---
title: "Equipment used in hydropower construction"
subject: "Construction Management"
chapter: 4
key: "semester_8/construction_management:hydropower-equipment"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_8/construction_management/hydropower-equipment
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Equipment used in hydropower construction

Construction Management · Chapter 4: Familiarization with Construction Equipments

- Asked in: 2070 Magh, 3+5 marks
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_8/construction_management/hydropower-equipment
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_8/construction_management/chapter-4

## Question

List out construction equipment used in hydropower and explain any two of them with sketches.

## Short answer

Hydropower equipment includes bulldozers, excavators, dump trucks, drill jumbos, TBM, shotcrete machines, crushers, batching plants, transit mixers, concrete pumps, tower cranes, cableways, vibratory rollers, pumps and grouting plant. A drill jumbo carries multiple hydraulic booms to drill blast holes rapidly in tunnels. Cableways and tower cranes place concrete and lift materials at dams and powerhouses.

## Answer

#### Construction equipment used in hydropower projects
- **Earthmoving:** bulldozers, excavators, loaders, dump trucks, scrapers.
- **Rock and tunnelling:** drill jumbos, jackhammers, rock bolters, shotcrete machines, tunnel boring machines, rocker shovels, ventilation fans.
- **Concrete:** aggregate crushers, batching plants, transit mixers, concrete pumps, tower cranes, cableways, vibrators, and formwork travellers.
- **Lifting:** mobile and crawler cranes, gantry cranes for powerhouse and gates.
- **Compaction:** vibratory rollers (earth/rockfill dams).
- **Dewatering:** pumps, well points; **grouting plant** for curtain grouting.
- **Transport:** tippers, trailers, ropeways.

#### 1. Drill jumbo
```text
       boom1  boom2  boom3
        \    |    /
  [cab]  drifters at the face
  [==rubber tyre or rail carriage==]
```
A truck-mounted frame with two or three hydraulic booms, each carrying a rock drill (drifter). The operator positions the drills in the blast pattern. It drills the holes for the explosives rapidly in headrace tunnels, adits and caverns. Advantage: speed, accuracy of holes and safety.

#### 2. Tower crane or cableway for concrete placing
```text
   head tower ======cable======= tail tower
                    |bucket|
                 (concrete bucket over the dam block)
```
A cableway carries concrete buckets across the dam site, from the batching plant to the blocks, over a long span. A tower crane serves the powerhouse and intake structures for lifting formwork, reinforcement and concrete.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. What is a drill jumbo used for in hydropower?
   A. Placing concrete
   B. Lifting gates
   C. Compacting dams
   D. Drilling blast holes quickly and accurately in headrace tunnels, adits and caverns
   Answer: D. It carries two or three drifters positioned on the blast pattern. (Key point: Drill jumbo)

2. What does a cableway do at a dam site?
   A. Compacts earth
   B. Sprays bitumen
   C. Carries concrete buckets from batching plant to dam blocks over long span
   D. Drills tunnels
   Answer: C. A cableway moves concrete buckets across the site. (Key point: Cableway)

3. Which equipment compacts earth/rockfill dams?
   A. Grouting plant
   B. Vibratory rollers
   C. Jackhammers
   D. Tower crane
   Answer: B. Vibratory rollers compact earth and rockfill dams. (Key point: Compaction in dams)

## Related in Construction Management

- [Excavation equipment and sketches](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Aexcavation-equipment-sketch) — Construction Management, chapter 4, asked 6×
- [Earth compaction equipment with sketches](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Aearth-compaction-equipment) — Construction Management, chapter 4, asked 3×
- [Equipment for highway and pavement construction](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Ahighway-pavement-equipment) — Construction Management, chapter 4, asked 3×
- [Advantages and disadvantages of construction equipment](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Aequipment-advantages-disadvantages) — Construction Management, chapter 4, asked 6×
- [Factors in selecting construction equipment](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Aequipment-selection-factors) — Construction Management, chapter 4, asked 6×
- [Road construction equipment, paver and bitumen sprayer](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Aroad-equipment-paver-sprayer) — Construction Management, chapter 4

## Related in other subjects

- [Road construction equipment and mass haul characteristics](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Amass-haul-diagram-equipment-plants) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 3, asked 3×
- [Purchase or hire construction equipment](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Fengineering_economics%3Apurchase-or-hire-equipment-1000000) — Engineering Economics, chapter 4
- [Road construction equipment and DBSD procedure](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Aequipment-plants-activities-dbsd) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 3
- [Construction equipment; prime, tack and seal coats](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Aequipment-plants-prime-tack-seal-coat) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 3