olivenhain
The San Diego Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recognized the Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir as the “Project of the Year” – its top award.

1st April 2004
Projects in Southeast Asia
With the award of Longtan, MD&A is now working on five large RCC dams in Southeast Asia. The dams range in height from 130 to 235 m and have a total volume of circa 25M m3. Two of the dams have been under construction for some time, two are just starting construction and the fifth is scheduled to start by the end of 2005.

1st March 2004
Advisory Services for Longtan HPP
MD&A is part of the ICG (International Consulting Group consisting of Black & Vetch and Colenco) that has been awarded the Advisory Services Contract by Longtan Hydropower Development Company. This Contract is for the provision of advice during the construction of the Longtan Hydropower Project in Southern China. Longtan is the largest RCC dam under construction in the World. The first Stage will be 197 m high and will have a volume of circa 6M m3 and the second Stage will be 217 m high and will have a volume of circa 7M m3. The reservoir capacity will be 27 260M m3 and the installed capacity 5400 MW.

1st February 2004
Consulting Services for the detailed design for Ban La HPP
MD&A is part of the SWECO-led Group that has been awarded the Contract for the provision of Consulting Services by EVN for the detailed design of the Ban La Hydropower Project in Vietnam. Ban La will be 135 m high, have a volume of circa 1.3M m3 and an installed capacity of 320 MW.

1st February 2004
Another award for Olivenhain
The San Diego Engineering Council honoured the Olivenhain Municipal Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority and its project team with the ‘2004 Outstanding Engineering Project’ award for the Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir.

16th January 2004
Completion of Upper Dam at Ghatghar
The Upper Dam at Ghatghar – the first ‘large’ RCC dam in India - was completed on 16 January. This is second of the two dams that form the Upper reservoir for the Ghatghar Pumped-Storage Scheme.

1st January 2004
Consulting Services for Stage I of the detailed design for Son La HPP
MD&A is part of the Colenco-led Group that has been awarded the Stage-I Contract for the provision of Consulting Services by EVN for the detailed design of the Son La Hydropower Project in Vietnam. Son La will be 143m high and have a volume of circa 4.85M m3. When completed it will be the largest dam in Vietnam.

1st November 2003
Award for Olivenhain
The ACI Southern California Chapter has awarded the Olivenhain Dam Project its 2003 Charles J. Pankow Jr. Award.

4th October 2003
Dedication ceremony for Olivenhain
The Project was finished on time with a cost saving of over $4M for the Owner and with in-situ properties better than that required. The Ceremony was held only 27 months after the Notice to Proceed with construction which is a very short period given the size of the dam.

7th May 2003
Completion of Saddle Dam at Ghatghar
The Saddle Dam at Ghatghar was completed on 7 May. This is one of the two dams that form the Upper reservoir for the Ghatghar Pumped-Storage Scheme.

5th March 2003
Start of the full-scale trial for Jahgin, the first large RCC dam in Iran
MD&A are the Consulting Engineers for the Contractor, Jyane, for the construction of the dam.

26th February 2003
Dr Malcolm Dunstan main speaker at Workshop on RCC
Dr Malcolm Dunstan was the main speaker at a Workshop on RCC dams organised by the Iranian National Committee of ICOLD. He presented four papers. Other papers were by Dr Fakher (Tehran University), A.C. Morison (Halcrow), Eng. Mehdycary and Dr Omran (Mahab Ghodss), F. Ortega (MD&A/FOSCE) and Eng. Peyrovedin (Jyane Construction Co.) Those pictured right are: Hashen Taj (Acasia International), Tony Morison, Malcolm Dunstan, Mark Reay (Acasia International), Francisco Ortega.

27th December 2002
Break through of the first diversion tunnel at Yeywa dam
Break through of the first diversion tunnel at Yeywa dam (height = 132 m, RCC volume circa 2.65M m3). MD&A are Specialist RCC Consulting Engineers for Colenco for the design and construction supervision of the HE Project for the Department of Hydropower.

8th December 2002
First RCC dam in India
MD&A has been requested to become involved with Ghatghar (the first RCC dam in India) to review the construction methodology and mixture proportions. Within a week of the start of the involvement, the first RCC had been placed in a dam in India (the saddle dam of the Upper reservoir at Ghatghar). The placement progressed remarkably smoothly for the first RCC in the country.

31st October 2002
Olivenhain dam ahead of schedule
Final RCC placed at Olivenhain dam, some three months earlier than originally expected. Thus the VE Proposal by Kiewit, the Contractor, with the help of MD&A, has lead to a solution that was cheaper (a substantial cost saving was made to the Owner - San Diego County Water Authority), faster and with in-situ properties that are at least equal to those of the Conforming design, and probably better.

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