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 strengthen ...

on the Sulak River in

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The main purpose of the dam is

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

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 wi ...

. 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 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, spillway and power station have a combined discharge capacity of . The dam's power station contains 4 × 250 MW

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The proces ...

-generators for a total installed capacity of 1,000 MW. Each generator is supplied with water by a penstock, 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