The Baishan Dam (, ''meaning: "White Mountain Dam"'') is an

arch-gravity dam An arch-gravity dam or arched dam is a dam with the characteristics of both an arch dam and a gravity dam. It is a dam that curves upstream in a narrowing curve that directs most of the water pressure against the canyon rock walls, providing the f ...

on the

Second Songhua River The Second Songhua River is a tributary of the Songhua River in Jilin Province, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, m ...

near the town of Baishanzhen, Huadian,

Jilin Province Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The 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 an ...

power generation and flood control. The dam supplies water to five turbine-generators in two different powerhouses for an installed capacity of while it can also control a design flood. Additionally, it has a pumped-storage hydroelectric generation capacity. It is named after

Baekdu Mountain Paektu Mountain (), also known as Baekdu Mountain and in China as Changbai Mountain ( zh, s=长白山, t=長白山; Manchu: Golmin Šanggiyan Alin), is an active stratovolcano on the Chinese–North Korean border. At , it is the highest moun ...

(White Mountain), near the city of

Baishan Baishan (, ko, 백산시) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jilin province, in the Dongbei (northeastern) part of China. "" literally means "White Mountain", and is named after Changbai Mountain (, also known as Paektu Mountain (Kor ...

Construction

Construction on the dam began in May 1975, the reservoir began to fill on September 16, 1982 and by the end of 1984, the first phase of three generators was operational. Another two generators in the project's second phase were operational by 1992. The dam submerged an area of , displacing about 10,300 people. In March 2000, a feasibility study report on a pumped-storage capability for the dam was approved. In August 2002, construction started on installing two 150 MW reversible pump generators and by July 2006, they were operational.

Design

The Baishan Dam is a tall and long arch gravity dam composed of of concrete. It withholds a

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 contr ...

of which is active or "useful" storage and is flood storage. 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 ...

contains four openings and three mid-level openings on its orifice. All the dam's openings can discharge a design of , check standard of and maximum of of water. The dam powers three separate power stations. The first station to be constructed is located underground and contains 3 x 300 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 proc ...

generators while the second, located on the left bank slightly downstream contains 2 x 300 MW Francis turbine generators. The third portion of the dam's power station is 2 x 150 MW pump-generators. The dam's current reservoir serves as the upper and the Hongshi Dam's reservoir downstream serves as the lower.

References

{{reflist Dams on the Second Songhua River Dams in China Arch-gravity dams Buildings and structures in Jilin Hydroelectric power stations in Jilin Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in China Baishan Dams completed in 1984 Energy infrastructure completed in 1984 Energy infrastructure completed in 1992 Energy infrastructure completed in 2006

Construction

Design

See also

References