Hydro-Electric Power

Plants
How does a Hydroelectric power plant work?

(Potential Energy)

(Electrical Energy)

(Kinetic Energy) (Mechanical Energy)

 Components of a hydroelectric power plant

• Dam : Dams are structures built over rivers to stop the water flow and
form a reservoir.
• Spillway : A spillway as the name suggests is a way for spilling of water
from dams. It is used to provide for the release of flood water from a
dam. It is used to prevent over topping of the dams which could result in
damage or failure of dams.
• Penstock and Tunnel : Penstocks are pipes which carry water from the
reservoir to the turbines inside power station. They are usually made of
steel. A tunnel serves the same purpose as a penstock. It is used when an
obstruction is present between the dam and power station such as a
mountain
• Surge Tank : The sudden surges of water in penstock is taken by the
surge tank, and when the water requirements increase, it supplies the
collected water thereby regulating water flow and pressure inside the
penstock.
• Power Station : Power station contains a turbine coupled to a generator.
 Introduction

• In hydroelectric power plants the energy of water is used to drive

the turbine which, in turn, runs the generator to produce
electricity.
• Energy of water falling through an appreciable vertical height is
converted to shaft work in the turbine.
• The hydraulic power is thus a naturally available renewable
energy source given by the following equation:

P = gρQH
Where,
P = Hydraulic power in watts
g = Acceleration due to gravity, 9.81 m/s2
Q = Water flow or discharge, m3/s
H = Height of fall of water, or head, m
 Introduction
• Substituting density of water (1000 kg/m3), the electrical energy
produced over a period ‘t’ hours will then be:

W = 9.81×1000 × Q × H ×η × t watts
or,
W = 9.81QHηt kWh

Here, η is the efficiency of the turbine-generator assembly and it

varies between 0.5 and 0.9.
• The power developed thus depends on the quantity (Q) and head
(H) of water.
 Advantages of water power
• Water source is perennially available. Water, after passing through
turbines to do work, can continue downstream for irrigation and drinking
water schemes. Its utility is therefore multifold.
• Its running costs are much less than thermal and nuclear plants because
of absence of fuel and its transportation.
• No pollution or exhaust into atmosphere. No problem of effluent
handling.
• The hydraulic turbine can be started and stopped quickly while thermal
and nuclear plants have long start-up and shut-down time.
• Hydro electric plant is comparatively simple in concept and therefore
more reliable.
• While effective life span of thermal and nuclear power plants is of the
order of 30 years, hydroelectric plants can easily last more than 50 years.
• Hydro plants provide additional benefits like irrigation, flood control,
afforestation and aqua culture.
• Because of its simplicity, hydro plants require less personnel for its
operation.
 Disadvantages of water power
• Hydro power plants are capital- intensive with low returns. The
annual interest of the capital cost is a major portion of the power
tariff.
• The gap between start and completion of hydro plants is large (10
to 15 years).
• Power generation is dependent upon quantity of water available
which may change from season to season. Rain fall must be
adequate and timely for satisfactory operation of the plant.
• Hydro plants are generally far away from the load centre and
therefore require long transmission lines to deliver power. This
adds to cost and transmission loss.
• Large hydro plants disturb the ecology of the area by way of
deforestation, destroying vegetation and displacement of people.
Therefore the emphasis is on small, mini and micro hydel
stations.
 Optimization of Hydro-Thermal mix
• Earlier, Hydroelectric power plant was an exclusive source of power.
Because of seasonal variation of water availability for power
generation, it is no longer used as primary power source.
• To meet the variable demand for power, a combination of
hydroelectric and thermal power plants is used for optimal power
generation.
• Load sharing by hydroelectric plant is maximum when water availability
is maximum and thermal plant is used for peak load demand.
• When water availability is low, thermal plant will be used as base load
plant and peak load is met by hydroelectric plant.

Low flow day High flow day

 Selection of site for Hydroelectric plant

Factors to be considered while selecting a site for

hydroelectric power plant are:
• Availability of water
• Water storage capacity
• Available water head
• Accessibility of the site
• Distance from the load centre
• Type of land of site
 Selection of site for Hydroelectric plant

Availability of water: Design and capacity of the hydel power plant

depends on the amount of water available at the site. Data
regarding run-off and precipitation with maximum and minimum
quantity of water available should be made available to:
• Decide the capacity of the plant
• Decide the size of peak load plant (Steam, Diesel or Gas Turbine)
• Provide adequate spillways or gate relief during flood period
Water storage capacity: Since rain fall will not be uniform
throughout the year, necessary storage of water has to be planned
for continuous generation of power. The storage capacity can be
estimated with the help of mass curve.
 Selection of site for Hydroelectric plant
Availability water head: Since amount of power generated is a
function of kinetic energy of water, sufficient head of water should
be available for power generation. An increase in effective head, for
a given output, reduces the quantity of water to be supplied to the
turbines.
Accessibility of the site: The site should be easily accessible by rail
and road. An inaccessible terrain will affect the movement of men
and materials.
Distance from the load centre: In order to reduce transmission
losses as well as transmission cost, the site should be as close as
possible to the load centre.
Type of the land of the site: The dam constructed at the site should
have large catchment area to store water at high head. The
foundation rocks of the masonry dam should be strong enough to
withstand earthquakes and the thrust of water when the reservoir is
full.
 The hydrological cycle

Runoff + Seepage + Evaporation + Transpiration = Precipitation ± Change in storage

 Hydrographs
• Variation of river flow at a given site depends on the geographical,
geological and topographical features of the drainage area.
• Hydrographs show the variation of discharge (river flow) with
time.
Hydrographs

Time
 Hydrographs
Basin lag time
Peak flow

l i mb

Re
ce
Discharge (m3/s)

Rising

ss
Overland
2

io
flow

nl
im
mm

b
4 Through flow
1 3

2
Base flow

0 12 24 36 48 30 72

Hours from start of rain storm

A storm hydrograph or flood hydrograph helps predict flooding events and hence
implementation of flood prevention measures
 Flow duration curve
• One way of representation is to plot flow duration curves which
show the time when a stream flow is equaled or exceeded in any
period – daily, weekly, monthly…
• The area under the flow duration curve represents the average
yield from the stream.
• If we plot the power generated (instead of flow rate) vs time, the
power duration curve is obtained and the area under the curve
then represents the average yield of power from the hydel project.
• Figure in next slide :
• Area OABC represents primary yield and hence primary power
• Area BCDE represents secondary water power available (and
hence available secondary water power)
• To meet the power demand under DEF, a thermal plant of
capacity BF is required as a peak load station.
 Flow duration curve

Primary yield (and power) shaded yellow (area under OABC)

Area under BCDE = Secondary power available from water
If power under DEF is to be met, then a thermal power plant of
BF capacity needs to be established to take peak load. That is,
beyond 50% of the time, thermal plant has to be operational.

Primary yield

Typical flow duration curves

Hydrograph & Flow duration curve – Worked example

The run off data for a river at a particular site is tabulated below:

Month Mean discharge Month Mean discharge

(millions of cu.m.) (millions of cu.m.)

January 30 July 80

February 25 August 100

March 20 September 110

April 0 October 65

May 10 November 45

June 50 December 30

• Draw the hydrograph and find the mean flow.

• Draw the flow duration curve.
• Find the power developed if the head available is 90 m and the overall
efficiency of generation is 86%. Assume each month has 30 days.
 Hydrograph & Flow duration curve – Worked example

30 + 25 + 20 + 0 + 10 + 50 + 80 + 100 + 110 + 65 + 45 + 30
Themean
The disch arg e =
meandischarge
12
565
= = 47.08 m 3
/ s m3/month
million
12
Hydrograph

120
Discharge (million cu.m./month)

100
80
60
Mean flow
40
20
0
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Tim e, m onths
 Hydrograph & Flow duration curve – Worked example

To obtain the flow duration curve, first find the duration of time for which
certain flows are available as shown in the table below:
Discharge / month Total no. of months Percantage time
(million cu.m) during which flow is
available

0 12 100.00

10 11 91.70

20 10 83.30

25 9 75.00

30 8 66.70

40 6 50.00

50 5 41.70

60 4 33.30

70 3 25.00

80 3 25.00

90 3 25.00

100 2 16.70

110 1 8.30
Hydrograph & Flow duration curve – Worked example

P = (ρgHQη) 10-6 MW

= (47.08x10 x9.81x90x0.86)
3

(30x24x3600)

= 13.79 MW
 The mass curve

• The use of the mass curve is to

compute the capacity of a hydel

STORAGE
plant.

Accumulate flows (ha-m)

• Mass curve is a plot of Y

Accumulated flow (in hectare- MASS CURVE

metre) against time, made from the
records of mean monthly flows
STORAGE VOLUME
of a stream. REQIRED FOR
CONTINUOUS
X RELEASE OF WATER
• If the curve is horizontal, the AT AVERAGE
DISCHARGE RATE
flow is zero and if there is high
rate of flow, the curve rises
steeply. Dry periods are indicated
as concave depressions. TIME

• The vertical distance between tangents to high and low points on the
curve is an indicator of the storage volume required for continuous
release of water at average discharge rate
 Classification of hydroelectric plants
Hydroelectric power plants can be classified as follows:
• According to availability of head
• High head power plants (100m and above)
• Medium head power plants (30 to 100m)
• Low head power plants (25 to 80m)
• According to nature of load
• Base load station
• Peak load station
• According to quantity of water available
• Run-of-river plant with out pondage
• Run-of-river plant with pondage
• Storage type plants
• Pump storage plants
• Mini and Micro plants
 High head power plants
• These plants work with water heads in the range of 100 to 2000 metres.
• Penstock / Tunnel has surge chamber at exit of dam to absorb pressure
fluctuations.
• Flow is controlled by head gates at the tunnel intake, butterfly valve at the
top of the penstocks, and gate valve at the turbine.
• The Pelton wheel is the common prime mover for high head stations.

(Pelton wheel)
 Medium head power plants
• These plants work with water heads in the range of 30 to 100 metres.
• The forebay at the beginning of penstock serves as the reservoir.
• Forebay itself acts as surge tank in such plants. Surge tank prevents
sudden pressure increase in penstock when the turbine inlet valve is
suddenly closed when load reduces.
• The Francis turbine is the common prime mover for medium head stations.
 Low head power plants
• These plants usually consist of a dam across a river.
• A sideway stream diverges from the river at the dam.
• Later this channel joins the river further downstream.
• Vertical shaft Francis turbine or Kaplan turbine is the generally used in low
head stations.

(Vertical shaft Francis

or Kaplan turbine}
 Base load and Peak load power plants

• Base load power plant : A base load power plant is one that
provides a steady flow of power regardless of total power
demand by the grid. These plants run at all times through the
year except in the case of repairs or scheduled maintenance.
For a typical power system, rule of thumb states that the base
load power is usually 35-40% of the maximum load during the
year.

• Peak load power plant : These are power plants for electricity
generation which, due to their operational and economic
properties, are used to cover the peak load. Gas turbines and
storage and pumped storage power plants are used as peak
load power plants. The efficiency of such plants is around 60 -
70%.
 Run-of-river power plant
Without pondage:
• This type of plant does not store water and uses the water as it
comes.
• There is no control on the flow of water. During low loads or
floods, water is wasted and during low flow, plant capacity is
considerably reduced.
• During good flow conditions, such plant can cater to base load of
the system and when the flow is low, it can function as a peak
load station.
• The run-of-river plant may be made for load service with pondage
though storage is seasonal.
With pondage:
• Pondage is collection of water behind a dam at the plant to
increase the stream capacity for a short period, say a week.
• It is more reliable and its generating capacity is less dependent
on the flow rates of water available.
 Storage type power plant

• A storage type plant has a

reservoir that supplies
more than the minimum
natural flow on a continuous
basis.
• Such plants can be used
as base load plants as well
as peak load plants as
water is available with
control as required.
• Majority of hydroelectric
plants are of this type.
 Pumped storage type power plant
• Pumped storage plants are employed at places where quantity of water
available for power generation is inadequate.
• Here, the water after passing through the turbine is stored in a tail race
pond.
• During low load periods, the tail race water is pumped back to head
reservoir using the extra energy available.
Advantages of Pumped storage type power plant
• Substantial increase in peak load capacity of the plant at
comparatively low capital cost.
• Due to load comparable to rated load on the plant, the operating
efficiency of the plant is high.
• There is an improvement in the load factor of the plant.
• The energy available during peak load periods is higher than that
during off peak periods so that, in spite of losses incurred in
pumping there is overall gain.
• Load on the hydroelectric plant remains uniform.
• The hydroelectric plant becomes partly independent of the stream
flow conditions.
Some pumped storage plants use “Reversible Turbine Pump”. These units work as
Turbines while generating power and as pump while pumping water to storage. The
generator in this case works as motor during reverse operation. With the use of
reversible turbine pump sets, additional capital investment on pump and its motor
can be saved.
Mini and Micro hydroelectric power plants
• To tap the low head hydro potential scattered across
our country, mini and micro hydel plants are
advantageous. Estimated potential from such plants
can be has high as 20,000 MW.
• Mini plants work in the water head range of 5 m to 20 m
• Micro plants work with water head less than 5 m
• Each plant can develop 100 kW to 1000 kW of power.
• It is possible to set up a small hydro generating plant of
about 5 MW consisting of several mini / micro plants
within a short period of 12 to 18 months. Such plants
are in existence in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal
Pradesh, West Bengal and Bhutan.
 Dam

A dam performs the following

two basic functions
• It develops a reservoir of the
desired capacity to store
water.
• It builds up a head for power
generation.
A dam can have moderate head
and a large storage capacity like
Aswan dam in Egypt (156 billion
cu.m. and 111.5m head) or high
head with moderate storage
capacity like the Hoover dam in
the USA (38 billion cu.m. and
222m head.
 Classification of Dams

4 TYPES OF DAMS

• Gravity dams.
• Arch dams.
• Buttress dams.
• Embankment dams
 Gravity Dams

• Principle : Water pushes

against the gravity dam,
but the heavy weight of
the dam pushes down into
the ground and prevents
the structure from
toppling.

• Gravity dams are solid

concrete dams where the The Grand Coulee dam, USA
base of the dam is thicker
/ wider than the top.

• Gravity dams are usually

built on solid rock
foundations.
Forces on a gravity dam
 Arch Dams
• This type of dam is like an
arch bridge.

• The arch curves towards the

flow of the water.

• Arch dams are normally built

in a narrow canyon or gorge.

• Due to water pressure, the The Hoover dam, USA

arch squeezes together. The

weight of the dam pushes the
structure down to the ground.

Forces on an Arch dam

Arch Dams
 Buttress Dams
Water pushes against the buttress dam, but the buttress pushes
back and prevents the dam from toppling over. The weight of
the buttress dam also pushes down into the ground.

Forces on a buttress dam

Buttress Dams
 Embankment Dams

• Embankment dams are very low in

height compared to their length.

• The wall of the dam has a gently

sloping curve.

• They are normally made of clay,

stones and rock

• Water pressure acts on one side of

the dam, but the wide base and Tarbela dam, Pakistan
weight of the embankment dam
provides stability to the dam.

Forces on an embankment dam

Embankment Dams
 DAMS based on materials
•Earth filled dams Concrete masonry dams
•Rock filled dams

Nurek Dam, Tajikistan

Hoover Dam, USA

 DAMS based on materials

Nagarjunasagar dam (Stone masonry dam)

 DAMS based on materials
Itaipú Dam (Brazil & Paraguay) – RCC dam

7700 m long x 196 m high; 14 GW installed capacity

DAMS based on materials

Guri Dam (Venezuela) (RCC dam, 690 m long)

DAMS based on materials

Grand Coulee Dam (USA); Concrete dam;

1592 m long x 168 m high; 6809 MW installed capacity
 DAMS based on materials

HIRAKUD DAM (26KM LONG X 61 m HIGH) ACROSS MAHANADI – ORISSA (CONCRETE+EARTHEN)

WORLD’S LARGEST EARTHEN DAM
 Selection of turbines for Hydel plants

Type of power plant Water head Type of turbine

Turbine Type

Low head < 60 m Kaplan or Reaction

Propeller
Medium head >60 m and <300 m Francis Reaction
High head >300 m Pelton wheel Impulse
 Classification of hydraulic turbines

• Reaction Turbines
• Derive power from pressure drop across turbine
• Totally immersed in water
• Angular & linear motion converted to shaft power
• Francis and Kaplan turbines
• Impulse Turbines
• Convert kinetic energy of water jet hitting buckets
• No pressure drop across turbines
• Pelton turbines
Francis turbine
 Francis turbine

• A type of hydropower
reaction turbine that
contains a runner that has
water passages through it
formed by curved vanes or
blades. The runner blades,
typically 9 to 19 in number,
cannot be adjusted.

• The Francis turbine has a

wide range of applications
and can be used for fall
heights of 2–800 meters.

• The largest Francis

turbines have an output of
750 MW.
Francis turbine
Francis turbine – Grand Coulee Dam
 Kaplan turbine

• Kaplan turbines are well

suited to situations in
which there is a low head
and a large amount of
discharge.

• The adjustable runner

blades enable high
efficiency even in the
range of partial load, and
there is little drop in
efficiency due to head
variation or load.
Kaplan turbine
Vertical Kaplan turbine
Horizontal Kaplan turbine
 Pelton turbine

Pelton turbines are impulse type turbines and they are suited for
high head, low flow applications
Pelton turbine
 Penstock

Penstock is a pipe of adequate diameter and thickness that

transports water from the storage point to the turbine in the power
house.
 Surge Tank
• To avoid water hammer, a Surge Tank is installed between the dam and
the powerhouse at the water entry of the penstock.

• When the flow to the turbine is reduced, water flows into the surge tank and
conversely for increased load , the initial extra water required is from the
surge tank.

• The tank should not overflow when the turbine is suddenly shut down, nor
allow air to be drawn into the system following a sudden increase in
demand.
A simple surge Tank
 Inclined surge Tank

• Effective water surface area increases

• Lesser height of surge tank can be used

Inclined surge tank

Conduit

Inclined surge tank

 Expansion chamber surge Tank

• Expansion chambers limit extreme water surges

 Restricted orifice surge Tank
• Throttled surge tank
• Throttle creates appreciable friction loss when water rushes
into the tank or flows out from the tank

Surge tank

Restricted orifice
 Water intake system

The intake system supplies water from the reservoir to the

turbine through the penstock. The intake system consists of
• Gates
• Operating and hoisting system
• Trash screen
• Cleaning mechanism
Gates:
Gates have the following uses:
• The reservoir storage capacity can be increased by installation
of movable gates.
• The water level in the reservoir can be varied by operating the
gates.
 Gates

There are different types of gates:

• Vertical lift gate
• Radial gate
• Rolling gate
• Drum gate
 Gates

Vertical lift gates move vertically up and down on actuation to

vary the effective opening available for flow of water. This type of
gate is generally used for smaller capacity hydraulic power
plants.
 Gates
Radial gates are in the form of segment of a cylinder supported
on a steel framework. The steel framework is supported on
trunions. The gate is hoisted by means of winches.
 Gates

Drum gates consist of a segment of a hollow cylinder which

hinges in the recess provided on top of the spill way. The drum
gate is actuated by the water pressure itself to maintain a
constant level.
 Penstock Valves
Penstock entry valves are generally sluice type gate valves that can
admit required flow of water into the penstock. The gate is moved up
or down to control the area available for flow of water.

Hand wheel for

manual
operation of
small valves

Gate

Penstock interface-
two sides
 Butterfly Valves
Used as shut-off or gross flow control functions on penstocks.
Flapper opening within the housing determines the area available for
flow of water.

Flapper

Shaft & Bearing

Housing

View from inside penstock, valve in open position

 Butterfly Valves
Due to their large size, penstock butterfly valves are motor operated.
 Flow control Valves
They are needle type valves used for precise control of flow. In
Pelton turbines, the entire pressure drop occurs across such valves
and the resulting kinetic energy of water drives the Pelton turbine.
Several such valves will be arranged along the periphery to facilitate
partial admission of water to control power generation.

Needle valves arranged

around periphery

Butterfly valve (Shut-off)

 Flow control Valves
Pressure drop across the needle valve results in high velocity
water jet to strike the buckets of Pelton turbine to generate
mechanical power. The needle can be moved axially to control
the area of opening of the valve.

Pelton wheel bucket

Needle movement

High pressure water from

penstock