Shukhov tower on the Oka River
Encyclopedia
Hyperboloid structure
Hyperboloid structures are architectural structures designed with hyperboloid geometry. Often these are tall structures such as towers where the hyperboloid geometry's structural strength is used to support an object high off the ground, but hyperboloid geometry is also often used for decorative...
electricity pylon
Electricity pylon
A transmission tower is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. They are used in high-voltage AC and DC systems, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes...
. It is located in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, in the western suburbs of Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
, on the left bank of the Oka River
Oka River
Oka is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir, and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its total length, as far upstream as to the town of Kaluga. Its length exceeds...
near Dzerzhinsk
Dzerzhinsk, Russia
Dzerzhinsk is a city in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, situated along the Oka River, about east of Moscow. Population: The city is named after Feliks Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky, a Polish Bolshevik leader who was the first head of the Cheka ....
. The tower is one of several tower structures designed by Russian engineer and scientist Vladimir Shukhov
Vladimir Shukhov
Vladimir Grigoryevich Shukhov , was a Russian engineer-polymath, scientist and architect renowned for his pioneering works on new methods of analysis for structural engineering that led to breakthroughs in industrial design of world's first hyperboloid structures, lattice shell structures, tensile...
; however, its power lines were decommissioned in 1989.
History
The Shukhov Tower was a part of a 110kV three-phase AC transmission lineElectric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
crossing the Oka River commissioned between 1927 and 1929. For the Oka River crossing, six hyperbolic pylons (three for each powerline) were built: a 20 metres (65.6 ft) tall anchor pylon, a 68 metres (223.1 ft) tall crossing pylon on the hillier south shore, and a 128 metres (419.9 ft) tall crossing pylon on the lower terrain of the north shore.
In 1989, the power line was rerouted and the 20- and 68- metre pylons were dismantled. The 128 metre pylons were left intact as a monument. Today, only one of the 128-metre pylons stands as the other was illegally demolished to sell its steel in May 2005.
Structure
The Shukhov Tower consists of five 25 metres (82 ft) steel lattice sections, formed by single-cavity hyperboloids of revolution. The pylon sections are made of straight profiles, the ends of which rest against circular foundations. The tower's circular concrete foundation has a diameter of 30 metres (98.4 ft).Present condition
RAO UES, Russia's electricity company,used Shukhov's unique constructions for 70 years. The existing pylon currently requires maintenance and FGC UESFGC UES
FGC UES is the largest electricity transmission company grid in Russia.-History:RF Government Decree of 11 July 2001 № 526 "On Restructuring the Electric Power Russia" Unified Energy System of Russia was recognized as "national property and guarantee energy security of the state...
is scheduled to repair it.
Non-hyperboloid pylons
Pylons of Cádiz
The Pylons of Cádiz, also known as the Towers of Cádiz, are two tall pylons supporting a double-circuit 132 kV three-phase AC powerline over the bay of Cádiz, Spain starting at Puerto Real Substation at to the substation of the former Cadiz Thermal Power Station situated on the peninsula upon...
of similar design can be seen near Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
See also
- Hyperboloid
- Shukhov TowerShukhov TowerThe Shukhov radio tower , also known as the Shabolovka tower, is a broadcasting tower in Moscow designed by Vladimir Shukhov. The 160-metre-high free-standing steel structure was built in the period 1920–1922, during the Russian Civil War...
- List of hyperboloid structures
- List of towers
- Pylons of CádizPylons of CádizThe Pylons of Cádiz, also known as the Towers of Cádiz, are two tall pylons supporting a double-circuit 132 kV three-phase AC powerline over the bay of Cádiz, Spain starting at Puerto Real Substation at to the substation of the former Cadiz Thermal Power Station situated on the peninsula upon...
- Zaporizhzhia Pylon TripleZaporizhzhia Pylon TripleThe Zaporizhia Pylon Triple is a set of two triples of 74.5 metre tall electricity pylons in Zaporizhia, Ukraine. They are used for the transport of electricity generated at the Dnieper Power Station over a span of 900 metres from Khortytsia Island to the east bank of Dnieper River...
External links
- "Vladimir G. Shukhov e la leggerezza dell’acciaio", by Fausto Giovannardi