Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant preserves 4,186 geological core sample boxes

The Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant maintains a specialized repository containing 4,186 boxes of soil and rock core samples. These samples, preserved for over 40 years, provide critical geological data linked to specific locations and depths recorded during the survey, construction, and operational phases of the facility.

Construction of the plant began in 1985, following extensive geological research on the Da River basin conducted between 1958 and 1963. During the initial survey, 11 boreholes were drilled in the Hoa Binh area to a total depth of 925 meters. These core samples allow engineers to determine soil and rock types, weathering levels, fracture characteristics, permeability, and mechanical properties such as compressive and tensile strength.

This geological data was essential for determining the structure of deep geological layers, particularly for the dam foundation. The Hoa Binh dam is a rock-fill dam with a clay core, standing over 100 meters high.