Corps Runs New Seven Oaks Dam Tests, After March Halt
According to Project Design Engineer Robert Kwan, "unusual" noise and vibration prompted Corps personnel to cut short tests on a main regulating gate. Engineers were testing an outlet tunnel section repaired in 1999. At that time, debris dislodged a chunk of concrete from the chute while it was being used as a stormwater diversion route during main dam construction. In March, the gate was three-quarters open when tests were halted, Kwan says.
To repair the damage from 1999, the dam's contractor, Brazillian-based Odebrecht Construction overlaid original design elevations with 7-inch-thick lift of high-strength, silicafume-enhanced concrete with a 28-day cure strength of 8,000 psi. Paulo Suffredini, Odebrecht executive vice president in the firms U.S. office in Coral Gales, Fla., confirms that the repairs occurred.