Chirkeyskaya HPP is a hydroelectric power plant on the Sulak River (15 km upstream from the Miatlinskaya HPP) in Dagestan. This is the largest hydroelectric power station in the North Caucasus and the highest arch dam in the Russian Federation. Just like the Miatlinskaya hydroelectric power station, it is a step of the Sulak cascade of hydroelectric power stations ... The Miatlinskaya and Chirkeyskaya hydroelectric power stations are connected by a serpentine through the Nadyr-Bek ridge, almost on top of which the town of hydropower engineers Dubki was built in the Soviet years. If you suddenly have to drive along this road, turn onto the dirt road leading to the repeater tower - literally a hundred meters from it there is a magnificent natural observation deck from which you can see both the Miatlinskaya HPP and the Chirkeyskaya HPP and (if you know where to look + have good optics ) Chiryurt hydroelectric dam. The Sulak River, the dam of the Miatlinskaya hydroelectric power station and its reservoir. In the distance you can see the village of Old Miatli, described in the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" by L. N. Tolstoy.


Dubki hydropower settlement and Chirkey reservoir. Before perestroika, Dubki, like any other Soviet "scientific" town, flourished - there were branches of the Dagestan Polytechnic Institute, the Kuibyshev Energy College, an educational construction plant, a semiconductor factory, a garment factory, 3 cinemas, 5 kindergartens, a large school. In the 80s of the 20th century, just in the place where the repeater tower is now located, there was a unique wind test site - a place for testing and studying wind power generators. The location was perfect as the wind never stops here. Here, among other things, wind turbines of the Tushino Machine-Building Plant were tested. In the 1990s, known to everyone for its vagueness, the wind farm was abandoned. Part of the wind turbines was taken away, the other part remained in the form of unnecessary majestic ruins.
To the right of the tower you can see the white mast of one of the wind turbines. The blades from it, torn and twisted by the wind, are lying next to it. Other ruined structures of the landfill are not identifiable even when close. The Chirkey hydroelectric power station was built in the narrow Chirkey gorge with a depth of more than 200 meters (the width of the gorge at the bottom is 15 meters, at the top - 300 meters). The main source of food for the Sulak River is the melt water of high-mountain snows and glaciers and rainfall. The construction conditions were very difficult due to the terrain. Work on the main structures of the station began in 1966 with the construction of a tunnel 728 meters long and 13 meters in cross section.
Here and below - archival photographs found on the Internet (unfortunately, their authorship is unknown to me). From left to right, from top to bottom: (1) and (2) - 1965, development of the hydroelectric power station pit; (3) - concrete supply by cable crane; (4) - covering Sulak with a directed explosion; (5) – blasting for excavation of the pit and banks of the river; (6) - installation of pressure conduits of the station. At the construction of the Chirkeyskaya HPP, for the first time in the USSR, the method of contour blasting with preliminary slitting (the so-called "smooth spalling") was widely used. The construction of the station was hampered by an earthquake of magnitude 8 in May 1970 - work was suspended for almost half a year, during which the slopes were cleared of debris after the earthquake. To fix unstable rock blocks on the left bank slope of the HPP building excavation, retaining walls were built in combination with prestressed metal anchors. 300 stressed anchors were installed in inclined wells up to 25 meters deep. A system of prestressed strands made of high-strength steel with a diameter of 56 mm is installed in the horizontal adits.
From left to right, from top to bottom: (1) - concreting of slopes of an unstable array; (2, upper) - the village of Chirkey, which went under flooding; (2, bottom) – a rally of builders in honor of the beginning of the flooding of the reservoir; (3) - installation of the stator shaft of the hydraulic unit; (4) - a laboratory assistant takes samples of the concrete mix; (5) - 1974, the flooding of the village of Chirkey. The main means of mechanization for supplying and laying concrete mixture into the blocks of the dam were three cable cranes with a lifting capacity of 25 tons and a span of 500 meters, working with cylindrical radio-controlled buckets with a capacity of 8 cubic meters. From concrete plants to cable cranes (distance 100 meters), the concrete mixture was delivered by BelAZ and KrAZ dump trucks. During the construction of the station, the process of installing and removing formwork was also mechanized (a special manipulator based on the E-304 excavator), the process of leveling the concrete mixture (a special machine based on the tractor-crane TK-53), the process of removing the cement film from the horizontal surface of concrete (self-propelled cleaning machine based on the DT-20 tractor), as well as other processes and works. Due to the high degree of mechanization of construction, the highest productivity at that time was achieved - 12 cubic meters of concrete per 1 man-day.
From left to right, from top to bottom: (1) - construction of a drainage tunnel; (2) - 02/28/1970, solemn laying of the first cubic meter of concrete in the body of the dam; (3, large photo on the right) - the dam is ready; (4) - the turbine hall of the Chirkeyskaya HPP on the day of the start-up of the first unit. The dam was put under pressure on August 13, 1974. The hydroelectric units were put into operation successively in 1974 (GA-1), 1975 (GA-2, GA-3), 1976 (GA-4). Chirkeyskaya HPP was put into commercial operation in 1981.
From left to right, from top to bottom: (1) – penstocks built; (2) – final stage of dam construction; (3) - start-up of the first hydraulic unit; (4) - start-up of the first hydraulic unit; (5) – Dubki village of hydro-constructors. Chirkey HPP structures include: a high-rise arch dam, a HPP building, an operational spillway, an open switchgear (OSG) with a voltage of 330 kV. The height of the dam is 232.5 meters, the length along the crest is 338 meters. The central part of the dam is the station. The water intake structure is an inclined reinforced concrete structure placed on the upper face of the dam. From its water inlets originate 4 pressure turbine conduits with a diameter of 5.5 meters (plus 1.5 meters of reinforced concrete shell)
View of the dam, the reservoir and the station building from the observation deck on the right bank. The schemes from above, in full face and in profile of the Chirkeyskaya HPP are borrowed from the website of JSC RusHydro. The building of the Chirkeyskaya HPP (unlike the Miatlinskaya HPP) is of the dam type and is located directly at the downstream face of the dam plug. In order to place the units with minimal tie-ins into the steep walls of the gorge, a project was carried out for pairing the units (2x2 in parallel with a common mounting platform in the middle). Transformers are located on the roof of the machine room. This original solution has no analogues in the practice of hydraulic engineering.
The building of the hydroelectric power station and the transformer platform on its floor.
Dam and fortifications of the rocky massif of the left bank.
Gate valves for pressure conduits of the operational part of the dam.
The Chirkey reservoir has an area of ​​42.4 square kilometers, its capacity is 2.78 cubic kilometers. During the creation of the reservoir, the old village of Chirkey was flooded - it was moved to a new location.
Outdoor switchgear-330 kV and the control building of the hydroelectric complex are located on the right top of the gorge.
Massive concrete cubes can be seen among the outbuildings of the hydroelectric power station - these are the foundations of cable cranes, with the help of which the station was built.
The access to the HPP building is carried out through a road tunnel with a length of more than 800 meters from the right bank.
Sulak after the downstream of the Chirkey hydroelectric power station. The idle spillway is made in the form of a tunnel with an open drain tray inside the rock of the left bank. An inlet with a span of 22 meters is located 85 meters from the dam. A tunnel (width - 9 meters, height - 12 meters) with a length of 160 meters goes from it at a large slope. Then it passes into a slightly inclined part, 350 meters long, and only then - into an open 200-meter flume with a springboard and a side drain-extinguisher. I think it's a great water park.
Due to the extreme failure of my own photograph, I used a photograph from the site of the United Dispatch Control of Energy Systems of the South www.yug.so-ups.ru. In the photo - the entrance portal of the idle spillway.
Chirkeyskaya HPP from the lower observation deck. On the right, a massive spillway tray is perfectly visible.

Transformer platform and left bank.
Concrete wall.
Transformer platform and right bank.
An unusual feeling when you stand next to such a colossus. Due to the fact that the dam is arched both in length and in profile, it hangs over you like a huge visor.

Well, once again the view from the lower observation deck.

If you are going to visit the “country of mountains” Dagestan, you should definitely stop by and look at the miracle of architectural and engineering thought, located in the Sulak Canyon. Chirkeyskaya HPP is the pearl of Dagestan, advertised by all travel agencies. However, keep in mind that this is a sensitive energy facility and you can visit it only as part of organized tourist groups. But it is worth going to the Chirgei hydroelectric power station if only to feel the extreme mountain roads and see the Sulak Canyon. A canyon that is deeper than the Grand Canyon of America and is not inferior to it with the beauty of the rock circus.

Symbiosis of technology and nature

Built in a narrow widening gorge, where the width at the river level is only 30 meters, the arch dam of the Chirkeyskaya hydroelectric power station, 338 meters long and 232.5 meters high, rightfully takes 11th place in the TOP-25 of the highest dams in the world. The highest arch dam in Russia is equipped with 4 radial-axial units, designed for a water head of 170 m. The pressure structures form a reservoir with a capacity of almost 3 cubic kilometers and a water surface area of ​​42.2 square kilometers. The mineral composition of the bottom gives the water of the reservoir an amazing turquoise-azure hue.

Water regulation and energy value

The Chirkeyskaya HPP, whose photos are impressive in beauty and scale, is part of the Dagestan branch of JSC RusHydro. The highest station in the cascade of hydroelectric power plants on the Sulak River regulates loads in the peak part in the entire unified energy system of southern Russia with its maneuverability. It can become an "ambulance" in case of failure of blocks of thermal power plants, replacing the retired capacity in the country's energy system. The installed capacity of the Chirkeyskaya HPP of 10,000 MW makes it the most powerful in the North Caucasus. During its operation, the Chirkeyskaya HPP has generated more than 88 billion kilowatts of electricity.

The station has no restrictions in the modes of water discharge and flow rates in the downstream. Regulation of water flow in the river - the station increases the productivity of the underlying hydroelectric stations of the cascade and stably satisfies the water consumption needs of the adjacent territories.

Research work and the potential of the Sulak River were initially studied by the Moscow branch of the Glavgidrostroy of the USSR. It also developed in 1933 the first project of an arch-gravity concrete dam. In 1962, the designers of the Lengidroproekt Institute came to grips with the project. The design of the station is complemented by a two-row arrangement of units, unique at that time, and two-tier suction pipes, which makes the tunnel twice as long (730 meters).

The pride of the Soviet engineering potential, an innovative model of that time, today the Chirkeyskaya HPP is equipped with modern seismological equipment. The International Commission for the Control of Nuclear Tests and Strategic Arms in Austria highly appreciated this project, which was presented in 2013 by the Russian Academy of Sciences as the most seismically safe.

Construction of the Chirkey hydroelectric power station

Construction was carried out for 17 years, from 1963 to 1981. 1.5 million cubic meters of concrete were laid into the body of the dam at an accelerated pace. Union construction brought together builders of various nationalities.

The blocking of the Sulak River during construction was carried out according to the principle of the collapse of the rock mass. Here, for the first time, the method of contour explosion with a smooth spall was applied. The total weight of the explosive charge was about 37 tons.

During construction, the station suffered several earthquakes. Due to an earthquake in 1970, work was even suspended for six months.

In 1981, the Chirkeyskaya HPP started operating at full capacity. Given the seismological instability of the region, the station is equipped with a modern seismological control system. The uniqueness of this dam is recognized by the world's leading power engineers.

Trout and sturgeons

Not a single guest of the hydroelectric power plant will miss a visit to a trout farm organized as a subsidiary farm.

This innovative solution not only provided additional jobs for local residents, but also has a purely environmental significance. Herbivorous fish removes silt and prevents the muddying of drainage facilities. The fry are also released into the reservoir, which also contributes to the stable operation of the station.

To think that it is enough just to put fish into reservoirs and then you only need to catch is a deep delusion. Industrial fish farming is a complex and time-consuming process.

Golden trout is bred here - a very capricious fish. As soon as the water warms up more than 19 degrees, the fish will stop eating and may be on the verge of death. In addition, trout is picky about food - they are brought from Moscow itself. On the territory of the Chirkeyskaya HPP, at a low altitude, the conditions for trout turned out to be optimal: the water is crystal clear and saturated with oxygen.

But not only trout teems in the five ponds of this farm. Here, such valuable fish species as the Siberian sturgeon, the hybrid form of bester and rainbow trout are bred.

The first experience of organizing a trout farm in the northern part of Dagestan turned out to be successful. The company plans to expand production volumes. Here is such a not only beautiful, but also enterprising Chirkey hydroelectric power station.

Oaks and Dubkintsy

The settlement of Dubki was historically created in the 60s of the last century as a satellite of hydroelectric power plants - Chirkeyskaya and Miatlinskaya. Social infrastructure - three kindergartens, two cinemas, a secondary school, a palace of culture, a hospital complex, an indoor swimming pool - has been built for an estimated population of 10,000 people. To ensure employment for the population, by the end of construction work at the hydroelectric power station in Dubki, a branch of the Eltava electronic goods factory and a clothing factory were put into operation.

Today, Dubkin residents, and there are 5.5 thousand of them, are an active part of the electorate of Kazbekovsky district. This is a cheerful and multinational family, defending their rights to a decent life. The village administration supports the development of culture and sports, effectively implements the principles of self-government in the economic activity in the village.

There are whole dynasties of hydrobuilders in the village. Parents built, children finished building, and grandchildren work at the most beautiful hydroelectric power station in Russia.

Summing up

The Chirkey hydroelectric power station in Dagestan is striking in scope and grandeur. Neighborhood of unimaginably beautiful rocky landscapes, a symbol of the strength of the human spirit and the breadth of intellectual capabilities, makes us think about the place of man in the system of the organic world on the planet. If we are able to create such a structure, subordinating the grandeur of multi-ton rocks to our will, are we really not able to preserve this magnificence for our descendants?

Dubki hydropower settlement and Chirkey reservoir. Before perestroika, Dubki, like any other Soviet "scientific" town, flourished - there were branches of the Dagestan Polytechnic Institute, the Kuibyshev Energy College, an educational construction plant, a semiconductor factory, a garment factory, 3 cinemas, 5 kindergartens, a large school.

The schemes from above, in full face and in profile of the Chirkeyskaya HPP are borrowed from the website of JSC RusHydro.

The access to the HPP building is carried out through a road tunnel with a length of more than 800 meters from the right bank.

The Chirkey hydroelectric power station is located on the Sulak River in the Republic of Dagestan. This is the largest hydroelectric power station in the North Caucasus and the highest arch dam in Russia. It was built in a narrow Chirkey gorge with a depth of more than 200 m, a width of 12-15 m in the lower part, and 300 m in the upper part. It is part of the Sulak HPP cascade. The installed capacity of the HPP is 1000 MW. The average annual output is 2.47 billion kWh.

General form.
The Chirkeyskaya hydroelectric power station was built in a seismically active area, in difficult geological conditions. Concrete laying and installation work were carried out using three cable cranes with a lifting capacity of 25 tons and a span of 550 m.

Construction began in 1964. The blocking of the river Sulak was carried out by the collapse of the rock mass by explosion. As a result of the explosion, more than 65 thousand m3 of rock was brought down. The total weight of the charge was 37t.

In 1974 the first hydraulic unit was put into operation. The last fourth unit was put into operation in 1976. At the construction of a hydroelectric power station, cable cranes were used for the first time to lay concrete in the body of the dam.

The dam has a maximum height of 232.5 m, the length along the crest axis is 338 m.

The arch of biconvex curvature of a symmetrical outline is elastically embedded along the contour into the base.
The thickness of the arch dam varies from 6 m at the crest to 30 m at the contact with the plug.
Chirkeyskaya HPP is the largest of the three hydroelectric power plants with arch dams available in Russia.

The Chirkeyskaya HPP, given its maneuverability, has become the main regulating station in the Unified Energy System of the South of Russia.

Open switchgear (OSG) with a voltage of 330 kV.

Herds of sheep are driven along the crest of the dam to summer pastures.
The reservoir of the Chirkeyskaya HPP of long-term regulation has a length of 40 km, and a maximum width of 5 km.

From the water intake openings of the ChHPP dam, 4 metal pressure turbine conduits with a diameter of 5.5 m originate.
The reinforced concrete shell of the conduits has a thickness of 1.5 m.

The building of the hydroelectric power station is located directly at the downstream face of the dam plug.

Transformers and generator voltage switchgears are located on the floor of the machine room.

The original technical solution, which has no analogues in the practice of hydraulic construction, is the two-row arrangement of hydraulic units and suction pipes. This was done so that the building of the hydroelectric power station would minimally crash into the steep sides of the gorge.

There are 2 parallel machine rooms in the HPP building, while the machine rooms are combined in such a way that a common assembly site can be used during installation. The transfer of the generator rotor weighing about 560 tons is carried out by two cranes with a lifting capacity of 320 tons, connected by a common traverse.

4 radial-axial hydraulic units with a capacity of 250 MW each, operating at a design head of 170 m.
Manufacturer of HPP generators - "Uralelektrotyazhmash"

During the press tour, a scheduled overhaul of the 4th hydroelectric unit was carried out, and thanks to this, we managed to get into the drained spiral chamber of the hydroturbine. The spiral chamber provides a uniform flow of water around the entire perimeter of the guide vane, i.e., the axisymmetric mode of operation of all guide vanes. The water passing here has a pressure of 17 atmospheres.

At the moment, the repair has been completed and the hydroelectric unit has been put into operation.
Turbine impeller diameter is 4.5 m, weight is 55 tons.

control room

Access to the HPP building is carried out through a tunnel 800 m long along the right bank road.

Gallery

Crane on the crest of the dam.

The idle spillway is made in the form of a tunnel with an open drain tray inside the rock of the left bank. An inlet with a span of 22 meters is located 85 meters from the dam.

A tunnel (12x9 meters) 160 meters long runs from it at a large slope. Then it passes into a slightly inclined part 350 meters long, and then into an open 221-meter flume with a springboard and a side drain-extinguisher.

Segment gate 14m high.

The operational spillway is capable of passing water from 2400 to 2900 cubic meters. m.
The climate of the area of ​​the Chirkey hydroelectric station is arid. In the entire history of the operation of the Chirkeyskaya HPP, water has been empty only three times.

Technical corridors in the body of the dam

Geodetic mark

It was a special success to shoot the Chirkey hydroelectric power station at night.

Chirkeyskaya HPP is a hydroelectric power station on the Sulak River near the village of Dubki in the Buynaksky district of Dagestan. It impresses with its scope and grandeur. The largest hydroelectric power station in the North Caucasus, has the 2nd highest dam in Russia and the highest arch dam in the country. The majestic construction of a hydroelectric power station in the middle of multi-ton rocks is the pride of Russian builders. The reservoir is a multi-year one, a unique object of human engineering and beautiful natural landscapes.

Features of the Chirkeyskaya HPP

"Pearl of Dagestan" 11th position in the ranking 25 most beautiful and highest dams in the world. It is part of the Dagestan branch of PJSC RusHydro.

1. Construction conditions are very difficult. This is due to the mountainous terrain. The station was built in the narrow Chirkey Gorge, 200 meters deep, 15 meters wide at the bottom and 300 meters at the top.
2. There are many unstable rock blocks on the steep sides of the gorge.
3. The station was built in a seismically active area, in difficult geological conditions. Seismicity of the construction area is 9 points.
4. Concrete laying and installation work were carried out using three cable cranes with a lifting capacity of 25 tons and span 550 m.
5. The blocking of the Sulak riverbed was carried out by collapse of the rock mass by explosion.
6. The dam has a double curvature, it is curved not only horizontally, but also vertically.
7. The flow of the river is formed due to the melting of snow and glaciers, rainfall. In an arid climate and prolonged floods, the water level can vary by up to 40 m. This requires special operation of the station.

The structure of the hydroelectric power plant

HPP includes:

• Arched dam.
• The dam building of the hydroelectric power station.
• Spillway.
• Dam.

An arched concrete dam 232 m high and 338 m long is curved in an arc towards the river flow. It consists of an arched part, a wedge-shaped plug 48 m high, 40 m wide and 88 m long at the base. It takes your breath away when you see this elegant arch, sandwiched in the narrow gorge of the Sulak River.

The design allows you to withstand the huge pressure of the water mass. Thanks to double curvature arch structure the dam is quite thin - 6 meters at the crest and 30 at the base.

In the concrete body of the dam, 9 tunnels were laid, in which sensors for recording activity inside the earth's crust are installed. They monitor the condition of the building.

The international commission headquartered in Austria in 2013 gave the highest rating to the project of the station as seismic safe.

HPP building

The building of the hydroelectric power station of the dam type is 60 m long and 43.8 m wide. Feature - two-row arrangement of hydraulic units with two-tier arrangement of suction pipes. This made it possible to halve the length of the building and minimize the cut into the rocky sides of the gorge.

The HPP building has two parallel machine rooms with two units each. They are served by two gantry cranes. A road leads to the engine room through an 800-meter tunnel on the right bank. Cattle are driven along the crest of the dam to the summer pasture.

HPP reservoir

In front of the hydroelectric dam, there is the largest artificial reservoir in Dagestan - the Chirkey reservoir with an area of ​​42 square kilometers.

Reservoir years of regulation, its capacity allows you to accumulate water in high-water years and spend it in low-water years. In winter, the flow of water is minimal, and the hydroelectric power plant works on reserves, triggering the reservoir.

Water from the mountains carries a lot of impurities that settle to the bottom of the reservoir. The composition of the bottom soil gives its waters an unimaginably beautiful azure-turquoise color. The water is used to supply the cities of Makhachkala and Kaspiysk.

The history of the construction of the Chirkey hydroelectric power station

The station in the mountains was built by the whole world for 17 years (1963 -1980) at an accelerated pace with the involvement of workers from all over the USSR. Large-scale survey work at the site of the Chirkeyskaya HPP began in 1956, and the technical design of the station was approved only on December 14, 1967.

Stages and difficulties

On June 13, 1963, a construction department for the construction of a hydroelectric power station was created. The preparatory stage began with the construction of roads to the construction site of the station and power lines. At the same time, the construction of a permanent settlement of hydro-builders Dubki began.

October 29, 1967 blocked the river Sulak using an innovative method of blasting along the contour with a smooth spall of the rock. A directed explosion with a total charge weight of 37 tons brought down more than 65 thousand cubic meters of rock.

Hydroelectric power station under construction almost destroyed the strongest earthquake in 1970. Powerful shocks with a force of 9 points completely destroyed 22 settlements. The rock, to which the edge of the dam was attached, moved from its place. Hydraulic builders simply "sewn" it with steel cables to the stone slope.

A large collapse of the left-bank slope filled up the foundation pit of the HPP building. To eliminate the consequences of the earthquake, construction was stopped for six months.

Difficulties and successes in construction

The dam was built in a narrow gorge. This imposed its own characteristics when laying concrete. It was fed into the body of the dam from above with the help of three cable cranes using cylindrical radio-controlled huge containers of 8 cubic meters.

Concrete from factories was delivered by specially equipped dump trucks. It is characteristic that only all concrete work at the construction site was mechanized. This led to the rapid construction of the dam.

December 22, 1974 is considered the birthday of the Chirkeyskaya HPP, when the first hydroelectric unit was launched. During 1975, the 2nd and 3rd were launched, the last - the fourth - hydroelectric unit was put into operation on June 30, 1976.

Official construction of the Chirkey hydroelectric power station completed February 9, 1981 year with the signing of the act of acceptance of the hydroelectric complex for commercial operation. The cost of construction is 283 million rubles in 1970 prices.

Satellite village of Dubki

The Dubki settlement was created for builders who arrived from all the republics of the former Soviet Union. The population is 10 thousand people. To date, the entire infrastructure has been preserved in it, a branch of the plant for the manufacture of electronic goods, a clothing factory are operating.