The Liuxihe Dam is an arch dam

Arch dam

An arch dam is a type of dam that is curved and commonly built with concrete. The arch dam is a structure that is designed to curve upstream so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, compressing and strengthening the structure as it pushes...

 on the Liuxihe River

Liuxihe River

The Liuxihe River or simply Liuxi is a tributary of the Pearl River in China with its basin situated northeast of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province. It lies between the Beijiang River and Dongjiang River and is interrupted by the Liuxihe Dam....

 near Conghua

Conghua

Conghua , historically known as Tsungfa, is a County-level city in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.-External links:*...

, in Guangdong Province, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The main purpose of the project is hydroelectric power generation with additional purposes of flood control and irrigation. The dam is 78 metres (256 ft) tall and was constructed between 1956 and 1958.

Construction

In September 1955, planning for dams in the Luixihe River basin began and by January 1956, plans for the Liuxihe Dam were complete. In August 1956, construction on the dam began and excavation commenced the next month and continued until April of 1957, removing 680000 cubic metre of rock and material. The same month that excavation was complete, concrete placement began and continued until September 1958. Earlier in August, the first generator was placed online and the rest were operational by the end of 1958. Originally, the dam support 4 x 10.5 MW generators but in 1993, they were upgraded to 12 MW each.

Design

The dam is a 255.5 metres (838 ft) long and 78 metres (256 ft) high double-curvature arch dam with a crest width of 2 metres (7 ft) and base width of 22 metres (72 ft). The dam is composed of 130000 cubic metre of concrete and contains seven openings on its surface to discharge water downstream. Each opening is 11.5 metres (38 ft) wide and 4 metres (13 ft) high with a discharge capacity of 141 m3/s each. A 237 metres (778 ft) long discharge tunnel with a maximum capacity of 1070 m3/s is also built on the dam's right bank.

An axillary dam was built in conjunction with the project in order to protect low lying areas from the reservoir. It is located about 2 kilometres (1 mi) northwest of the main dam and is an embankment type. The dam is 29.7 metres (97 ft) tall and 220 metres (722 ft) long while having a structural volume of 350000 cubic metre. After the completion of the Huanglongdai Dam in June 1975, the downstream side of the auxiliary dam is now the Huanglongdai Reservoir in which it now serves to regulate both.