Autodesk Civil 3D Improves Efficiency on $2 Billion Project

"Autodesk Civil 3D enhances our design capabilities by allowing us to carry out site analysis and design using 3D models. Using Civil 3D for our design work on the Jinpin project, we have been able to dramatically improve the precision of our excavation planning and the effi ciency of our design process."
—Xue Lijun, Chengdu Hydroelectric Investigation and Design Institute

Engineers find the 3D design and analysis capabilities of Autodesk Civil 3D invaluable as they design the world’s tallest double-arched dam

Project Summary

Founded in 1955 and based in Chengdu, China, the Chengdu Hydroelectric Investigation and Design Institute (CHIDI) provides hydropowerrelated engineering services to the State Power Corporation of China. CHIDI’s staff includes more than 1,300 engineering and design professionals. Their expertise in the design of hydropower facilities has earned CHIDI over 40 awards for scientific and technical achievement since 1990. To enhance its ability to design large hydropower plants, CHIDI recently turned to Autodesk Civil 3D. Using Autodesk Civil 3D, CHIDI is: Designing the world’s largest double-arched dam as a part of a $2 billion hydropower project Automating the process of generating profi les across varied terrains Improving the precision of excavation planning Completing designs faster and more efficiently

The Challenge

Steep Terrain Presents Design Difficulties

Since people began building dams to harness rivers and generate electrical power, the engineers who design hydroelectric projects have had to contend with a number of terrainrelated challenges. Hydropower plants are often located in narrow mountain gorges. With steep terrain and complex features, gorges are quite difficult to analyze and visualize using even the most detailed two-dimensional maps. Moreover, hydropower plants typically include concrete arch dams and underground powerhouses that must incorporate the surrounding rock structures to form a unified structural system.

These challenges forced the engineers at CHIDI to spend a great deal of time ensuring that their hydropower plant designs perfectly matched the images and maps produced by CHIDI’s surveyors. While the engineers saw the potential of 3D applications and dynamic computer models to save time, they were concerned that such applications might sacrifice the precision needed for hydroelectric projects.

"Every hydropower project must be based on the geography of the site," says Xue Lijun, a senior engineer with CHIDI. "The site information must be highly precise, especially on projects involving excavation work at the slopes and embankment. Because of this, applications must be capable of very accurate 3D models to be useful in our design processes."

The Solution

With the Chinese economy booming, the nation is hungry for more electric power, especially power that does not derive from the burning of expensive fossil fuels. As a result, China has embarked on an ambitious hydroelectric power generation program, and several hydroelectric plants are being constructed and planned in the Chengdu area by CHIDI. The Jinpin Hydropower Plant on the Yalong River is among the most significant. With a final planned power generation capacity of 8000 megawatts, the project is being constructed in two phases at a total cost of over $2 billion. Phase one includes a 3,600 megawatt power station and 305-meter double-arched dam, which will be the world’s tallest.

Embracing Dynamic Designs

As dam and power station design began on the project, the engineers at CHIDI decided to explore 3D design applications in hopes of finding a way to improve and accelerate their design process. The engineers at CHIDI chose Autodesk Civil 3D after evaluating the options on the market. "Compared to other similar software, Autodesk Civil 3D provides a more dynamic and realistic interaction between design elements," says Zhang Tong, a senior engineer at CHIDI. "This helps us to create and modify complex horizontal and vertical elements within designs more quickly."

Using Autodesk Civil 3D, the engineers at CHIDI have been able to create accurate 3D engineering models based on existing data, such as survey information. Because design elements are linked, changes to one aspect of the design are automatically reflected throughout. CHIDI has also found that Autodesk Civil 3D’s dynamic plotting and grading features are helping as they plan for the excavation of the dam and its embankments.

Even the head of CHIDI’s geology department, Xiao Qiang, is impressed with the application’s ability to reproduce complex geographic features. He says, "This could revolutionize the way profiling of varied terrains is done. Autodesk Civil 3D is doing truly automatic geologic profiling."

The Result

Increased effi ciency and productivity

With realistic, accurate 3D models of the Jinpin site at their disposal, the engineers at CHIDI have been able to design more efficiently while improving the quality of their work. "Autodesk Civil 3D enhances our design capabilities by allowing us to carry out site analysis and design using 3D models," explains Xue. "Using Civil 3D for our design work on the Jinpin project, we have been able to dramatically improve the precision of our excavation planning and the efficiency of our design process."

Chengdu Hydroelectric Investigation and Design Institute (pdf - 283Kb)