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Dam construction is one of the most important constructions in this world. Channelizing water supply and to store water, as well as to prevent flood, dams play a huge role. Sometimes, the dams are so beautifully structured and constructed that they can afford to bear rails and bridges for communication.

However, many people do not know how the dams are constructed on the rivers. Have you ever thought of the sort of engineering that might be engaged into constructing a dam? Without the support of the heavy construction equipment, it would be extremely difficult for the engineers to make the huge dams that hold such a huge amount of water pressure.

Types of dams:

Before you understand what it takes to build a dam, you need to understand the purposes that a dam might serve. Dams are constructed for various reasons. The most common ones are –

• Providing protection from flood, by channelizing water supply
• Reserving water or making water reservoirs at the backwater dams
• Creating shipping channels as lateral dams
• Producing hydroelectricity.

Whatever the type of dam may be, the construction equipment that is used is almost the same.

Heavy Construction Equipment Needed for Dam Construction:

• Excavators:

The first step for dam construction is the diversion of the river. For that the excavators are used to dig the ground. Once the river is diverted on another side, the ground on which the dam needs to be made is excavated.

• Loaders:

The debris from the excavated ground needs to be removed from the area. Hence, loaders are used to remove the debris from the ground. It is removed and taken to some other area, so that the area is completely cleared off the debris.

Once the loaders remove the debris, high power pumps are used to remove the water from the area. The entire area that is given a boundary with scaffold is dried up for further construction.

• Compactors:

After the construction of the ground, the compactors help in making the area suitable for further construction. There are different kinds of compactors that can be used for making the site suitable for the construction of dam.

The ground is then filled with the concrete materials. Large volume of concrete is filled into this gap and then let to dry. Ready-mix trucks are used to fill the concrete into the structure of the dam. In case of huge large constructions, sometimes mixing plants are established right at the place of construction. This helps in supplying the concrete mix to the place of the construction.

The engineers make plans for the dam construction in such a way that it can hold the huge pressure of the water from the river. Some dams are smaller in size and some are larger. The gates are installed into the dam, so that water can be passed when needed. As the concrete is dried up entirely, the water path is again channelized into its original flow. It is then ready for storing water, holding water and also for generating hydro-electricity as needed.

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