RheoTune for Three Gorges Dam

About RheoTune for Three Gorges Dam

China Yangtze Three Gorges Project (TGP), as one of the biggest hydropower-complex project in the world, ranks as the key project for improvement and development of the Yangtze River. Besides generating a total electric generating capacity that will eventually reach 22,500 MW, the dam increases the river’s navigation capacity and reduces the potential for floods downstream.

Operation and life cycle of hydro power dams are strongly influenced by the entrance and accumulation of sediments in the basin. Accurate insight in accumulation and the physical characteristics of the materials are important information to develop an effective management scheme. For this purpose TGP acquired the RheoTune system to operate in the more than 200m deep lake. For this project the system was modified to a 500 m depth rating.

The RheoTune will provide information on sediment density and fluidity (yield strength). High resolution seismics with the Silas system will come into operation to provide the best possible quantity assessment of the sediment accumulation. The combination of the RheoTune and Silas system enables to express sediment quantities as tons of dry solids.

The systems contributes in the decission making for flushing or sediment relocation works. It also provides information for the long term capacity assessments.