A Study On The Scientific And Technological Contributions Of Zheng Shouren In The Design Of The Three Gorges Project Construction(1993-2002)

Zheng Shouren(January 1940-July 2020)was a famous expert in water conservancy and hydropower engineering design in China and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.He made important technical contributions to the design of large water conservancy and hydropower projects in China for more than half a century after the founding of New China.In particular,during the design of the world-famous Three Gorges Project,Zheng Shouren proposed a new method of building the first phase of the Three Gorges Project on a layer of powdered sand with silt removal and sand extrusion as the core.In the second phase of the Three Gorges dam foundation geological defects treatment,Zheng Shouren proposed and contributed to the practical application of the new technology of uncovered heavy consolidation grouting,which saved more construction time for the subsequent dam pouring.In response to the design problem of the Three Gorges project,Shouren Zheng proposed the "artificial river bottom,deep water becomes shallow" method,which effectively reduced the water depth of the dragon mouth and ensured the success of the river cut-off.In the design of the Three Gorges project,Zheng Shouren proposed to protect the bottom of the diversion canal by adding roughness to the bottom of the diversion canal to reduce the loss of intercepting materials during the dragon mouth closing,and advocated the use of reinforced concrete tetrahedra as intercepting backup materials to cope with the dragon mouth closing from time to time,which finally ensured the success of the diversion canal interception.These scientific and technological contributions of Zheng Shouren have promoted the development of water conservancy and hydropower engineering science and technology in China.This paper,based on the informative historical materials and using the historical materialist viewpoint,focuses on the scientific and technological contributions made by Zheng Shouren while presiding over the construction and design of the Three Gorges Project,and summarizes the reasons for Zheng Shouren’s remarkable achievements,in order to show the difficulties of the construction of the Three Gorges Project from the history of the unremitting exploration and technological innovation of an outstanding water conservancy and hydropower engineering expert,and to draw lessons from the past experience to enlighten the future.