Thermal Cryogenic Regime of the Hydrosystem of Vilyui Hydroelectric Power Plants-1, 2: Geocryologic Monitoring

Abstract

The dynamic behavior of the thermal-cryogenic regime of the hydrosystem of the Vilyui Hydroelectric Power Plant, which was the first to be constructed in a continuous space of permafrost rock, is presented. Features of the evolution of the thermal-moisture regime of the hydrosystem and the role of rockfill in thermal and mass transfer (crogenic) processes in the artificially created combined natural and engineered system are considered. It is established that, despite more than a 50-period of service, the thermal regime of the hydrosystem is in a fixed state and far from the steady state. Thawing of the shoreline abutments of the dam and in the reservoir floor is observed, and it is noted that the thermocryogenic processes seen in the lower rockfill retaining prism and at the base of the dam are both cyclic. The stability indicators of the hydrosystem are within the standards defined by Russian legislative documents.