Hydropower Engineering

Chapter 3
Hydrology and Hydraulic Design Concept of
Hydropower
Lecture 1
Contents

 Hydraulic theory for Hydropower

 Hydrologic analysis for Hydropower

 Hydraulics of Hydropower
 The power capacity of a hydropower plant is primarily
a function of two main variables
 Water discharge (Q) and,
 The hydraulic head (H)
 Water discharge is the volume of flow with respect to time
through the plant.
 At maximum rated head and full gate opening, the maximum
discharge will flow through the turbine.
 Rated discharge refers to a full gate opening or plant
discharge which at rated head produces the rated power
output of the turbine.
 If a certain site is selected for hydropower development, the
water power (energy) that can be generally obtained from
the site can be evaluated as;
Power = g * Q * H * η = 9.81 * Q * H * η (kW)
In considering hydraulic theory in the hydropower
engineering, it is important to relate the concept of power
to the fundamental variable of head and discharge. Thus
this will be done through;

 Energy-Work Approach

 Bernoulli’s Energy Equation Approach

 Kinetic Theory [Reading Assignment]

 Referring to the below figure, if the elemental volume of water,
designated dv, moves from position1 slightly below the
headwater level to position 2 at the surface of the tail water the
exit to the draft tube, the work done is represented by dw in the
following equation
Work = force X distance
dw = ρg*dv*h (1)
Where dw = work done by elemental mass of water
ρ = density of water
g = acceleration of gravity
dv = elemental volume
h = vertical distance moved by the elemental volume of
water
If the elemental volume of water moves in some
differential unit of time (dt), the differential discharge
(dq) of water can be noted as
 dq = Q=
Power = work/time dp =

dP = dP =

dP= ρg*dq*h
 Summing the elemental power components of the total discharge
passing through the turbine gives the theoretical power equation
P = ρ*g*Q*h
Where P = unit power capacity, Watt (W)
ρ = mass density of water (kg/m3)
g = acceleration of gravity, (m/s2)
h = effective head (m)
To compareP kilowatts
= ηρgQh and horsepower remember thatPkw  0.746 Php
 Mathematical development in terms of energy grade lines and
hydraulic grade lines, using the Energy Equation.
v12 p1 v22 p2
  z1    z 2  h f  Cons.
2g  2g 
where V1 = water velocity at point 1
p1 = pressure at point 1
γ = ρg = specific weight of water
Z1 = potential head at point 1
referenced to the datum
V2 =water velocity at point 2
p2 =pressure at point 2
Z2 =potential head at point 2
hf = head loss in flow passage between
points 1 and 2
Referring to the Figure,
the Energy equation for
a hydropower
installation is first
written between point 1
at the surface of the
fore-bay and point 2 at
the entrance to the
turbine as

v12 p1 v22 p2
  z1    z 2  h f ... (1)
2g  2g 
Then the Energy equation is written between points 2
and 3, the surface of the water at the exit to the draft
2 2
v
tube; 2 p v p3
 2
 z2  3
  z3  h... ( 2)
2g  2g 

Where h is effective head on the turbine

Recognizing that for practical purposes V 1, p1, and p3 are
equal to zero, then
p2 solvingv22for p2/γ in Eq. 1, the result is;
 z1   z 2  h f ... (3)
 2g
v22 p2 v32 v22  v22  v32
h   z2   z3    z1   z2  h f   z 2   z3
2g  2g 2g  2g  2g
v32
h  z1  z3  h f  ...(4)
2g
 Terms Related to Hydropower
 Gross head - it is the difference in water level between the water
level in the forebay (or head water in the reservoir) and tail
water level.
 Maximum Head (Hmax) - above which the excess water spilled after
impounding during or after a heavy rainy season with possible flood.
 Minimum head (Hmin)-below which the reservoir should ideally be
not allowed to be drawn down , and water contents in a given
reservoir is said to have been lowered down so a dead storage state.
 Net Head - It is the gross head minus the all the hydraulic losses.
This is the head available for power generation
 Design Head - the net head under which the turbine reach its peak
efficiency at synchronous speed (when the speed of turbines is equal
to speed of generator).
 Rated Head - it is the net head at which the turbine operating at full
gate opening.
 Firm Power - is the net amount of power which is continuously
available from a plant without any break down on guaranteed basis.
Should be available under most adverse hydraulic conditions.
 The consumers shall always be sure of getting this power.
 It depends upon whether storage is available or not for the plant since a

plant without storage like run-of-river plants would produce power as

per the minimum stream flow
 Secondary Power - the excess power available over firm power.

► There is no guarantee over secondary power.

► It is available as a result of seasonal excess of water or abnormal runoff.

► The alternative to generation is letting the water runoff (spilling).

 Installed Capacity - the total capacity in KW of all turbine-generator units

installed in the power house.
 Load is demand for electricity. Load can be expressed in terms of energy
demand (average power demand), or capacity demand (peak power
demand).
 Hydrology of Hydropower
Hydrology is the study of the occurrence, movement and distribution
of water on, above, and within the earth's surface.
Parameters necessary in making hydropower studies are water
discharge (Q) and hydraulic head (h).
The measurements and analyses of these parameters are primarily
hydrologic problems.
Determination of the head for a proposed hydropower plant is a
surveying problem that identifies elevations of water surfaces as they
are expected to exist during operation of the hydropower plant.
In some reconnaissance studies, good contour maps may be sufficient
to determine the value for the hydraulic head.
Because the headwater elevation and tail-water elevations of the
impoundment can vary with stream flow, it is frequently necessary to
develop headwater and tail-water curves that show variation with
time, river discharge, or operational features of the hydropower
project
 Flow duration analysis
Flow Duration Curves: is a plot of flow versus the percent of
time a particular flow can be expected to be equaled or
exceeded.
A flow duration curve merely reorders the flows in order of
magnitude instead of the true time ordering of flows in a
flow versus time plot.
140
Discharge in m3/s

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100

Exceedence in %
 Flow duration curve very often, plotted using the
average monthly values of the flow.
 The capacity estimate for firm power is then made by
using the entire recorded flow data and plotting in a
single flow duration curve.
 In such a case two different methods are in use.
(I) The total period /rank ordered method, and
(II) The calendar year/ Class - interval method.
 Both methods utilize the flow data available for the
entire period for which records are available.
 (Assignment2) Clearly discuss and identify the above
two methods.
16
Total period method/Rank- ordered method
 Considers a total time series of flows that represent
equal increments of time for each measurement value,
such as mean daily, weekly, or monthly flows, and ranks
the flows according to magnitude.
 The entire available record is used for drawing the FDC.
 Thus, ten years’ record would produce 120 values of
monthly average flows.
Procedures to be followed to draw the FDC
 First tabulate the flow in the ascending/descending
order starting from the driest month in the entire
period and ending with the wettest month of the given
year duration.
17
 The rank-ordered values are assigned individual order
numbers, the smallest beginning with order
 The order numbers are then divided by the total
number in the record and multiplied by 100 to obtain
the percent of time that the mean flow has been
equaled or exceeded during the period of record being
considered.
 The flow value is then plotted versus the respective
computed equaled or exceeded percentage.
 For the 10 year monthly data, the FDC would then be
drawn with the help of 120 values.
Calendar year method/Class Interval Method
 Each year’s/interval average monthly/interval values are first
arranged in ascending order.
 Then the average flow values corresponding to the driest year,
second driest year, and so on up to the wettest month are found
out by taking arithmetic mean of all values of the same rank.
 These average values are then used for plotting flow duration
curve.
 Such a curve for example would have only ten points for the ten
year example.
 The class-interval technique: is slightly different in that the time
series of flow values are categorized into class intervals.
 The classes range from the highest flow value to the lowest value
in the time series.
 A tally is made of the number of flows in each, and by
summation the number of values greater than a given
upper limit of the class can be determined.
 The number of flows greater than the upper limit of a class
interval can be divided by the total number of flow values
in the data series to obtain the equaled or exceeded
percentage.
 The value of the flow for the particular upper limit of the
class interval is then plotted versus the computed equaled
or exceeded percent.
 The total period/rank ordered method gives more
correct results than the calendar year method which
averages out extreme events.
 Naturally, the longer the record, the more statistically
valuable the information that results.
 Characteristics of Flow Duration Curves
 The flow duration curve (FDC) shows how flow is
distributed over a period (usually a year).
 A steep flow duration curve implies a flashy
catchment one which is subject to extreme floods and
droughts.
 Factors which cause a catchment to be flashy are;
 Rocky, shallow soil,
 Lack of vegetation cover,
 Steep, short streams,
 Uneven rainfall (frequent storms, long dry periods).
21
 Such type of FDC (i.e. steep) is not suitable for hydropower
development (especially run-of-river type).
 A flat flow duration curve is good because it means that the
total annual flow will be spread more evenly over the year,
giving a useful flow for longer periods, and less severe
floods.
 Since the area under the curve represents the volume
of flow, the storage will affect the flow duration curve
as shown by the dashed line in the Fig.; i.e., reducing
the extreme flows and increasing the very low flows.
23
Power Duration Curve (PDC)
Before any power plant is contemplated, it is essential to assess
the inherent power available from the discharge of the river and
the head available at the site.
The gross head of any proposed scheme can be assessed by
simple surveying techniques, whereas
Hydrological data on rainfall and runoff are essential in order
to assess the quantity of water available.
The hydrological data necessary for potential assessment are:
 The daily, weekly, or monthly flow over a period of several
years, to determine the plant capacity and estimate
output,
 Low flows, to assess the primary, firm or dependable
power.

24
 P
Remember that the power is given by   wQgh
The above equation is for theoretical conditions. The
actual output is diminished by the fact that the turbine has
losses in transforming the potential and kinetic energy
into mechanical energy. Thus an efficiency term (ɳ),
usually called overall efficiency, must be introduced to
give the standard power equation;
P   wQgh

If hydraulic head and the expected losses in the penstock

are known, it is possible to generate a power duration
curve from the flow duration curve. How?
If the river course is divided into a number of stretches,
the total power can be described by
P   w g  Qh

• The actual use of the equation for estimating the potential (P);
however, is made difficult due to the fact that the discharge of
any river varies over a wide range.
• High discharges are available only for short durations in a
year. Thus the corresponding available power would be of
short duration.
• Power duration curve can also be plotted since power is
directly proportional to the discharge and available head.
• Discharge/Power duration curve indicates discharge or
power available in the stream for the given percentage of
time.
 If the head is presumed to be constant at an average value,
power duration curve would exactly correspond to FDC.
 This is very often the procedure in elementary rough
calculations. If, however, a precise power duration curve is
desired, then the head corresponding to any discharge is
required to be known.

P50 Pm P95 P100

Power

0 50 95 100
Percentage of time equaled or exceeded
Power Potential
 Minimum potential power computed from the minimum flow
available for 100 % of the time (365 days or 8760 hours). This is
represented as P100;
 Small potential power computed from the flow available for 95 %
of time (flow available for 8322 hours). This is represented as P95;
 Average potential power computed from the flow available for 50%
of the time (flow available for 6 months or 4380 hours). This is
represented as P50;
 Mean potential power computed from the average of mean yearly
flows for a period of 10 to 30 years, which is equal to the area of the
flow-duration curve corresponding to this mean year. This is known
as ‘Gross river power potential’ and is represented as Pm.
 Technically available power: With conveyance efficiency of 70%
and overall efficiency of the plant as 80%, a combined multiplying
factor of 0.56 should be used with the average potential power, P50;
 The value of net water power capable of being developed
technically is also computed from the potential water power by
certain reduction factors to account for losses of head in the
conveyance and losses associated with energy conversion. This
factor to be about 0.75 or 0.80, i.e
Pm net  7.4 to 8.0 Qm h

 Where Qm = the arithmetic mean discharge

 The maximum river energy potential is given as

Emax net  8760 Pm net Kwh

Example#. The following is the record of average yearly
flow in a river for 15 years. If the available head is 15 m,
construct the FDC and power duration curve for the river.

Solution
 The yearly flow values are arranged in ascending order (see table
below). The power corresponding to each flow values are
calculated assuming the head (=15 m) to be constant. Then, FDC
and power duration curves are plotted on the same graph.
n = number of records ; m = number of times flow exceeded or
 1200 180000

Flow Power
170000
1100
160000

1000 150000

140000
900
Flow, m3/s

130000

Power, kW
800
120000

700 110000

100000
600
90000

500 80000
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

% of time equalled or exceeded

Reservoir Rule Curves: When releases from reservoirs are
made, the schedule of releases is often dictated by
considerations other than just meeting the flow demands for
power production. The needs for municipal water supply, for
flood control, and for downstream use dictate certain
restraints. The restraints are conventionally taken care of by
developing reservoir operation rule curves that can guide
operating personnel in making necessary changes in
reservoir water releases.
Evaporation Loss Evaluation: Where there is an
impoundment involved in a hydropower development there is
need to assess the effect of evaporation loss from the
reservoir surface.
Many hydropower developments require a dam or a diversion
that blocks the normal river flow. This then requires that
provisions be made for passing flood flows.
Spillway design flood analysis treats a unique type of
hydrology that concerns the occurrence of rare events of
extreme flooding.
The END

Hydropower Engineering