Chapter 381: Chapter 379: Pipeline Construction
Due to the experience gained from building the first heat supply hub, both Chen Xin and Cao Daren improved the construction process when building the second hub, making its construction smoother.
For instance, when constructing the first heat supply hub, Chen Xin and his team excavated the snow, laid the foundation underground, and then started assembling the hub. However, they didn’t do the same for the second hub.
They adopted a method where they excavated while assembling the heat supply hub simultaneously. Once the pit was dug out, the equipment was assembled and only needed to be fixed onto the foundation.
This construction method undoubtedly saved a lot of time. Although the installation period for a heat supply hub isn’t very long, saving some time is always beneficial.
While the workers were engrossed in the construction, Wang Hai led his squad to spread out for security, while Chen Xin and Cao Daren discussed the next construction steps.
The two heat supply hubs were built, but beneath them, one is a pumping well, and the other is a return well. To get them functioning, pipelines need to be laid between the two towers to return the water drawn from the pumping well back underground through the return well.
However, laying this pipeline is a troublesome task.
Firstly, the bottom of the heat supply hubs is at the original ground level, which means they are more than ten meters lower than the current snow surface.
The pipelines need to be laid along the ground and cannot be placed on the snow since the heat supply hubs will melt the surrounding snow when operational. The snow itself is unstable due to natural factors such as wind and temperature.
This means that the pipeline between the two heat supply hubs must be constructed by excavating beneath the several meters thick snow.
Regarding excavating the snow, Chen Xin dismissed this option outright due to the vast amount of work involved, which wouldn’t be feasible or worthwhile.
The distance between the Seventh Middle School and the train station isn’t far, and the terrain is relatively flat, making the pipeline installation straightforward without the snow.
But the complication arises when you factor in the ten-meter-thick snow, making a simple construction task very challenging and difficult.
"Having workers dig tunnels is feasible but inefficient and slow. Even though it seems not far, it would take at least ten days to half a month to dig through this stretch! It’s too time-consuming," Cao Daren said to Chen Xin, measuring the distance on the map between the Seventh Middle School and the train station with furrowed brows.
Chen Xin nodded in agreement. With a long distance, it would have taken several days to install a pipeline even before the disaster. Now, with having to tunnel through meters of snow, albeit easier than soil, it’s still not an easy task, and inefficiencies are evident.
"But regardless, the pipeline must be laid! Even if it means having workers dig by hand, it must be done," Chen Xin declared as the foundation of the matter and then asked Cao Daren for simpler construction methods, like melting the snow or using tools to save time.
"Unless we use a tunnel boring machine, but where are we going to find such expensive equipment in a small place like Lin City? The city doesn’t even have it; you’d have to go to the provincial capital, and even then, it’s uncertain whether it could be brought in," Cao Daren responded, acknowledging knowledge of tunnel boring machines but finding them unrealistic to consider for this task.
"A tunnel boring machine? If I really need it, it’s not impossible to get one," Chen Xin knew that with a request, he could acquire it, but it wasn’t his preferred solution.
It’s not that Chen Xin was being picky; he just felt that laying a pipeline under the snow didn’t warrant the use of such large machinery.
They weren’t building a subway, nor were they facing hard rock, just snow. If it weren’t for the snow being over ten meters deep and his desire to shorten construction time, he wouldn’t hesitate to have workers dig by hand.
Keep in mind that a tunnel boring machine costs tens of millions and can dig while laying pipes but using it to deal with snow is indeed overkill.
Cao Daren was unaware of Chen Xin’s thoughts and was surprised at the prospect of getting a tunnel boring machine: "You wouldn’t really consider getting a tunnel boring machine, would you? That’s too wasteful. You’d be better off getting more workers to increase efficiency."
"That’s indeed a method, but isn’t there a better solution?" Though incremental construction to boost efficiency was feasible, Chen Xin felt there should be a more straightforward method.
However, not being one to be fixated, he didn’t insist when he couldn’t think of a suitable method, saying to Cao Daren, "Since there are no better ideas now, we’ll have to go with sectional construction. I will contact the staff in Lin City to see if we can get more workers."
"Sure, as long as we have enough manpower, I can ensure the job is completed on time and with quality assured!" Cao Daren assured Chen Xin, patting his chest confidently in guarantee.
This matter was actually quite simple; with enough manpower and sectional construction, time savings weren’t difficult to achieve.
However, watching the special forces securing the perimeter, Cao Daren couldn’t help but ask Chen Xin, "Hey, writer, could these soldiers help? They all have Exoskeletons, certainly much faster than regular workers. With their help, our construction would be much quicker!"
"These are special forces, different from regular soldiers, and they’re here to protect me. It’s not appropriate to ask them to help with construction," Chen Xin shook his head, rejecting Cao Daren’s idea.
"Is that so? Then we can only rely on ordinary workers. I truly envy those with Exoskeletons, they’re practically magic for work!" Cao Daren’s words carried unavoidable regret, filled with envy as he looked at the Exoskeletons worn by the special forces nearby.
Seeing this, Chen Xin couldn’t help but chuckle and said, "If you really envy them, I’ll see what I can do. While I can’t get a tunnel boring machine, getting a few Exoskeletons shouldn’t be a problem."
Cao Daren’s face lit up with joy at Chen Xin’s words: "That would be great! If we can have Exoskeletons, worker efficiency could at least double!"