ECEg-4242

ENERGY CONVERSION AND RURAL

ELECTRIFICATION

CHAPTER FOUR
HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER STATION

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 INTRODUCTION
 A generating station which utilises the potential energy of water at a
high level for the generation of electrical energy is known as a hydro-
electric power station.
 In a hydro-electric power station, water head is created by constructing
a dam across a river or lake. From the dam, water is led to a water
turbine.
 The water turbine captures the energy in the falling water and changes
the hydraulic energy (i.e., product of head and flow of water) into
mechanical energy at the turbine shaft.
 The turbine drives the alternator which converts mechanical energy
into electrical energy.
 They have the added importance for flood control, storage of water for
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Advantages
i. It requires no fuel as water is used for the generation of electrical energy.
ii. It is quite neat and clean as no smoke or ash is produced.
iii. It requires very small running charges because water is the source of energy
which is available free of cost.
iv. It is comparatively simple in construction and requires less maintenance.
v. It does not require a long starting time like a steam power station. In fact, such
plants can be put into service instantly.
vi. It is robust and has a longer life.
vii. Such plants serve many purposes. In addition to the generation of electrical
energy, they also help in irrigation and controlling floods.
viii. Although such plants require the attention of highly skilled persons at the time
of construction, yet for operation, a few experienced persons may do the job
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Disadvantages
i. It involves high capital cost due to construction of dam.
ii. There is uncertainty about the availability of huge amount of water
due to dependence on weather conditions.
iii. Skilled and experienced hands are required to build the plant.
iv. It requires high cost of transmission lines as the plant is located in
hilly areas which are quite away from the consumers.

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 Schematic Arrangement of Hydro-electric Power Station
 Although a hydro-electric power station simply involves the conversion of hydraulic
energy into electrical energy, yet it embraces many arrangements for proper working
and efficiency. The schematic arrangement of a modern hydro-electric plant is shown
in Fig. 2.2.
 The dam is constructed across a river or lake and water from the catchment area
collects at the back of the dam to form a reservoir. A pressure tunnel is taken off from
the reservoir and water brought to the valve house at the start of the penstock.
 The valve house contains main sluice valves and automatic isolating valves. The
former controls the water flow to the power house and the latter cuts off supply of
water when the penstock bursts.
 From the valve house, water is taken to water turbine through a huge steel pipe known
as penstock. The water turbine converts hydraulic energy into mechanical energy. The
turbine drives the alternator which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

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 A surge tank (open from top) is built just before the valve house and protects the
penstock from bursting in case the turbine gates suddenly close* due to electrical
load being thrown off. When the gates close, there is a sudden stopping of water at
the lower end of the penstock and consequently the penstock can burst like a paper
log. The surge tank absorbs this pressure swing by increase in its level of water.


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 Choice of Site for Hydro-electric Power Stations
 The following points should be taken into account while selecting the site for a
hydro-electric power station :
(i) Availability of water. Since the primary requirement of a hydro-electric power
station is the availability of huge quantity of water, such plants should be built at a
place (e.g., river, canal) where adequate water is available at a good head.
(ii) Storage of water. There are wide variations in water supply from a river or canal
during the year. This makes it necessary to store water by constructing a dam in
order to ensure the generation of power throughout the year. The storage helps in
equalizing the flow of water so that any excess quantity of water at a certain period
of the year can be made available during times of very low flow in the river. This
leads to the conclusion that site selected for a hydro-electric plant should provide
adequate facilities for erecting a dam and storage of water.

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(iii) Cost and type of land. The land for the construction of the plant should be
available at a reasonable price. Further, the bearing capacity of the ground should be
adequate to withstand the weight of heavy equipment to be installed.
(iv) Transportation facilities. The site selected for a hydro-electric plant should be
accessible by rail and road so that necessary equipment and machinery could be easily
transported.
It is clear from the above mentioned factors that ideal choice of site for such a plant is
near a river in hilly areas where dam can be conveniently built and large reservoirs
can be obtained.

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 Constituents of Hydro-electric Plant
 The constituents of a hydro-electric plant are
1) hydraulic structures
2) water turbines and
3) electrical equipment.
1. Hydraulic structures. Hydraulic structures in a hydro-electric power station
include dam, spillways, headworks, surge tank, penstock and accessory works.
i. Dam. A dam is a barrier which stores water and creates water head. Dams
are built of concrete or stone masonary, earth or rock fill. The type and
arrangement depends upon the topography of the site. The type of dam also
depends upon the foundation conditions, local materials and transportation
available, occurrence of earthquakes and other hazards.

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(ii) Spillways. There are times when the river flow exceeds the storage capacity of
the reservoir.
 Such a situation arises during heavy rainfall in the catchment area. In order to
discharge the surplus water from the storage reservoir into the river on the
down-stream side of the dam, spillways are used.
(iii) Headworks. The headworks consists of the diversion structures at the head of
an intake. They generally include booms and racks for diverting floating debris,
sluices for by-passing debris and sediments and valves for controlling the flow of
water to the turbine. The flow of water into and through headworks should be as
smooth as possible to avoid head loss and cavitation. For this purpose, it is
necessary to avoid sharp corners and abrupt contractions or enlargements.

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 (iv) Surge tank. A surge tank is a small reservoir or tank (open at the top) in which
water level rises or falls to reduce the pressure swings in the conduit.
 When the turbine is running at a steady load, there are no surges in the flow of
water through the conduit i.e., the quantity of water flowing in the conduit is just
sufficient to meet the turbine requirements.
 However, when the load on the turbine decreases, the governor closes the gates of
turbine, reducing water supply to the turbine. The excess water at the lower end of
the conduit rushes back to the surge tank and increases its water level.
 Thus the conduit is prevented from bursting. On the other hand, when load on the
turbine increases, additional water is drawn from the surge tank to meet the
increased load requirement.
 Hence, a surge tank overcomes the abnormal pressure in the conduit when load on
the turbine falls and acts as a reservoir during increase of load on the turbine.
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(v) Penstocks. Penstocks are open or closed conduits which carry water to the
turbines. They are generally made of reinforced concrete or steel.
 Concrete penstocks are suitable for low Heads (< 30 m) as greater pressure causes
rapid deterioration of concrete.
 The steel penstocks can be designed for any head; the thickness of the penstock
increases with the head or working pressure.
 Various devices such as automatic butterfly valve, air valve and surge tank (See
Fig. 2.3) are provided for the protection of penstocks.
 Automatic butterfly valve shuts off water flow through the penstock promptly if it
ruptures. Air valve maintains the air pressure inside the penstock equal to outside
atmospheric pressure. When water runs out of a penstock faster than it enters, a
vacuum is created which may cause the penstock to collapse. Under such
situations, air valve opens and admits air in the penstock to maintain inside air
pressure equal to the outside air pressure.
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2. Water turbines. Water turbines are used to convert the energy of falling
water into mechanical energy. The principal types of water turbines are :
(i) Impulse turbines (ii) Reaction turbines
(i) Impulse turbines. Such turbines are used for high heads. In an impulse turbine,
the entire pressure of water is converted into kinetic energy in a nozzle and the
velocity of the jet drives the wheel
 The example of this type of turbine is the Pelton wheel (See Fig. 2.4).
 It consists of a wheel fitted with elliptical buckets along its periphery.
 The quantity of water jet falling on the turbine is controlled by means of a
needle or spear (not shown in the figure) placed in the tip of the nozzle.
 The movement of the needle is controlled by the governor. If the load on
the turbine decreases, the governor pushes the needle into the nozzle, thereby
reducing the quantity of water striking the buckets. Reverse action takes place if
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(ii) Reaction turbines. Reaction turbines are used for low and medium
heads.
 In a reaction turbine, water enters the runner partly with pressure energy
and partly with velocity head. The important types of reaction turbines
are :
(a) Francis turbines (b) Kaplan turbines
 A Francis turbine is used for low to medium heads.
 A Kaplan turbine is used for low heads and large quantities of
water.
3. Electrical equipment. The electrical equipment of a hydro-electric
power station includes alternators, transformers, circuit breakers and other
switching and protective devices.
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 Terminologies
The gross head, 𝑯𝒈 : The vertical difference
between the water surface elevations at the
upstream and downstream.
The net effective head, 𝑯𝒏 : The head
available for energy production.
𝑯𝒏 = 𝑯𝒈 - (head loss)
Hydraulic efficiency, 𝒆𝒉 : The ratio of net
head to gross head.
Overall efficiency, e: 𝒆𝒉 x 𝒆𝒕 x 𝒆𝒈
 𝒆𝒕 : efficiency of turbines
 𝒆𝒈 : efficiency of generators
 e is around 60-70%

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 The capacity (installed capacity): The maximum power which can be
developed by the generators.
 Firm (primary) power (base load): The power, which can be produced by a
plant with no risk.
– For a single hydroelectric plant, it corresponds to the min. availability of
storage.
– Firm energy is marketed with high price.

 Surplus (secondary) power: All the power available in excess of

firm power.
– Secondary power cannot be relied upon.
– Its rate is usually less than that of firm power.
– It can be generated ~9 to 14 hours/day.
 Peaking load: The power required to meet peak demands.
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– It can be generated for less than ~8 hours/day.
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 Dump energy: The energy generated that cannot be stored and is beyond
instantaneous needs.
– Usually sold at low price.
 The load curve: The variation of power requirement against time.
– Evening hours à High demands
– Midnight à Low demands
– Weekend à Low demands
– Winter à High demands
 The load duration curve: It gives the relation between the power generated
and the corresponding time interval that can guarantee the generation of that
power.

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 Generally hydro and thermal plants operate together in an interconnected power
distribution system.
 Hydroelectric power plants and thermal plants are utilized in a rotational manner
by considering
– The quantity of water stored behind the reservoir,
– The future hydro meteorological conditions expected, and
– The availability of the fuel.
 In periods with plenty of water:
– Hydroelectric power plants are mainly used to generate base load in order to
save fuel.
 In periods with low flow season:
– Thermal plants are used to produce the firm or base load.
 Combined system allows max. efficiency for optimum economic utilization.
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 K

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 Hydroelectric power plants are generally classified according to
their operative mode, such as
– Run-of-river plant,
– Storage plant, and
– Pumped-storage plant.
1. Run-of-River Plants
 Uses river flow with no storage
 Productivity depends on the river regime.
 Considered as base load plants
 The flow is diverted from the river to the lined canal (min. slope for
max. head).
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 Settling basin is used to minimize the sediment entrainment into the
canal.
 Some of the plants have regulating head water pond called forebay.
 Forebay facilitates daily or weekly storage to meet intermediate or
peaking loads.
 Forebay also facilitates
– gentle approach flow conditions to intake,
– surge reduction, and
– sediment removal.
 A penstock transmits the flow to the power house.

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2. Storage Plants
 It has a reservoir of sufficient size to develop a firm flow
substantially.
 Depending on the size of the storage, it can meet intermediate and
peaking loads.
 Water is withdrawn from the reservoir by means of penstocks to the
turbines for electricity generation.
 To obtain high head sometimes a power house is to be constructed at
a sufficiently lower elevation on the other side of a hill.
 In this case water is diverted to the penstocks by pressure tunnels.

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 3. Pumped-Storage Plants
 A pumped-storage plant incorporates a headwater and a tailwater pond jointly
by a penstock and a reversible pump-turbine.
 During low demand hours:
– The hydraulic machine pumps water from the tailwater pond to the
headwater pond using surplus power generated by a fuel-fired plant in the
power system with relatively low cost.
 During peak hours:
– Water falls from the headwater pond by means of a penstock and passes
through the turbine to generate electricity.
 Overall efficiency is ~70%.
 A reversible pump-turbine may operate up to
 ~300 m of heads with high efficiency.

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 Example
1. A hydro-electric generating station is supplied from a reservoir of capacity
5 × 106 cubic meters at a head of 200 meters. Find the total energy available
in kWh if the overall efficiency is 75%.

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2. It has been estimated that a minimum run off of approximately 94 𝑚3 /sec will
be available at a hydraulic project with a head of 39 m. Determine (i) firm
capacity (ii) yearly gross output. Assume the efficiency of the plant to be 80%.

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