Recently, at the foundation pit site of the Paitou Resettlement Housing Project Zone A in Dianbu Town, Feidong County, a white air-supported membrane structure standing 20 meters tall and covering an area of 6,750 square meters stood out prominently, as if draping a giant "dust-proof coat" over the 12-meter-deep foundation pit. This project, the first application of foundation pit air-supported membrane technology in the province, has successfully upgraded the earthwork operation area into a "dust-free workshop." Its innovative achievements in addressing pain points such as urban construction dust and noise nuisance provide a valuable, replicable and scalable sample for environmental protection governance of foundation pit construction across the province.

From "chasing dust" to full enclosure of the foundation pit

The Paitou Resettlement Housing Project Zone A in Dianbu, Feidong County is located at the intersection of Longquan Road and Caomiao East Road, surrounded by dense residential communities and concentrated populations. The nearest government building, the Feidong County People's Government, is less than 10 meters from the foundation pit. The pit itself is 112.5 meters long and 60 meters wide, and during peak earthwork construction, daily vehicle traffic can reach more than 400 trips, making dust and noise control extremely difficult.

Previously, foundation pit construction in urban core areas generally relied on traditional dust suppression measures such as fog cannons and sprinklers. These methods have the obvious shortcoming of "chasing dust," with limited governance effectiveness.

The dust and noise generated during construction not only seriously affect the daily lives of surrounding residents but also place considerable pressure on urban environmental management, becoming a common pain point plaguing urban construction.

To solve this problem, the project department innovatively introduced an intelligent air-supported membrane enclosure system, which is also the first large-scale application of this technology in foundation pit construction in our province.

"The air-supported membrane system uses PVDF membrane material, fixed by diagonal mesh steel cables and supported by internal and external air pressure differentials, achieving full enclosure of the foundation pit with dust suppression efficiency of over 95%," Xia Benfa, head of Hefei Meisite Membrane Structure Co., told reporters. This system completely blocks the spread of dust from the source and, compared with traditional measures, achieves a qualitative leap in environmental governance.

Exhaust and ventilation functions can be activated within 15 seconds to ensure a safe working environment

In addition to efficient dust suppression, the air-supported membrane system also performs outstandingly in noise control. "It not only suppresses dust, but the soundproof structure of the membrane can also significantly weaken the transmission of construction noise, fundamentally solving the problem of construction nuisance and keeping surrounding residents away from construction site noise, truly achieving 'construction without disturbing residents,'" Xia Benfa added.

The system's intelligence level is even more impressive. Xia Benfa introduced that the system is equipped with a Siemens PLC intelligent control system that can monitor air pressure inside the membrane, dust concentration, and temperature and humidity in real time 24 hours a day, with strong adaptive adjustment capabilities: when wind speed exceeds Level 5 or snow accumulation occurs, it can automatically adjust the internal pressure to above 285 Pa to resist loads; when harmful gas concentration exceeds standards, it can activate exhaust and ventilation functions within 15 seconds to ensure the working environment is safe and compliant.

Balancing environmental protection and efficiency is another major advantage of this technology. It is reported that the air-supported membrane adopts a modular installation mode, and the entire setup was completed in only 6 days. The column-and-beam-free design creates a super-large unobstructed working space, which does not affect normal construction progress. Its enclosed nature can also provide insulation during winter construction, helping to advance construction efficiently.

The first foundation pit air-supported membrane technology application project in the province

It is worth mentioning that the intelligent air-supported membrane enclosure system has a designed service life of 2 years and features remarkable recyclability and low-carbon environmental protection. It will be dismantled and recycled in an orderly manner according to the project construction schedule, achieving resource recycling and effectively reducing construction carbon emissions, in line with the development concept of "green construction, technology first."

"At present, foundation pit air-supported membrane projects are widely applied in northern cities, represented by Beijing. The successful application of the foundation pit air-supported membrane project at the Paitou Resettlement Housing in Feidong County is the first foundation pit air-supported membrane technology application project in our province," said Zhu Hua, head of the Steel Structure Professional Committee of the Anhui Civil Engineering and Architecture Society.

He believes that the innovative practice of this project not only solves the pain points of dust and noise nuisance in urban construction but also provides a valuable, replicable and scalable sample for environmental protection governance of foundation pit construction across the province, and will promote the upgrading of the province's foundation pit construction environmental governance toward refinement and intelligence.