Copyright © IFAC Automatic Systems for Building the Infrastructure ELSEVIER

in Developing Countries, Istanbul, Republic of Thrkey, 2003

IFAC
PUBUCATIONS
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MODELLING AND DESIGN OF

HYDRAULIC TURBINE - GOVERNOR SYSTEM

Darko Bal?unski, Atanasko Tuneski

Faculty ofMechanical Engineering, "Sts. Cyril and Methodius" University,

P.D. Box 464, 1001 Skopje, Republic ofMacedonia. Fax: +3892362298
e-mail: bdarko@mfukim.edu.mk

Abstract: A linear and non-linear mathematical model of hydraulic turbine, including

water supply conduit is proposed, and analysis of dynamic characteristics of models
is made. Analysis and design of a hydraulic turbine governor using proportional
control with constant and transient droop, proportional-integral (PI) and
proportional-integral-derivative control (PID) is made, with proposal of optimal
control parameters for both linear and non-linear hydraulic turbine model. Copyright
©2003IFAC

Keywords: Hydraulic turbines, turbine governor, PID control, system modelling.

1. INTRODUCTION system environment are shown on the block diagram

in Figure 1.
The requests of mathematical model of hydraulic
plants including hydraulic turbine, penstock,
unrestricted head and tail race, large or no surge tank
and governor of hydraulic turbine are, to assure large
transient stability program simulation, isolated
system operation, system restoration after brake up,
load rejection, load acceptance, water hammer
dynamics and optimal speed control. This paper
presents simulation results for both linear and non-
linear mathematical models of hydraulic plants
recommended by IEEE (F. P. de Mello et al. 1992) utomatic Generatio
Control
and governors which use proportional (P),
proportional-integral (PI) and proportional-integral-
derivative (PID) control. Non-linear models are Fig. 1. Block diagram of hydro prime mover and
required where speed and power changes are large, control
such as in islanding, load rejection and system
restoration studies.
2. HYDRAULIC TURBINE MODEL
However, there are great difficulties designing good
governor of hydraulic turbines, because the hydraulic Linear and non-linear mathematical models of
turbine is highly non-linear device which hydraulic turbine with penstock and without surge
characteristics vary significantly with the tank, derived by assuming that the fluid is
unpredictable load on the unit. Such nonlinearities incompressible, were recommended by the IEEE (F.
make the governor design a nontrivial task because P. de Mello et al. 1992, E. De Jaeger et al. 1994).
governors designed for one operating condition may These are given and discussed in this section.
not work at all under other conditions. Basic
elements of a hydraulic turbine within the power

263
2.1 Non-linear model ofhydraulic turbine assuming The power developed by the turbine is proportional to
incompressible flow the product of the flow rate and the head and it
depends on the efficiency, which is taken into
From the laws of momentum, the rate of change of account with subtraction of the no load flow qnl term
flow in the conduit is:
from the actual flow.

pL dQ =(H -H -H)APg (1) turbine power (MW)

dt s I Pm =~h ( q-qnl ) = . (4)
generator MVA rating
where Q is the volumetric flow rate, L is the
penstock length and p is the mass density of the where the factor ~ is introduced to take into account
water. The net force on the water can be obtained by the difference between the turbine power and the
considering the pressure head at either end of the generator bases, as shown in equation 4 and its values
conduit. On entry to the penstock the force on the can be obtained by considering the operation of the
water is simply proportional to the static head H s , turbine at rated load. The damping effect that is
dependent on gate opening must also ne taken into
while at the wicket gate it is proportional to the head account, and so that at any load condition the turbine
H across the turbine. Due to friction effects in the power can be expressed by:
conduit there is also a friction force on the water
represented by the head loss HI so that the net force
(5)
on the water is represented with the right side of the
equation (1). It is usual to normalise equation (1) to a
where D is the damping coefficient. Equations (2),
convenient base. Although this base system is
(3) and (5) constitute the non-linear turbine model
arbitrary, the base head h base is taken as the static
shown on Figure 2, where the wicket gate position is
head above the turbine, which is equal to H s' while the control variable.
the base flow rate qbase is taken as the flow rate
through the turbine with the gates fully open and the
head at the turbine equal to h base . Dividing both sides
of equation (1) with hbaseqbase' the following
equation is obtained:

(2)

where q = Q/ q base and h = H / h base are the

normalised flow rates and pressure heads,
respectively, and Tw = Lqbase is the water starting
Aghbase Penstock Turbine
time. Theoretically Tw is defined as the time taken ·1
for the flow rate in the penstock to change by a value Figure. 2. Non-linear model of hydraulic turbine
equal to qbase when the heat term in the brackets (incompressible flow)
changes by a value equal to hbase . The head loss hi
is proportional to the flow rate squared and depends
on the conduit dimensions and friction factor, but 2.2 Linear model ofhydraulic turbine assuming
incompressible flow
here it is sufficient to assume that hi = k fq2 and it
can often be neglected. In turbine model, hydraulic Linearized mathematical model of hydraulic turbine
characteristics and mechanical power output must be is used for small changes of mechanical power, and it
modelled. Firstly the pressure head across the turbine can be obtained by linearizing equations (2), (3) and
is related to the flow rate to assuming the turbine can (4) about an initial operating point:
be represented by the normalised (per unit) valve
characteristics: dlMj _ Mz _ aq aq m_ap m ap
di-- Tw ' ~q- ac~c+ ah M , Mm -ailM+aqlMj
q = clh (3) (6)
Introducing the Laplace operator s and eliminating
where c is the gate position between 0 and 1. t:Jz and ~q from the equations gives

264
 instantaneously so the velocity of the flow through
8q 8Pm -T s 8Pm 8q ]
Mm [ 8c8q w 8h8c the turbine will initially increase. This increase in
-= (7) water velocity will produce an initial increase in the
/1c I+T 8q turbine power until, after a short delay, the flow rate
wS 8h in the penstock has time to reduce when the power
will also reduce. This effect is reflected in equation
where the partial derivatives are (9) by the minus sign in the numerator. This
characteristic is shown on Figure 3 where a step
increase in the gate position !'lc initially produces a
rapid drop in power output. As the flow rate in the
penstock increases the power output increases.
( 8)
3. HYDRAULIC TURBINES
and the suffix "0" indicates an initial value. GOVERNING SYSTEMS
Substituting into equation 7 gives
Due to the initial inverse response characteristics of
turbine power to gate changes, hydraulic turbines
Mm _ A ],3/2 1- Tw's require provision of transient droop features in the
(9)
/1c - 1"0 T' speed controls, to slow down the initial gate
1+~s
2 movement and to allow the water flow in the
penstock to catch up the gate, stabilizing the control
performance. This means that for fast deviations in
where T' = T qo = J:....- Qo Typically Tw ' IS frequency, the governor exhibits high regulation (low
w who Ag Ho .
gain) while for slow changes and in the steady state
between 0.5 and 5 [s]. the governor exhibits the normal low regulation (high
gain).
This is the classic definition of water starting time
but it is dependent on the values of the head and the From a linear control analysis point of view, hydro
flow rate at the linearisation point. Therefore it varies turbine generator supplying an isolated load can be
with load. If required, the constant A, can be represented with block diagram shown on Figure 4.
absorbed into the gate position when it effectively
converts the gate opening to per unit turbine power
on the generator base. The block diagram of the
linearised hydraulic turbine model is shown on
Figure 3.
Fig. 4. Linear model of hydraulic turbine and
governor
Ah'/' 1- (s
!i.c , 0 T' 3.1 Governor with proportional control
1+-'-s including transient droop
2
The block diagram of the model, including the
transient droop is shown on Figure 5. With this
--'----ii. I
!i.c
governor the turbine gate is controlled by a two stage
hydraulic position servo. The physical meaning of the
!' parameters used in this model is as follows:
I Tp - pilot valve and servo motor time constant
I'
i
il- Q - servo gain
:--"--...,-_. - l
_... .,...... - ; .,~,-+--'~7---;-""""----:---' Tg - main servo time constant
Rp - permanent droop
Fig. 3. Linear model of hydraulic turbine and its
response to a step change in gate position R, - transient droop
1'. - reset time or dashpot time constant
Equation (9) describes an interesting and important
characteristic of water turbines. For example,
The permanent droop determines the speed regulation
suppose that the position of the gate suddenly closed
under steady state conditions. It is defmed as the
slightly so as to reduce the turbine power output. The
speed drop in percent or per unit required to drive the
flow rate in the penstock cannot change

265
gate from minimum to maximum opening without 3.2 Governors with proportional- integral (PI) and
change in speed reference. proportional- integral- derivative (PID) control
Max. Gate opening 5I
Governors with proportional control not always
deliver the optimal performance, so there are other
ate types of governors which include proportional-
integral (PI) and proportional-integral-derivative
(PID) control. The block diagram of PID and PI
governors are shown on Figure 6. PI control is special
case of PID control when KD = O. When using PI
control, transfer functions are gl = K p +KJis and
hi = Rp. When comparing the resulting frequency
response characteristics with previous proportional
control, it is apparent that both governors achieve the
Fig. 5. Model of typical hydraulic turbine governor same objective, transient droop increase. Tuning
including transient droop compensation objectives are: Transient droop 1/
Rt = K p ,
TR = Kp/K] .
Due to peculiar dynamic characteristics of hydraulic
turbine, it is necessary to increase the regulation
under fast transient conditions in order to achieve
stable speed control. This is achieved by the parallel
transient droop branch with washout time Gate
constant TR . Because of the choice of per unit
system, with maximum gate opening defined as
unity, the speed limits must be defmed, for
consistency, as fractions of the maximum gate
openinng per second. The closed loop response of
such system is: l...-----l Rp 1 + - - - - - - - - - '

(10)
Fig. 6. PID governor including pilot servo dynamics
where
It must be taken into account that crossover does not
(11) occur at frequencies that are close to the inverse of
the smaller servomotor time constants.

The purpose of the derivative term is to extend the

If gl 0 1/h1 , then gJh1D I and G is approximately
crossover frequency beyond the constraints imposed
on PI governors. Transient gain has been increased
equal to gl' If 1/hJ 0 gJ then gJhlD I and G is by 60 % over normal PI values. This results in
approximately equal to 1/ hi . roughly the same increase in crossover frequency,
and thereby in governor response speed. The
Hence the closed loop response may be approximated detrimental effects on stability are averted by the
by plotting both gJ and 1/ hi and choosing the phase lead effects resulting from derivative action.
There is a risk, however that the rise in magnitude
lowest of both gain responses at any frequency as an
due to the derivative action, compounded with that
approximation to the closed loop response at that
resulting from the hydraulic system, may result in a
frequency. The speed regulating loop will have
second crossover at higher frequencies. Due to high
acceptable stability if(F. P. de Mello et al. 1992):
phase lags at these frequencies, a second crossover
The transient gain, (1/ Rt ) does not exceed will certainly result in governor loop intensity. This is
I H the reason for the minimum limit imposed on the
-51.5-
Rt Tw value of Kp/K D (Jin Jiang, 1995).
Crossover frequency, Wc approximately
equal to 1/(2HRt )' occurs somewhere in the
4. SIMULATION RESULTS
region between TR and QRt . This reduces
phase lag contributions from the governor. The simulations of dynamic characteristics of linear
and non-linear model of hydraulic turbine with or
without governor are performed using SIMULINK

266
software, with step change of gate position used as governor for non-linear model, but when it is done
system input. The parameters used in simulation are: the response characteristics of that system are better
in comparison with the linear turbine-governor
Co =O.2[pu]; pu == per unit, Tw = 1.83[s] , system (Figure 7). It must be noted (Iin Jiang, 1992)
that optimal governor design using classical control
~ = 1.004, qnl = 0.0521[pu], q/Hue = 82.5[ m /s
3
J, theory gives optimal control around operating point
and not in every working point of turbine.
h/Hue = 140.6[m] , k f =0.000304[m/{m'/s)'J.

K p =2, K[ =0.25, TR =8[s], Tp =0.02[s], REFERENCES

Rp = 0.05 [pu], RI =0.45[pu] D=O.5[pu/pu].
IEEE working group report "Hydraulic turbine and
turbine control models for system dynamic
The simulation diagrams of change of mechanical studies", IEEE Transactions on Power Systems,
output power Pm with step change of input (gate Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 167-179, 1992.
position) with magnitude 0.5 (from 0.2 to 0.7) of both J. Jiang, "Design of an Optimal Robust Governor for
models of hydraulic turbine and with different types Hydraulic Turbine generating units", IEEE
of governors are shown on Figure 7. Simulations Transactions on Energy conversion, Vol. 10, No.
shows that the non-linear model of hydraulic turbine 1, pp. 188-194, 1995.
with proportional governor with transient droop has E. De Jaeger, et al. "Hydro turbine model for system
the best response, while the linear model with dynamic studies" IEEE Transactions on Power
proportional governor have small instabilities along Systems, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 1709-1715, 1994.
the response line which is generally stable. O.H. Souza Jr. et al. "Study of hydraulic transients in
hydropower plants through simulation of
nonlinear model of penstock and hydraulic
5. CONCLUSION turbine model" IEEE Transactions on Power
Systems, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp 1269-1273, 1999
The advantages of non-linear model versus linear MATLAB User's Guide, (1995) Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
model become apparent when both models are New Jersey.
subjected to large excursions in turbine loading.
There is a great problem for designing optimal

0.6 ,----~r_---,__---...._---__._---__._---__,_---___,
.I..':'.''' .
, ----:--
,J,,\flA.':''''''~~
•
:

~
I , I

! ......~~····~~~__ .:::F~·_:r.··_~··:.:.···=~::::~~~~~~9 .. , •••

: .... ~.
,, ,,
0.4 ----------~-- -------•••<.....;..~--':'~-------~------ ,
- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - , - - - - - - - - - --- -- - r - - - - - - - - - -- --

~
....~/-/ L':, : : Linear turbine PI ve~or
,, ,, ,,
: , , ,

0.2 ---------+ /6/-------- ~--- -------- _ .. ------

:Linear turbine:proportional gpvernor
... - - - - __ - - - - - - _.'4
, ,
..
,
Linear turbine governor with transient droop
_

~ I}'
: Non-linear turbine governor. with transient:droop
o ~-~L~~--i---=::t====t:===::::::t====t==-~
Pm [pu)
-0.2 ---------- .
~/E
"

-0.4

-0.6

-0.8

-1 ' - - - - ' - - - - - - ' - - - - - - ' - - - - - - - ' - - - - - ' - - - - - - - ' - - - - - - '

-5 o 5 10 15 20 25 30
1[5]

Fig. 7. Mechanical Power Response characteristics of mathematical models with governors to 0.5 step change in
gate position

267