Casale Monferrato – the biggest rubber dam in Europe
The town of Casale Monferrato in the Italian region of Piedmont gave its name to the largest rubber dam in Europe. Hydro Construct once again raised its own bar and built the largest inflatable weir on the continent to date. With a width of 200 meters and a regulating height of 4.3 meters, the dimensions of this weir system are enormous. The task of regulating the Po River with a rubber dam presented us with a special challenge. To be able to realise such a project, you need great experience, highly qualified employees and good partners.
Despite the Corona crisis and the associated restrictions, the plant was successfully handed over in May 2020.
A hydraulic engineering project with special requirements:
Membrane
In addition to planning, coordination and logistics, the large membrane posed a particular challenge. Here, the companies Aquatis and Rubena (Hydro Construct co-partner) specially created a special “endless vulcanizing press”. This allows membranes of any length to be produced. The four membranes developed for Casale Monferrato are impressive due to their characteristics:
- Weight: 20 t
- Material thickness: 22 mm
- Surface area: 900 m2
- Length unrolled:60 m
- Width: 15 m
Weir sections can be regulated separately:
The four weir sections are regulated by two separate units. The two outer and the two inner sections communicate with each other. In addition to manual operation, automatic operation of the two units, either in parallel or in series, is possible. Furthermore, an additional regulation mode for reservoir flushing, starting from a defined high water discharge, has been implemented.
