MINI-HYDRO POWER PLANT WITH PROPELER TURBINE

Introduction
Energy is one of the more fundamental elements in our universe. It is based for survival
and inevitably for the development of activities for promoting education, health,
transportation and infrastructure for attaining a reasonable standard of living and is also
a critical factor for economic development and employment.
Hydropower is energy from water sources such as the ocean, rivers and waterfalls. “Mini-
hydro” means which can apply to sites ranging from a tiny scheme to electrify a single
home, to a few hundred kilowatts for selling into the National Grid. Small-scale
hydropower is one of the most cost-effective and reliable energy technologies to be
considered for providing clean electricity generation. The key advantages of small hydro
are:

 High efficiency (70 - 90%), by far the best of all energy technologies.
 High capacity factor (typically >50%)
 High level of predictability, varying with annual rainfall patterns.
 Slow rate of change; the output power varies only gradually from day to day (not
from minute to minute).
 A good correlation with demand i.e. output is maximum in winter.
 It is a long-lasting and robust technology; systems can readily be engineered to
last for 50 years or more.
It is also environmentally benign. Small hydro is in most cases “run-of-river”; in other
words, any dam or barrage is quite small, usually just a weir, and little or no water is
stored. Therefore run-of-river installations do not have the same kinds of adverse effect
on the local environment as large-scale hydro.

Basic Properties of Hydro Power

 Head and Flow

Hydraulic power can be captured wherever a flow of water falls from a higher level to a
lower level. The vertical fall of the water, known as the “head”, is essential for hydropower
generation; fast-flowing water on its own does not contain sufficient energy for useful
power production except on a very large scale, such as offshore marine currents. Hence
two quantities are required: A Flow Rate of water Q, and a Head H. It is generally better
to have more head than more flow, since this keeps the equipment smaller.
The Gross Head (H) is the maximum available vertical fall in the water, from the upstream
level to the downstream level. The actual head seen by a turbine will be slightly less than
the gross head due to losses incurred when transferring the water into and away from the
machine. This reduced head is known as the Net Head.

 Power and Energy

In a hydro power plant, potential energy of the water is first converted to equivalent
amount of kinetic energy. Thus, the height of the water is utilized to calculate its potential
energy and this energy is converted to speed up the water at the intake of the turbine and
is calculated by balancing these potential and kinetic energy of water.
Potential energy of water,

𝐸𝑝 = m ∗ g ∗ H

Kinetic energy of water,

1
𝐸𝑘 = ∗ 𝑚 ∗ 𝑐 2
2
Where,
m = mass of water (kg),
g = acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2),
H = effective pressure head of water across the turbine (m).
c = jet velocity of water at the intake of the turbine blade (m/s).

Thus, jet velocity,

𝑐 = √(2𝑔ℎ)
If a hydro turbine is considered as a system, force equation and Bernoulli’s energy
equation are applicable for the surface area of the turbine. The general formula for any
hydro system’s power output is:

P = ηρgQH

Where:
P = mechanical power produced at the turbine shaft (Watts),
η = hydraulic efficiency of the turbine,
ρ = density of water (1000 kg/m3),
g = acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2),
Q = volume flow rate passing through the turbine (m3/s),
H = effective pressure head of water across the turbine (m)

NOTE: The best turbines can have hydraulic efficiencies in the range 80 to over 90%,
although this will reduce with size. Micro-hydro systems (<100kW) tend to be 60 to 80%
efficient.

 Capacity Factor
‘Capacity factor’ is a ratio summarizing how hard a turbine is working, expressed as
follows:

𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 (𝑘𝑊ℎ/𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟)

𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 (%) =
𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑘𝑊) 𝑥 8760 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠/𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

 Energy Output
Electricity is a form of energy, but is generally expressed in its own units of kilowatt-hours
(kWh) where 1 kWh = 3600 Joules and is the electricity supplied by 1 kW working for 1
hour. The annual energy output is then estimated using the Capacity Factor (CF) as
follows:

𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 ( ) = 𝑃 (𝑘𝑊 ) 𝑥 𝐶𝐹 𝑥 8760
𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
Main Elements of a Hydro Power Scheme
Main components of a small-scale hydro power scheme can be summarized as follows:

1. Water is taken from the river by diverting it through an intake at a weir.

2. In medium or high-head installations water may first be carried horizontally to the
forebay tank by a small canal or ‘leat’.
3. Before descending to the turbine, the water passes through a settling tank or
‘forebay’ in which the water is slowed down sufficiently for suspended particles to
settle out.
4. Forebay is usually protected by a rack of metal bars (a trash rack) which filters out
waterborne debris.
5. A pressure pipe, or ‘penstock’, conveys the water from the forebay to the turbine,
which is enclosed in the powerhouse together with the generator and control
equipment.
6. After leaving the turbine, the water discharges down a ‘tailrace’ canal back into the
river.

Designing of Mini Hydropower Plant with Propeller turbine

Propeller-type turbines are similar in principle to the propeller of a ship, but operating in
reversed mode. Various configurations of propeller turbine exist; a key feature is that for
good efficiency the water needs to be given some swirl before entering the turbine runner.
With good design, the swirl is absorbed by the runner and the water that emerges flows
straight into the draft tube. Methods for adding inlet swirl include the use of a set of guide
vanes mounted upstream of the runner with water spiraling into the runner through them.

Based on the continuous requirement for renewable energy, a mini hydropower plant by
using a propeller turbine is discussed due to its simple structure and easy production. The
key parameters are studied for designing a hydropower plant, like water head, water flow-
rate and turbine speed. The propeller turbine is considered for working under the best
working conditions. During the detailed design of a hydropower plant some parameters
are known and give us some indication about the geometry of the turbine and this is the
starting point. The indication parameters are: turbine power, runner diameter, turbine
speed, turbine housing design, draft tube, etc.
Nowadays, the propeller turbine is gaining in popularity because it works with very low
heads and larger water flow-rates. Many places have good potential with low water heads
from 2 to 10 [m] but only a few have been developed because there has been a lack of
appropriate turbine design. Typically, components of a propeller hydro turbine are shown
in the figure below. In Kosovo, electricity is generated mainly by coal power plants and
only around 5% of consumption comes from hydropower plants. There are some summer
houses, recreation centers, restaurants, etc., in the mountains and hills where public
electrification is not yet available but water sources exist. Therefore, the availabilities of
water sources are a main factor in electricity generation from hydro sources.
Design process of hydropower plant
The design process of the hydropower plant, especially for a mini power system with
propeller turbine, involves the following steps.

1. Measuring of the site data

For determining power generation, there are two major parameters: water flow- rate
and water fall head. If these parameters are available then it involves calculations and
measuring the net head of the hydropower plant. If the actual flow-rate is lower than
the turbine design flow, the turbine will generate very little power. In view of this, it is
very important to determine as precisely as possible the water flow-rate and water fall
head.
a. Estimation of the water flow- rate
The water flow rate (Q) can be estimated in different ways but a more suitable
method could be measuring the river water flow velocity and river cross-section
areas at the same measuring place by employing the following expression:

𝑄 = 𝐴𝑟 ∗ 𝑣𝑟

where:
Ar [m2] – river cross-section,
vr [m/s] – river water-flow velocity.

As is known, the river levels change throughout the seasons, so it is important to

measure water flow-rates at various intervals of the year. The best estimation is
considered when available data for many years observation are at your disposal. If
this is not possible, attempts can be made to determine various annual river flow-
rates by discussing with a neighbor, or finding hydrological flow data for your river or
a nearby larger river. In most cases these data should be provided from the National
Hydrological Institute which is responsible for calculating water flow-rate, quality of
water, rainfall, etc. Using of the all river’s water for a hydropower plant is not allowed
because certain amounts of water need to flow across the river bed as fish, birds,
plants, and other living things rely on your river for survival. There are more known
methods for measuring water flow-rate like: measuring by flow—container, float, and
weir.

b. Estimation of the net head

Water fall head is also called water pressure which is created by the difference in
elevation between the intake of the level of water and the hydro turbine power house,
Figure 2. Water head can be measured as vertical distance or as pressure.
Regardless of the size of your stream, a higher head will produce greater pressure,
and therefore higher power output at the hydro turbine. An altimeter can be useful in
estimating the head for preliminary site evaluation but should not be used for the final
measurement. GPS altimeters are often used even though they provide less accurate
measuring. Topographic maps can also be used for providing a very rough idea of
the vertical drop along a section of a river’s sources. The best way when measuring
water head can be done by employing modern electronic digital levels.

Net head (Hn) is calculated by employing the following expression:

𝐻𝑛 = 𝐻𝑔 − 𝐻𝑙𝑜𝑠
 where:

Hg [m] – The gross head; the vertical distance between water surface level
at the intake of water and at the turbine site,
Hlos [m] – head losses due to the open channel, trash rack, intake,
penstock and gate or value. These losses were approximately in some
cases around 6% of gross head.
∆H, Hdyn [m] – surge pressure, dynamic pressure appeared during
emergency stop of hydro turbine.

2. Calculation of output power generation from hydro turbine

The output power generation from the hydro turbine (Pgen), can be estimated by the
following expression:

𝑃𝑔𝑒𝑛 = 𝑝 ∗ 𝑔 ∗ 𝐻𝑛 ∗ 𝑄 ∗ η𝑡 ∗ η𝑔𝑒𝑛

where:

ρ = 1000 [kg/m3] – water density,

g = 9.81 [m/s2] – gravity acceleration,
η t [%] – turbine efficiency,
η gen [%] – generator efficiency.

3. Calculation of the hydro turbine specific speed

The specific speed gives an indication of the geometry of the turbine and it is the
starting point for detailed design. There are many different ways for determining
the specific speed (Ns) of a hydro turbine. For our case, the following expression
was used:

𝑁 ∗ √𝑄
𝑁𝑠 = 3⁄
4
𝐻𝑛

where:

N [rpm] – turbine’s rotation speed.

The choices of the turbine rotation speed depend on the speed of the generator
and the type of drive used. Often it is possible to use a direct drive, with the turbine
 runner attached to the end of an extended generator shaft. On the other hand,
using a single stage belt drive allows for the possibility of changing the turbine
operating speed. This gives more flexibility in the turbine design and when
matching to site conditions. According to Simpson and Williams the expected
range of specific speed for propeller turbine values is 70 < Ns < 300 [6, 7]. If the
specific speed is Ns < 70, then you should look at other alternative type of turbine
– e.g. cross-flow (Mitchell-Banki), pump as turbine or turbo turbine. Other criteria
during designing of turbine should avoid specific speed Ns > 300 because of this
will tend to have a turbine with low efficiency. Where the head is low and the flow
high, it might be a good idea to design for parallel turbines, each operating on part
of the total flow. Otherwise it is necessary to choose a lower speed for the turbine,
which will result in a larger physical size. Two smaller turbines running at higher
speed are LESS costly than one large turbine.

4. Calculation of the diameter of the turbine runner and hub

Determining of diameter of the runner (Drunner) can be done in different ways. One
of the more popular expressions for calculating of the diameter of a propeller
turbine runner is:

√𝐻𝑛
𝐷𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟 = 84.5 ∗ (0.79 + 1.602 ∗ 𝑁𝑠 ) ∗
60 ∗ 𝑁

The hub diameter of runner (Dhub) can be estimated by the following expression:

0.0951
𝐷ℎ𝑢𝑏 = (0.25 + ) ∗ 𝐷𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟
𝑁𝑠
Example:
Design of a mini hydropower plant in Kosovo

The of a mini hydropower plant was made by several visits during 2013 to the
recreational center “Trofta e Lumit”, Village Sllakoc, Vushtria, Republic of Kosovo to
gather important information regarding water flowrate, water fall height, owner of property,
form of investment, etc. The following presented the approach for determining water flow-
rate and water head.

1. Determining of water flow-rate and gross water head

The water flow-rate is estimated by measuring the river’s water flow velocity and
river cross-section areas in the place where it is planned building of the water
intake, Figure 4. The river flow changes throughout the seasons, so it is
important to measure water flow-rate at various intervals of the year. In most of
the cases this data is provided from The National Hydrological Institute.
Unfortunately, this kind of data was not available; therefore, it was necessary to
develop the measuring approach by floating. The best estimation of water flow-
rate is considered when measuring was done covering many years observations
of river but this requires a long time to do. In our case, measuring was done
once per month during 2013. The critical flow was during three months, like
July, August and September 2015 where the levels of water flow were very low
and water was used only for ecology and irrigation purposes.

The first figure below presents the water balance of the Sllakoc River as well as
the availability of water for the generation of electricity from water. From the
graphs can be seen the available water for generation of energy is Qavailable =
0.165 [m3/s] for nine months of the other months the hydropower plant should
be stopped. From the graph can be seen, the river water for generation of
energy is available only for nine months (Qvailable = 0.165 [m3/s]), while for
other months (July, August and September) is used for irrigation of agriculture’s
land, therefore the hydropower plant should be stopped. For determining the
sustainability curve of the annual production of electricity by water, by employing
data present in Figure 5 and considering ecological flow and the irrigation
period, it can be concluded that the mini hydropower plant will be stopped for
around 90 days therefore water will flow to its bed and could be used by the
community for agricultural irrigation. Despite the use of water for power
generation and other needs for communities, determined ecological flow must
be respected. There are different approaches for determining the minimum
ecological approach which can be used. The second figure below shows how
much water is available for generating energy and the sustainability of the River
Sllakoc vs days of 2013 year.
2. Determining of penstock diameter for the hydropower plant

The penstock (pipeline) diameter depends on these factors:

- Losses in the penstock as a result of friction between the water flow in

the penstock and the inside walls of the penstock,
- The thickness of the walls to cover static and dynamic pressure, and
- The cost and installation of the penstock.

As a result of reducing of penstock diameter for a certain amount of water flow,

velocity of water in the penstock increases, and consequently the energy losses
increase. The greater the energy losses mean the smaller the energy
generation. On the other hand, by increasing the penstock diameter, the energy
losses will decrease then the energy generated is greater. The cost of the
penstock drastically increases when increasing the penstock diameter. So we
are pushed to have balance between energy loss, pipe diameter, and material
and wall thickness of the pipe.
 For the initial design, the water flow speed can be obtained from v = 1 ... 2
[m/s]. The internal diameter of the penstock (D) can be determined by the
following expression:

4∗𝑄
𝐷=√
𝜋∗𝑣

Table 1 shows the estimated water speeds through the penstock for different
tube diameters and average flow rate Q = 0.165 [m3/s]. According to the
calculations it attempted to select the optimal diameter. Based on the
recommendations of the experts, the water flow velocity can be obtained from v
= 1 ... 2 [m/s], the diameters of the penstock 400 or 450 will be eligible for further
calculations.

3. Determining of energy losses in penstock

The total energy losses that arise in the pipeline can be: longitudinal (Hlong) and
local losses (Hloc) and is written as follow:

𝐻𝑙𝑜𝑠 = 𝐻𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 + 𝐻𝑙𝑜𝑐

Longitudinal losses

Several authors have developed different expressions for determining the

longitudinal losses in penstock but as a universal expression which is valid for
 different penstock diameter is the Darcy-Weisbach expression with Colebrook
coefficient for friction. The longitudinal losses are determined by the following
expression:

𝜆 𝐿 𝑣2
𝐻𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 = ∗ ∗
2 𝐷 𝑔
where:

λ – friction coefficient of water with penstock (Colebrook coefficient),

L [m] – length of penstock.

The coefficient of friction (λ) depends on the value of the Reynolds Number (Re),
and the type of flow. The coefficient of friction is determined by the expression
shown in Table 2.

Local losses

Expression for determining local losses is as follow:

𝑘 𝑣2
𝐻𝑙𝑜𝑐 = ∗
2 𝑔

where:
k – coefficient of local losses through bends, fittings, etc.

4. Determining of net head and output bends, fittings, etc.

Finally, the net head of water is determination by the following expression:

𝜆 𝐿 𝑘 𝑣2
𝐻𝑛 = 𝐻𝑔 − (𝐻𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 + 𝐻𝑙𝑜𝑐) = 𝐻𝑔 − ( ∗ + )
2 𝐷 2 𝑔

For water flow rate Q = 0.165 [m3/s] and gross head Hg = 10 [m], total energy
losses (Hlos) in penstock and net head for different diameter of pipe is presented
in the first figure below. From curves presented in the first figure below is shown
that, with increasing diameter of penstock, the energy losses in penstock
decrease while net head increase too.
In order for the energy losses to be as small as possible, by decision the
penstock diameter should be Ø 450 [mm] and then provide 3.88% energy losses
as well as create net head by Hn = 9.61 [m].

By assuming the efficiency of the propeller, the hydro turbine should be ηt = 80%
and efficiency of generator ηgen = 85%, then the expectation output generation
power as function of penstock diameter is shown in the second figure below.
From diagram shown in the first figure below it is observed that, output power
from generator will increase by increasing penstock diameter.
Design of mini hydro turbine

By taking in consideration the availability of water flowrate: Q = 0.165 [m 3/s] and net
head Hn = 9.61 [m], the suitable turbine for working under such conditions is foreseen
as the propeller hydro turbine. Some indication parameter for determining geometry of
the turbine should be determined.

1. Design of propeller turbine

The indication parameters for a propeller turbine are: specific speed, turbine
runner diameter, hub diameter, turbine housing design, draft tube, etc. In order to
determine such indicative parameters some input data is required. The generator
rotation speed is selected to be with four poles and rotation speed is: N = 1500
[rpm]. By employing know values elaborated n previously and substations in Ns,
 Drunner and Dhub, then the output results will be as shown in Table 3. The figure
above presents the propeller hydro-generator performed in Autodesk Inventor 3D.
A synchronous generator is connected to the turbine shaft which converts the
hydraulic energy into electric energy.

2. Design of hydro turbine power house

In order for the hydro turbine power house to be useful and suitable as much as
possible, there is selected such a design where the mini hydro turbine, control box
and discharge of water are in the same place, the first figure below.
The last figure present front view of the hydro turbine power house for the
recreational centre, in the village Sllakovc, Vushtrri.
Conclusion

Nowadays requirements for energy continue growing more and more as a result of
population growth and the rapid development of technology. Many countries have
serious problems with supply regarding energy, especially for green energy. There are
still many countries in the world that don’t have electrification. In order to reduce as
much as possible the problem with generating energy and to improve peoples’ lives as
well as environmental protection, we can draw the following conclusions:

- Many places in World have good potential for developing mini hydropower plants,

- In locations where, public grids do not exist, mini hydropower plants are crucial,

- The only requirements for mini hydropower plants are water sources, turbines,
generators, penstock and power houses, which not only helps each individual person
but also helps the world and environment as a whole,

- The choice of turbine will depend mainly on the available water head and the water
flow rate,

- Mini hydropower plants usually are run-of-river systems, which do not require a dam,
and are installed on the water flow available on a year round basis,
 - Construction work and production of mini hydro turbines can be done without higher
qualified personnel,

- Investment in a mini hydropower plant is not that high and period of turnover is shorter
when compared with other alternative sources,

- The investment costs increase drastically by increasing penstock diameter but energy
losses decrease too.

Therefore, studying the potential of water for installing mini hydropower plants creates
opportunity for employing new workers and enables the developing of new business
and will be a good source for financial support in order to improve the lives of the
population.

References:

http://www.zonhan.com/eproducts/167.html (25.07.2015)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jie.v9i1.10669

http://www.eee.nottingham.ac.uk/picohydro/d
ocs/Pico%20propeller%20guidelines%20(Apr%2 02011)%20v11c.pdf (25.07.2015).

minihydro.co/mini-hydro-power-plants

www.nia.gov.ph/?=content/mini-hydro-power-plants-irrigation-systems

https://energypedia.info/wiki/How_to_Plan_a_Mini_Hydro_Power_Project

contemporary-energy.net/Articles/v02n01a01_-Shpetim-Lajqi-et-al.pdf
 Bicol University
College of Engineering
Legazpi City
Mechanical Engineering Department

Mechanical Engineering Laboratory 3

Members:
John Russel Baldo
Francis Cemitara
Aldrin Cristo
Lito Kikim
Antonio Manalngit Jr.