Hydrology

The hydro power plays very important role in the development of

the country as it provides power at cheapest rate being perpetual
source of energy. Nearly 20% of the total, world power is generated
using hydro plants. There are some fortunate countries in the world
where 99% of the nation's power' requirement is met by hydro
power.

There are few countries like USSR and Nepal where vast hydro
resources are yet to be harnessed. As per the estimate of the World
power Organisation, the world hydro potential is roughly 5000 GW
whereas only 200 GW is presently developed (4% only). Rain
falling upon the earth surface has Potential energy relative to oceans
towards it flows. This energy can be converted into shaft work
passing through hydraulic prime mover and ultimately into electrical
energy. The quantity of water available and head are equally
important in the generation of power. The available head depends
upon the selection of site for hydraulic power plant.

The site of the power plant is always selected for the highest
available head when other things are in favour of site selection. The
quantity of water available at the selected site depends upon the hy
drological cycle of nature. The quantity of water available Can be
determined from the study of rainfall and run off in that area or
rainfall and run off decides the site for the power plant. As the
availability of water depends on the natural phenomenon of rain, the
maximum capacity of hydraulic generating plant is usually fixed on
the basis of minimum quantity of water available. Usually storage
reservoirs are constructed for such plants in order to store the water
during peak periods of run off and supply the same during off peak
periods of run off. The study of rainfall and run off is very important
for the students before going to the study of hydro power
engineering. This study helps in the design of dams, spillways and
so on.

Hydrology The science which deals with rainfall and run off is
known as hydrology. The evaporation of the water from the surfaces
of river and oceans and its precipitation on the earth is known as
hydrological cycle. The distribution of precipitation on the earth
surface and beneath the earth is calculated with the help of
hydrological considerations. Water is evaporated from plants, rivers;
oceans and carried with the air in the form of vapour which is
known as clouds. When the vapours in the atmosphere are cooled
below dew point temperature. if fails in the form of water or snow
depending on the atmospheric temperature. This evaporation and
precipitation is a naturally Continuous process and therefore
constitutes a perennial source of energy

Most of the water resources projects are multi purpose projects as

irrigation, navigation, flood control and generation of electric power.
Problems in the design of multi purpose projects usually are how
much water is needed and how much is available. These are the
most difficult problems to answer to all the design problems because
it involves social, economic and engineering aspects.

The design of the project whether it is multi Purpose or single

purpose depends upon the availability of water. Peak rates of flow
are the basis of design of projects to control the excess water (Flood
control) while volume of flow during longer periods of time is of
interest in designing projects for use of water (irrigation or power
generation or both). The answer to this question is found through the
application of hydrology, the study of the occurence, and
distribution of the natural waters on the earth. Many projects are
designed to control the flood, irrigation and power generation if the
quantity of water available is sufficient for the required purpose and 
site is as per requirements. Many projects are designed only for
irrigation purposes or power generation purposes. The flood control
is one of the considerations in the design of the project whether it is
designed for power generation or irrigation as it cannot be avoided.
The design of multipurpose projects is always difficult compared
with the single purpose project because requirements from multi
purpose are varied.

Submit Article Resources Link to us

Hydroelectric Power Plants Site Selection

The purpose of the chapter is to inroduce the readers with different

types of hydro electric power plants and make them conversant with
various parts of the plant and their functions.

Hydro Electric Power Plant Site Selection or Hydro-electric

Power Plants.

In the choice of location for hydro power plant, several features may
be involved like dam, conduits, intakes, surge tank, power house and
many others. There is no easy answer to the question raised, which
is suitable site for a hydel power plant? The only solution is to study
several alternative layouts and adopt one which appears to be most
economical. Sometimes the most desirable location is aprarent to an
 experienced engineer. Sometimes there is no choice for site except
considerable investigation and study are required to determine the
most economical location

The scope for the site investigations depends partly on the

availability of existing published data, partly on the nature and size
of the proposed plants, and partly on the difficulties presented by the
existing topographical and geological features which in turn affects
the number of alternatives which have to be tried out.

It is a common practice for both office studies and siteinvestigations

to be carried out in two main stages.

I Preliminary Investigation The purposes of preliminary

investigations are to provide sufficient information to find out the
practicability of the proposed scheme and to choose between
alternative schemes. The preliminary designs and estimations can be
prepared and recommendations are made with reasonable
confidence.

2. Final investigations The final invesigationinclude the detailed

exploration of the recommended site so as to establish the complete
suitability and to enable the final designs. The preliminary and final
investigations include mainly (a) hydrological (b) topographical and
(c) geological

ssues with Dams

The dam also called as water reservoir is the most important part of the hydroelectric power
plants. All the water that is used for generation of electricity in the hydroelectric power plants is
stored in the dam. Since huge quantities of water are stored in the dam, it is very important that
the bed and walls of the dam should be able to sustain all the hydraulic pressures of water. Water
has mass and large quantities of water have huge weight which is exerted on the bed and the
walls of the dam. If the walls of the dam are not strong enough to sustain the forces of water, the
walls will break and water will spread to the surrounding areas producing devastating floods that
have potential to cause large scale destruction of human, animal and plant life.

Factors Affecting the Selection of Site for Dams

Apart from the construction of the dam, selecting proper site for the dam is very crucial.
Selecting the proper site will help carrying out construction of the strong dam and it will also
help reduce risks due to natural disasters like earth quake. Here are some of the important factors
to be considered while selecting the site for the dam for hydroelectric power plants:

1) Good topographical location along the path of river: The best location along the path of the
river is river canyon or at the location where there is narrowing of the river. If the aim is to store
maximum amount of water, then the volume of basin above dam should be calculated so that
sufficient quantity of water can be stored in it. The perfect site is one where there is wide and flat
valley.

2) Right geological structure: The rock structure on which the dam will be constructed should
be strong enough to sustain the weight of dam and water stored in the dam. The rock structure
should be able to sustain all the visible and invisible forces. The rock structure should be stable
and there should be least occurrence of the earthquakes in the region. The rock structure should
not allow the seepage of water and it should be waterproof.

3) Sufficient water is available: The flow of water where dam is constructed should be
sufficient enough to fill the dam. There is lots of loss of water from dam due to evaporation, the
flow of river water should be able accommodate this loss of water without affecting the
production of electricity from the hydroelectric power plant.

People living around the areas where storage basin is going to be constructed and the areas that
will be submerged should be convinced to move from there and they should be given proper
compensation and suitable resettlement areas. If this factor is ignored the chances of the success
of the hydroelectric power plant will reduced.

Types of Dams

There are two main types of dam: Gravity dams and Arch dams. These have been described
below:

1) Gravity dams: The gravity dams are the ones which are supported completely on the bed of
the rock. In these types of dams, since there is huge quantity of water in the dams, it exerts
excessively high hydraulic pressures on bed of the dam. Thus gravity dams can be constructed
only in the places where there is strong structure of the rock so that it can sustain all the forces.
Further, this rock structure should be able to prevent the seepage of water. This structure should
be earthquake proof so that even in case of occurrence of natural disaster the rock structure
remains intact.

2) Arch dams: The arch dams comprise of the convex arch which is supported by the lateral rock
walls. While in case of the gravity dams the maximum forces are exerted on the bed of the dam,
in case of the arch the maximum forces are exerted on the lateral walls of the dam. The walls
should be solid and strong enough to sustain all the visible and invisible forces of water so that
the dam remains intact and no untoward incident occurs in the future. To ensure long-term safety
of the wall, it is important to keep on inspecting the walls of arch dam regularly. The arch dams
are constructed in the narrow canyons with steep sidewalls. In such cases the width of dam does
not exceed six times its height.