On Saturday evenings, visitors gather at Da Nang’s Dragon Bridge for its fire and water show. Engineer Phan Dinh Phuong watched the system he and colleagues built under pressure more than 13 years ago.
How the steel dragon began spraying water
In late February 2013, Da Nang officials ordered fire and water for the opening. The foreign contractor had a fire system but no water solution, and little more than a week remained.
Phuong fitted a new system into the existing frame. It needed a tank more than 3 metres in diameter and 10 metres long. A lecturer from Da Nang University of Science and Technology helped make it.
Two races against time at midnight
The team used heated bitumen against corrosion, moved the tank at midnight with two cranes and laid a water pipe under Tran Hung Dao Street. Phuong rejected river water because rubbish and turbidity could clog the system.
The first test sent water more than 250 metres
Phuong chose hydropneumatic misting, using high-pressure air to push water through the pipes. One cubic metre of water can produce about 1,300 cubic metres of mist.
Dragon Bridge opened on 29 March 2013. Phuong had never tested the complete system. “To be honest, the opening day was also the first time I tested the dragon’s water spray,” he said.
The white jet travelled more than 250 metres. The system still operates after more than 13 years. The bridge shows fire and water at 9 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for about 15 minutes. The bridge is 666 metres long, while its steel dragon is 568 metres long and weighs nearly 9,000 tonnes.
Sources: Dân Trí
