The Dongfeng Dam 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 Wu River northwest of

Qingzhen :''The term ''Qingzhen'' can also refer to Chinese Muslims, Chinese Islamic cuisine or the Hui ethnic group.'' Qingzhen () is a county-level city under the administration of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou Province, China. It is located to the west ...

Guizhou Province Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...

, China. The primary 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 generation and it supports a 570 MW power station. Construction on the dam began in 1989 and the first generator was operational in 1994, the last in 1995. The generators were up-rated between 2004 and 2005; bringing their capacity from 170 MW each to 190 MW.

Design and operation

The Dongfeng is a tall and long

parabola In mathematics, a parabola is a plane curve which is mirror-symmetrical and is approximately U-shaped. It fits several superficially different mathematical descriptions, which can all be proved to define exactly the same curves. One descript ...

-shaped arch dam. The dam is thick at its crest and at its base. It sits at the base of a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

covering . The total

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

capacity is while is for regulating. At the reservoir's normal elevation of above sea level, the reservoir capacity is . The dam has several discharge facilities; three

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 tha ...

gates near the crest, three intermediate orifice openings, one chute spillway on the left bank and beside it, one spillway tunnel. The maximum discharge capacity of the spillways is while all openings, including the power station tailrace, can discharge . The power station is located underground on the right bank of the dam. The intake releases water to three headrace tunnels which transfer into

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 ...

s and supply each of the 190 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. Water is discharged back into the river via one tailrace tunnel.

References

{{Wu River dams Dams in China Hydroelectric power stations in Guizhou Arch dams Dams completed in 1995 Dams on the Wu River Energy infrastructure completed in 1995 Underground power stations 1995 establishments in China

Design and operation

See also

References