Chapter 7

Hydroelectric Power Plant

7.1 Introduction To The Working Principle of
Hydroelectric Power Plant

 Potential energy is the energy which a substance has due

to its position or state. The water behind a dam has
potential energy because of its position. The water can fall
from this position and exert a force over a distance and
therefore do work.
 In a Hydro-electric power plant the force is used to drive a
turbine, which in turn drives the electric generator.
 Because gravity provides the force which makes the water
fall, the energy stored in the water is called gravitational
potential energy.
 7.2 HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE OR
RAIN EVAPORATION CYCLE
 It is the process by which the moisture from the surface of
water bodies covering the earth’s surface is transferred to
the land and back to the water bodies again
 The input to this cycle is the solar energy. Due to this,
evaporation of water takes from the water bodies.
 On cooling, these water vapours form clouds.
 Further cooling makes the clouds to fall down in the form
of rain, snow, hail or sleet etc; known as precipitation.
 Precipitation includes all water that falls from the
atmosphere to the earth’s surface in any form
 About 2/3rd of Precipitation, which reaches the land surface
is returned to the atmosphere by evaporation from water
surfaces, soil and vegetation and through transpiration.
The remaining precipitation returns ultimately to the sea
or ocean through surface or underground channels. This
completes the cycle.
 The amount of rainfall which runs off the earth’s land
surface to form streams or ‘rivers is useful for power
generation
 The precipitation that falls on hills and mountains in
the form of snow melts during warmer weather as run-
off and converges to form streams can also be used for
power generation.
 7.3 Power Generation
 As the water falls through a certain height, its
potential energy is converted into kinetic energy and
this kinetic energy is converted to the mechanical
energy by allowing the water to flow through the
hydraulic turbine runner
 This mechanical energy is utilized to run an electric
generator which is coupled to the turbine shaft.
 The power developed in this manner is given as

P  g   Q  H
 P  g   Q  H
 Where P = power in kilowatts (kW)
g = gravitational acceleration (9.81 m/s2)
 = turbo-generator efficiency (0<n<1)
Q = quantity of water flowing (m3/sec)
H = effective head (m)
 7.4 LAYOUT OF HYDRO
ELECTRIC POWER PLANT
Layout of Hydro electric power plant
Cont..
 Water reservoir:
 In a reservoir the water collected from the catchment area is stored
behind a dam.
 Catchment area gets its water from rain and streams.
 The level of water surface in the reservoir is called Head water level.
Note : Continuous availability of water is a basic necessity for a
hydro-electric power plant.
 Dam :
 The purpose of the dam is to store the water and to regulate the out
going flow of water.
 The dam helps to store all the incoming water. It also helps to increase
the head of the water. In order to generate a required quantity of power
it is necessary that a sufficient head is available.
Cont..
 Spillway:
 Excess accumulation of water endangers the stability of dam
construction. Also in order to avoid the over flow of water out
of the dam especially during rainy seasons spillways are
provided. This prevents the rise of water level in the dam.
 Spillways are passages which allows the excess water to flow
to a storage area away from the dam.
 Gate :
 A gate is used to regulate or control the flow of water from the
dam.
 Pressure tunnel:
 It is a passage that carries water from the reservoir to the surge
tank.
Cont..
 Surge tank:
 A Surge tank is a small reservoir or tank in which the water level rises
or falls due to sudden changes in pressure.
Purpose of surge tank:
 To serve as a supply tank to the turbine when the water in the pipe is
accelerated during increased load conditions and as a storage tank
when the water is decelerating during reduced load conditions.
 To reduce the distance between the free water surface in the dam and
the turbine, thereby reducing the water-hammer effect on penstock and
also protect the upstream tunnel from high pressure rise.
Water-hammer effect :
o The water hammer is defined as the change in pressure rapidly above
or below normal pressure caused by sudden change in the rate of water
flow through the pipe, according to the demand of prime mover i.e.
turbine.
Cont..
 Penstock:
 Penstock is a closed pipe of steel or concrete for supplying water
under pressure to the turbine.
 Inlet valve :
Water from the penstock flows to the turbine through the inlet valve.
The valve may be partially closed or open thereby regulating the
pressure of water flowing to the turbine.
 Hydraulic turbine (Prime mover) :
The hydraulic turbine converts the energy of water into mechanical
energy. The mechanical energy(rotation) available on the turbine
shaft is coupled to the shaft of an electric generator and electricity is
produced. The water after performing the work on turbine blades is
discharged through the draft tube.
The prime movers which are in common use are Pelton wheel,
Francis turbine and Kaplan turbine.
Cont..
 Draft tube:
 It is connected to the outlet of the turbine.
 It allows the turbine to be placed above the tail water level.
 Tail water level or Tail race:
o Tail water level is the water level after the discharge from the
turbine. The discharged water is sent to the river, thus the level of
the river is the tail water level.
 Electric generator, Step-up transformer and Pylon :
 As the water rushes through the turbine, it spins the turbine shaft,
which is coupled to the electric generator. The generator has a
rotating electromagnet called a rotor and a stationary part called a
stator. The rotor creates a magnetic field that produces an electric
charge in the stator. The charge is transmitted as electricity. The
step-up transformer increases the voltage of the current coming
from the stator. The electricity is distributed through power lines
also called as pylon.
7.5 Selection of Site for a Hydro-electric
Power Plant
 The essential characteristics of a good site are:
 Large catchment areas,
 High average rainfall and
 Favorable place for constructing the storage or reservoir.
 The geological, geographical and meteorological
conditions of a site need careful investigation.
 Factors consider to select a hydro-electric power plant:
• Water available
• Water-Storage
• Head of Water
• Distance from Load Center
• Access to Site
 7.5.1 Water Available
 To know the available energy from a given stream or river.
 The discharge flowing and its variation with time over a
number of years must be known.
 The estimates of the average quantity of water available should
be prepared on the basis of actual measurements of stream or
river flow.
 The recorded observation should be taken over a number of
years to know within reasonable, limits the maximum and
minimum variations from the average discharge.
 The river flow data should be based on daily, weekly, monthly
and yearly flow over a number of years.
 Then the curves or graphs can be plotted between tile river
flow and time.
 These are known as hydrographs and flow duration curves.
 7.5.2 Water-Storage
 The output of a hydropower plant is not uniform
due to wide variations of rain fall.
 To have a uniform power output, a water storage is
needed so that excess flow at certain times may be
stored to make it available at the times of low flow.
 To select the site of the dam ; careful study should be
made of the geology and topography of the catchment
area to see if the natural foundations could be found
and put to the best use.
 7.5.3 Head of Water
 The level of water in the reservoir for a proposed plant
should always be within limits throughout the year.

7.5.4 Distance from Load Center

 Most of the time the electric power generated in a hydro-
electric power plant has to be used some considerable
distance from the site of plant.
 To be economical on transmission of electric power, the
routes and the distances should be carefully considered
since the cost of erection of transmission lines and their
maintenance will depend upon the route selected.
7.5.5 Access to Site
 It is always a desirable factor to have a good access
to the site of the plant.
 The factor is very important if the electric power
generated is to be utilized at or near the plant site.
 The transport facilities must also be considered
7.6. Hydrograph
 The variation of stream flow a given site depends on
geographical, geological and topographical features of
drainage area feeding the river as well as the
magnitude of the area rain fall.
 Hydrograph shows the variation of the river flow
rate(discharge) with time
 It is plotted with flows as coordinates and time
intervals as abscissas.
 The flow is in m3/sec and the time may be in hours,
days, weeks or months.
7.6.1 Flow Duration Curves
 A flow duration curve shows the relation between
flows and lengths of time during which they are
available.
 It is a plot of flow (Q) versus the percent of time a
particular flow can be expected to be exceeded.
 The flows are plotted as the ordinates and lengths of
time as abscissas.
 The flow duration curve can be plotted from a
hydrograph.
Flow Duration Curve
140

120

100
Discharge in m3/s

80

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Exceedence in %
  Example: the long term flow of a small stream is
shown in table below
months Jan Feb Mar April May Jun July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Q(m3/s) 0.36 0.38 0.4 0.5 0.76 1.67 2.59 2.49 1.45 0.94 0.56 0.43

 Calculate the hydrograph ,flow duration curve and

average flow rate of water.
7.7 Classification of Hydroelectric Power
Plant
 Even though there is no common standard
classification of hydropower, can be classified in to
three major groups based on the construction ,head
and size of the plant.
1)Based on construction
 Based on the construction of hydropower there are
three types of design, these are
 Impoundment
 diversion run of river
 pumped storage.
Impoundment
 Typical large hydropower plants needs the
construction of dams used to store more volume of
water to provide sufficient head behind the dam.
 The stored water in the reservoir is required to get
large amount of output power by improving the head
and constant flow the through the turbine
 In addition the reservoir is used to store water for dry
season
 Run-of-River
 Run-of-river type of power plant uses only the water that is
available in the natural flow of the river.
 The water is diverted from the natural stream flow into canal
penstock.
 Run of the River plants do not need dam or store water.
 The power output of run-of-river hydro plants fluctuates with
the hydrologic cycle.
 Therefore this types of power plants are viable only ,if the minim
dry season flow is enough to generate the demand load of at all
times.
 Typical run-of- river plant consists of either a low level diversion
weir or a stream bed intake.
 The advantage of these structures is used to provide constant
flow of water into the turbine through the penstock
 Pumped storage
 Pumped storage is a dual action water flow system.
 During off peak hours water is pumped up to the higher
reservoir from the lower one using reversible pumping turbine.
 The stored potential energy of water is released back to the lower
reservoir to spine the turbine to generate power during peak
hours
2)Based on Installed Capacity
 It is the most frequent form of classification used in
hydro power although there is no internationally
agreed range.
 Classification of hydropower varies from country to
country.
 The table below gives a general classification ranges
accepted by most countries
classification of hydropower plants based on size
3)Based on Head
 Classification of hydropower plant based on head is also
divided in to three as:
 Low head (<50m)
 Medium head(50-300m)
 High head (>300m)
 7.8 Components of Hydroelectric
Power Plant
 The components of hydroelectric power plant includes
the civil work structure and electromechanical
equipments.
 The civil work components are such as penstock
reservoir ,power house, surge tank and tailrace
 Where as the electromechanical equipments includes
the turbine and accessories and generator in the power
house
7.8.1 Reservoirs
 A reservoir is a large, artificial lake created by constructing a dam
across a river. Broadly speaking, any water pool or a lake may be
termed a reservoir. However, the term reservoir in water
resources engineering is used in a restricted sense for a
comparatively large body of water stored on the upstream of a
dam constructed for this purpose. Thus a dam and a reservoir
exist together.
 Depending upon the purpose they served, reservoirs classified:
 Storage (or conservation) reservoirs
 Flood control reservoir
 Multipurpose réservoir
 Distribution réservoir.
 Balancing reservoir
Dam Storage
Freeboard
Maximum Flood
Level
Surcharge
Capacity Spillway

Live
capacit Active
Total
y storage
capacity
Principal
Outlet

Dead
storage
7.8.2 Classification of Dams
 Classification based on function serving
 Storage dam: Stores water
 Diversion dam: Diverts water
 Detention dam: temporarily stores water to avoid
flooding
 Coffer dam: A barrier constructed across a structure
 Debris dam: restricts debris and allow clear water to pass
through
 Classification based on materials of construction
 Masonry dam; Concrete dam; Earth dam; Rock fill dam;
Timber dam; Rubber dam; Steel dam
Cont..
 Classification according to design:
 Gravity dam;
 Earth dam; Embankment
 Rock fill dam: dams
 Arch dam
 Buttress dam
 Classification according to hydraulic design
 Non-overflow dams: On top of which water is not
allowed to flow.
 Overflow dams: Water is allowed to flow over the dam.
Arc Dam
Buttress Dam
Concrete Gravity Dam
7.8.3 Penstock
 A penstock is the conduit that is used to carry water from the
supply sources to the turbine. This conveyance is usually from
a canal or reservoir..
 Penstocks classified based operation conditions:
 Pressure penstock : requires that the water discharging to
the turbine always be under a positive pressure (greater than
atmospheric pressure).
 Siphon penstock: is constructed in such a way that at points
in the penstock the pressure may be less than atmospheric
pressure and sections of the conduit act as a siphon. This
requires that a vacuum pump or some other means for
initiating the siphon action must be used to fill the conduit
with water and to evacuate the air in the conduit.
Penstock cont…
 Penstocks may be classified according to type of
construction, for example:
 Reinforced concrete penstock: low head and low discharge
capacity, the water quality shall be good for the concrete.
 Fiberglass or plastic pipe
 Steel penstock: The penstocks are required to withstand high
pressures thus fabricated usually as banded steel pipes. If
plain steel pipes are to be used their thickness shall be thick.
 Wood stave pipe
 Steel penstocks have become the most common type of
installation in hydropower developments due to simplicity
in fabrication, strength, and assurance that they will
perform in a wide variety of circumstances. Normal
practice is to use welded steel pipe sections.
Penstock cont…
 Cast-in-place or precast reinforced concrete pipe can be used for
penstocks. Very large diameters are somewhat impractical. Cast-
in-place concrete pipes are usually limited to heads of less than
35 m. According to Creager and Justin (1950), precast reinforced
concrete penstocks can be used up to 4m in diameter and under
heads up to 185 m by using a welded steel shell embedded in the
reinforced concrete.
 Fiberglass and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic pipe have proven
to be useful for penstocks. A penstock at the Niagara Mohawk
plant uses a fiberglass pipe 3 m in diameter.
 Wood stave pipes have been used in diameters ranging from 15
cm up to 6 m and utilized at heads up to 185 m with proper
design.
7.8. Power House
 The essential equipments needed in hydro-electric
power generation are housed suitably in a structural
complex called Power House.
 The major equipments in a power house:
 Turbines, Generators, Transformers, switch boards;
shaft, ventilation, cranes, etc
 According to the location of the hydropower station,
the power houses are classified as surface power house
or underground power house.
Power House

Supper

Intermediate

sub
Substructure
 The substructure of a power-house is defined as that part which
extends from the bottom of the turbine to the soil or rock. Its purpose
is to house the passage for the water coming out of the turbine.
 Hydraulic function
 In case of reaction turbines to provide a diverging passage (draft tube)
where the velocity of the exit water is gradually reduced in order to
reduce the loss in pushing out the water.
 In case of impulse turbine, such a draft tube is not required and only an
exit gallery would serve the purpose.
 Structural function is dual:
 To safely carry the superimposed loads of machines and other
structures over the cavities.
 To act as transition foundation member which distributes heavy
machine loads on the soil such that the obtainable ground pressures
are within safe limits.
Intermediate structure
 The intermediate structure of a power house may be
defined as that part of the power house which extends from
the top of the draft tube to top of the generator foundation.
 This structure contains two important elements of the
power house, one is the scroll case which feeds water to
the turbine. The generator foundation rests on the
scroll-case which is embedded in the concrete.
 The other galleries and chambers also rest on the same
foundation. Scroll or spiral case is a part of the turbine and
it distributes water coming from penstock uniformly and
smoothly through guide vanes to the turbine. The scroll
case is required only in case of reaction turbine. In
case of impulse turbine the place of scroll case is taken by
the manifold supplying water to the jets.
Superstructure
 The part of the power house above the generator floor
right up to the roof is known as superstructure.
 This part provides walls and roofs to power station and
also provides an overhead travelling crane for handling
heavy machine parts.
7.9. Hydraulic Turbines
 As water falls from the upper position to the lower one
through the penstock or tunnel ,its potential energy is
converted into electrical energy with a prime mover
referred as hydraulic turbine.
 Hydraulic turbine consists of vanes ,blade ,or buckets.
 they can be broadly classified into two types either
impulse or reaction turbine.
 This classification criteria is based on the impact of
the water energy with respect to hydraulic turbine.
 Impulse turbine converts the kinetic energy jet of
water on air into torque energy when the jet hits the
turbine runner.
 Reaction turbine develops power from the combined
effects of pressure and kinetic energy of the moving
water.
7.9.1 Pelton turbine
 The Pelton turbine is a tangential flow impulse turbine.
 The water strikes the bucket along the tangent of the
runner.
 The energy available at the inlet of the turbine is only KE.
 The pressure at the inlet and outlet of the turbine is
atmospheric.
 This turbine is used for high heads.
 At the outlet of penstock there is nozzle. At the outlet of the
nozzle, the water comes out in the form of jet and strikes
the buckets(vanes) of runner. the main parts are: Nozzle,
runner and Buckets , casing and breaking jets.
 The jet of water strikes on the
splitter. the splitter divides the jet
into two equal part and the jet
comes out at the outer edge of the
bucket. The buckets are shaped in
such a way that the jet gets
deflected through 160 or 170
drgee.
Casing

 The function of the casing is to prevent the splashing of the

water and to discharge water to tail race. It also acts as
safeguard against accidents.
7.9.2 Cross flow turbine
 It is a drum-shaped machine that uses an elongated rectangular
selection nozzle directed against curved vanes on a cylindrical
shaped runner
 It looks like a ‘’squirrel cage’ blower.
 It consists of two parts; a nozzle and a turbine runner.
 Cross flow turbine allows the water to flow through the blade
two times .
 When the water flows from outside of the blade to inside is the
first pass.
 The second pass is when the water passes from inside buck to
outside
Cross Flow Turbine
7.9.4 Reaction Turbine
 The direction flow of water with respect to water
wheel determines the designs of reaction turbines. If
the flow direction is
 Perpendicular to the axis of rotation, the runner is
called a radial-flow reaction turbine.
 Somewhat in between radial and axial direction, it is
known as a mixed flow reaction turbine.
 Parallel to the axis of rotation it an is axial flow
turbine.
 Francis, Propeller and Kaplan turbines are an example
of reaction turbines
Radial Flow Reaction Turbines
 Are those turbines in which the water flows in the
radial direction.
 The water may flow radially from out wards to
inwards(i.e towards axis of rotation) which is called
inward radial flow turbines or from inwards to
outwards which is also called outward radial flow
turbines.
 The main parts of radial flow reaction turbines
are: casing, runner, guide mechanism and draft
tube.
 Francis Turbine
 The inward flow reaction turbine having discharge at
outlet is known as Francis Turbine.
 In the modern Francis turbine, the water enters the
runner of the turbine in the radial direction at outlet
and leaves in the axial direction at the inlet of the
runner.
 Thus the modern Francis Turbine is a mixed flow type
turbine.
The Francis Turbine is Developed by James
B. Francis
Axial Flow Reaction Turbine
 If the water flows parallel to the axis of the rotation of
the shaft, the turbine is known as Axial flow turbine.
 And If the head at the inlet of the turbine is the sum of
pressure energy and kinetic energy the turbine is
known as reaction turbine.
w
a
Kaplan Turbine
Kaplan turbine
 Victor Kaplan ,1919, designed and built the first Kaplan
turbine
 It is built with coordinated adjustable blades and gates
7.10. Turbine Selection
 The type, geometry and dimensions selection of turbine is
carried out based on head, discharge Rotational speed,
Cavitations and Cost.
 The net head is the first criteria to take into account in the
turbine's selection.
 Impulse turbines such as Pelton turbines work effectively
at high head.
 Some turbines like the cross-flow and the Kaplan work
efficiently with a large range of flow variation
 while others like the propeller turbines work only for a
narrow range of flow variation with their efficiency falling
quickly with a little variation in flow.