Engineers used millions of tons of ice to stop a massive dam from cracking
To prevent the massive Grand Coulee Dam from cracking under its own heat, engineers utilized over a million tons of ice to cool the 11.9 million cubic meters of concrete.
The Grand Coulee Dam is a gargantuan feat of engineering, containing enough concrete to build two Empire State Buildings. During its construction, the sheer volume of concrete posed a major risk: the chemical process of curing generates immense heat that can cause fatal structural cracks. To combat this, engineers used 1.1 million tons of ice to cool the mixture, ensuring the structure could withstand hydrostatic pressure exceeding 100 MPa.
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