When complete, the Angostura Hydroelectric Plant will deliver power to around 300 000 households. The bedrock needed water-proofing, this was done by drilling 64 mm holes and then grouting with cement. The Wassara system was also used for drainage drilling with 100 mm diameter holes.
The allowed borehole deviation was set to 2% at full length. Wassara managed to meet the requirement by far. The drilling environment was healthy, friendly and comfortable as it was dust-free and held a low noise level.
A 320 MW hydropower plant under construction
The Angostura Hydroelectric Plant is located some 600 km south of Santiago, being the largest hydropower plant built in Chile since 2004.
A total of 200 000 m3 concrete will be used in the construction. When completed, the plant will have a generation capacity of 320 MW, enough to power around 300 000 households. The total production will be 1 542 GWh a year.
Waterproofing the bedrock
The dam is a RCC (Roller-Compacted Concrete) dam. Although the bedrock was in good condition for placing a dam on, it was stipulated that it should be made water-proof by drilling and grouting with cement. The drilling would also detect any weak or permeable zones along the dam body.
Drilling in cramped galleries
Part of the drilling took place in 2.5 meter high galleries. This made drilling of the 64 mm holes a bit particular as there was only 1.2 meter free space to operate on above the drill rig. The drill tubes were as short as 1 meter, not optimal for straight drilling. Despite this, Wassara managed to meet the accuracy requirement.
Drainage drilling
The Wassara system was also used for drainage drilling with 102 mm diameter holes. One site drilled for drain curtain along the dam,
3 200 meters downwards and 1 100 meters upwards. The other site drilled along the gallery around the principal machine cavern (comprising 3 turbines and generators), 1 000 meters downwards and 800 meters upwards.
Borehole accuracy
The allowed borehole deviation was set to 2% at full length. Wassara managed to meet the requirement by far.
Drawing of the drilling plan