Chapter 553: Cave Collapse! (Extra, 5/10)_2
After taking care of everything, Li Yu returned to the base.
He had just come back when he received news from Ding Jiu that the cave they were digging had collapsed.
Li Yu rushed over in haste, not stopping in Weng City, and directly headed to the mountain area.
"Is anyone injured?" As Li Yu approached and saw people coming from the cave, he asked Ding Jiu.
Hearing Li Yu's first concern about whether anyone was injured, Ding Jiu replied: "No, it's just that Wang Cheng retreated too slowly and hurt his foot."
Seeing Ding Jiu pointing in a direction, Li Yu saw the doctor Meng Yu treating someone's wound.
He walked over and looked at Wang Cheng's injury, asking, "Is it serious?"
While bandaging, Meng Yu, seeing it was Li Yu, replied:
"The problem isn't big, the ankle was hit, it's swollen. Besides that, there's a cut on the epidermis, a superficial injury. It should heal in a week with no lasting effects."
"That's good then," Li Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he said to Wang Cheng, "You should rest and heal for now."
Wang Cheng smiled and said, "It's okay. I was walking too slowly just now, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Li Yu nodded and showed further concern.
Wang Cheng said he still wanted to come help, feeling the injury was not a big issue. After Li Yu unsuccessfully tried to dissuade him, he finally let him go help at the underground plantation base.
Once Wang Cheng had left, Li Yu turned to Ding Jiu and Xiao Qian with a somewhat grim expression and asked, "What caused the collapse?"
Seeing that Li Yu seemed to be asking for accountability, Father Li, who was also managing the excavation work, came over and said:
"It's not really their fault; the main issue is that the construction schedule was too tight. Consequently, the excavation cycle was too long, causing significant disturbance to the surrounding rock, reducing its natural load-bearing capacity.
Furthermore, the angle between the tunnel line and the main structural fault plane including weak zones is less than 30 degrees, making it prone to collapses;
Also, the thin layers of loosely bonded rock between rock layers forming an angle less than 45 degrees with the tunnel axis caused the collapse during excavation."
Li Yu said nothing, took a flashlight, and went into the cave.
In just tens of hours from yesterday to today, hundreds of square meters of space had already been dug out inside the cave.
Looking at the supports on the cave, Li Yu thought for a moment and said:
"Don't be too rushed, make sure it's safe and stable. If excavating 10 acres in a month is too difficult, then make it 5 acres.
The primary principle is safety and stability, and only second to that is time. In a month, excavate as much as possible."
Ding Jiu and engineer Xiao Qian repeatedly nodded, noting that they would pay attention latter on.
This small collapse was also occasionally seen in the course of cave excavation and was considered normal.
But Li Yu was very concerned about stability and safety, so he asked about safety measures again and instructed them to equip them to the maximum.
"Don't skimp on cement, don't skimp on construction materials. Make sure that even if there is an earthquake or a bomb hits it, it won't collapse."
Hearing Li Yu's standards, Xiao Qian was somewhat astonished and said, "At that rate, we'll need several times the original amount of materials."
Li Yu earnestly said, "Use it, it must ensure stability."
After saying this, he reminded himself to come here more often in the future.
After settling everything, Li Yu asked Ding Jiu:
"Uncle Ding, I hope that no one gets injured during the excavation. Regarding this collapse, do you have any good solutions?"
Ding Jiu thought for a moment and said:
"Actually, the safest method is to use short advance distances or pre-support grouting, and clear the debris in sections;"
After the inspection, timely setting up of the steel mesh, installation of grills or arch supports, spraying of concrete, and installation of anchor bolts must be done to promptly complete the initial support after clearing debris;
Once these steps are taken, cave-ins are unlikely to occur.
Previously, we rushed the process, which caused some haste and some tasks were not executed properly.
Furthermore, in the upcoming excavation work,
it is suggested to adopt construction methods such as shallow drilling, gentle blasting, strong support, and frequent measurements to minimize disturbances to the surrounding rock;
Soft or very soft rock should preferably be excavated using manpower and small excavators.
This way, we can ensure utmost safety."
Li Yu, not being a professional, roughly understood the gist: reduce the blasting intensity and increase the support strength.
He nodded and said:
"Try to be as cautious as possible and prevent any kind of cave-in from happening again, even small ones if possible.
I will arrange manpower to come and help you. Where is Xu Zhen? He should be very knowledgeable about draining water from the tunnel."
Ding Jiu spoke:
"Xu Zhen is still inside the tunnel, didn't you see him just now?
Labor is not a big problem, Old Lü called some people over to help, and I also have some workers who followed me before, plus Song Min and the others are all here."
Li Yu recalled just now in the corner of the cave, under the column was a piece of cloth. He then realized that was a person, probably Xu Zhen.
Then he entered the cave again and indeed saw Xu Zhen. After calling him over, he noticed Xu Zhen's face covered in dust.
After encouraging him a few times, he said: "Xu Zhen, cooperate with Ding Jiu and others on the drainage and leakage issues, pay close attention to them."
Xu Zhen assured there would be no problem and then discussed some professional ideas with Li Yu against the cave walls.
Li Yu listened quietly.
After explaining to everyone the idea with safety and stability as the top priority, Li Yu decided not to leave and directly joined in to help.
At this moment, all necessary arrangements inside and outside the base have been made.
He Chao had also instructed Deng Ben to reinforce the defenses in Xin City and watch for strangers.
Third Uncle and Old Qin were at the base; with Uncle and others around, no major issues should arise.
Additionally, Old Qin trained his colleagues and acquainted Li Tie and Old Luo with the operations of tanks and armored vehicles.
Though Li Yu held a leadership role at the base, he understood that professionals should handle their respective tasks.
Thus, in excavating the tunnel, although he raised the need for safety and stability,
he didn't interfere with actual execution, instead obediently followed Ding Jiu's instructions.
Soon, Ding Jiu and others noticed Li Yu's strong learning ability.
In just a short while, through explanations by Ding Jiu and others, Li Yu quickly grasped some civil construction knowledge.
With strong practical skills, after being taught once, he could operate on his own and understood the underlying principles afterward.
This, was one of the benefits brought about by Li Yu's rebirth.
Not only did it significantly enhance his physical fitness, but it also greatly improved his comprehension and thinking skills.
However, the greatest change for Li Yu since his rebirth was the enhancement in his perception of danger.
This sixth sense, developed during the five apocalyptic years before his rebirth, intensified many times after the rebirth.
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