Sunday, August 16, 2015

Overseas in the Phillipines

A team of aspiring green engineers from UPD (University of Philippines Diliman) have developed a low-cost dam that will primarily prevent flooding, generate electricity, and aid food/water shortages.

The Gaia dam was designed to have the ability to prevent flooding from torrential rains on farms and to reroute river flows in coastal areas for sea concentration leveling. The dam’s constructural frame is composed of gabion structures, which are wire mesh baskets stabilized by recycled concrete-rock columns. This stabilization is necessary to combat hydrostatic forces pushing upwards through the dam.

Internally, the dam has additional cleansing systems. Proprietary enzymes and proteins are located inside the dam’s recycled concrete-rock columns. The benefit of having proteins located in the columns’ specialized core is for farm irrigation. The water flowing through the Gaia dam will later flow to crops; due to the additional proteins located in the water, nutrients and minerals are absorbed fluidly. Additional enzymes located in the water help dissolve insect exoskeletons and other pests that are detrimental to crop growth.

Cost-wise, the Gaia dam is a valuable structure. Similar to the likes of a hydroelectric power plant, the Gaia has the ability to divert water into a turbine powerhouse. The difference is that the dam can do so at a significantly lower cost than standard concrete dams.

What are your thoughts on the Gaia dam? Should the Philippines incorporate more of these structural dams throughout their nation?

For more information, visit: http://tiny.cc/vr8uzx

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