Chirkei HPP

Author Vadim Mahora:
Today I'll show you another hydroelectric power station, which is no less impressive than the dam Movuazen or the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. It's about the biggest hydroelectric power station of the North Caucasus - Chirkeyskaya HPP.
I have long wanted to get to the dam and I was lucky in my possession were two days and free movement within the hydroelectric power station, and not only. I was able to capture the dam and day and night, to visit all her hard to reach places. Even I slept on the territory of HPP under the noise and vibration of hydraulic units, and not somewhere in the hotel.





Chirkei HPP is located in a picturesque valley on the river Sulak in Buynaksk district of Dagestan, part of the Sulak hydroelectric, being its top governing the whole cascade stage. Chirkeyskaya Dam hydropower plant is the second highest and highest arch dam in Russia.



The dam has a height of 232.5 meters. The length of the ridge - 338.



The dam forms a reservoir Chirkeyskaya year regulation (its capacity allows to store water in wet years and spend in dry). The area of ​​the reservoir is 42, 5 square kilometers, complete and useful volume - 2, 78 and 1, 32 cu km respectively. At the time of filming the level of the reservoir has not yet managed to rise to the normal level.



Black band on a rock - the usual level of the reservoir.



Electric power stations is 1,000 MW. This hydraulic unit 4 250 MW. They are located in the dam powerhouse. A special feature is the two-row arrangement of the hydraulic units with bunk arrangement of suction pipes.
HPP building has two parallel turbine hall of the particular conditions of hydraulic units.



Turbine hall



We go down below - hydro generator rotor.



More below - the shaft connecting the generator to the turbine rotor.



More below - volute - the place where the water enters the turbine and spins it.



Reconstruction of hydrogenerator.





Tailrace.



Chirkei HPP is the largest hydroelectric power station of the North Caucasus. With high maneuverability, it is the main control station in the united energy system of the South of Russia, working at the peak of the load curve. Also, it serves as a kind of "first aid" to the grid, allowing the emergency exit in the case of units of 150-300 MW in thermal power plants quickly replace vybyvshuyu power. Thanks to the contra-- Miatlinsky power plant - the station has no restrictions on reset mode, with the ability to quickly change its power (and therefore the cost to the downstream). Through a deep flow regulation, increases the production Chirkei hydroelectric stations on the lower stage, as well as providing reliable water supply of settlements and irrigation.
Penstocks.





Let's go back to the very dams and reservoirs.



Due to the fact that the level of the reservoir was low enough, you can see the intake chamber of HPP. The dam is a double curvature, the hemisphere - concave not only horizontally but also vertically. It also looked through the photographs.



Panorama complex structures.



The view from the crest of the dam. Thanks to its double curvature arch dam is thin enough - just 6 meters from the crest and 30 at the base of the dam - concrete cork height of 48 m, a width of 40 m and a length of 88 m at the base.



Skip the dam is closed, but there are exceptions. On the crest of the dam conducted haul sheep winter pastures to summer and vice versa. I myself am not surprised, thank you for giving me the photo Gamzatov Magomedzagidovichu.



Observation deck. Cylinder - this elevator shaft.



Inlet service spillway tunnel type. Scary sight. The capacity of the spillway in the NBL - 2400 m³ / s and FPA - 2900 m³ / s. The inlet has a span of 22 m. There could easily lose the train. No one would have noticed.



The entire water column keeps the gate here is a segment height of 14 m. At the time of the shooting reservoir level was so low that the water was lower than the gate.



I propose to go down into the tunnel spillway and see what it looks like inside.



Thanks Gamzatov Magomedzagidovichu - specialist Chirkeyskaya HPP I got into the tunnel. I am grateful to this man for what he is in the morning until late at night walk with me all the hard to reach places and simultaneously interesting talked about the station.



Home inclined portion.



The tunnel has a horseshoe shape, the height of 12.6 meters. Just imagine what's going on here, when you open the spillway.



At the exit of the tunnel.



We wait for the night. The station does not have mood lighting, but is well lit by conventional floodlights.







View down from the crest of the dam.





Tailrace.



Transforming playground.



At night, the station remained on duty only a few people, that is sufficient for the operation of the entire station.



Spend the night at the HPP I was hoping to catch the morning mist, and the time it was too late to go to a neighboring village, because the sound and vibration I slept comfortably in a building of hydroelectric power plants. But there was no fog, unfortunately.



On the second day I, along with Mukhtar - operative stations rose from the tailrace to the top of the stairs along the entire dam.



In the body of the dam so many tunnels to monitor filtering and other various options, so many balconies.



One of the penstocks.



Transmission lines that go to the 330 kV switchyard.









The tunnel, which are many in the body of the dam, and in the rocks.





At the station organized fish farms specializing in growing trout. Trout is delicious, he tried. Thank Bagavdinu Nasrudinovichu.



©