The Chirkey Dam (Chirkeisk GES) is an

arch dam An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthe ...

on the

Sulak River The Sulak (russian: Сула́к, kum, Сулак (Sulak)/Къой-сув (Qoysuw), ce, ĠoysuLepiev A.S., Lepiev İ.A., Türkçe-Çeçençe sözlük, Turkoyŋ-noxçiyŋ doşam, Ankara, 2003) drains most of the mountainous interior of Dagesta ...

in Dagestan,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The main purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production, and it supports a 1,000 MW power station. Construction on the dam began in 1964, the first generator was operational by 1974, the last in 1976 while the project was officially completed in 1978. It is the tallest arch dam in Russia.

Design

The dam is a tall and long (crest) concrete arch dam. It is wide at its crest, wide at its base and contains of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

. The dam withholds a reservoir of which is active or "useful" storage. The reservoir has a surface area of , length of and maximum width of . Maximum depth of the reservoir is and its catchment area is . The dam's

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

consists of a long non-pressure tunnel with its intake on the left bank of the dam. The spillway's capacity is . The dam's

outlet works A gatehouse, gate house, outlet works or valve house for a dam is a structure housing sluice gates, valves, or pumps (in which case it is more accurately called a pumping station). Many gatehouses are strictly utilitarian, but especially in the n ...

, spillway and power station have a combined discharge capacity of . The dam's power station contains 4 × 250 MW Francis turbine-generators for a total installed capacity of 1,000 MW. Each generator is supplied with water by a

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...

, all four of which intake on the upstream side of the dam's face and run down its surface toward the power station at the dam's base.

References

External links

Photos of the dam
at EnglishRussia.com {{Authority control Hydroelectric power stations built in the Soviet Union Hydroelectric power stations in Russia Dams in Russia Arch dams Dams completed in 1978 Caspian Sea basin

Design

See also

References

External links