KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC

ENGINEERING

TEEE 4207

ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEMS DESIGN ASSIGNMENT

NAME REG NO
KIIZA ISMA 19/U/BEL/142/GV
ATUHAIRWE RITAH 19/U/BEL/050/GV
MAATE MARTIN FREY 19/U/BEL/689/PD
KABAGENYI JUSTINE 19/U/BET/730/PE
ANGELLA HUMPHREY EMMY 19/U/BEL/20997/GV
NUWAMANYA OSBERT 19/U/BET/729/PE
ONEN DANIEL 19/U/BET/19083/PE
OCHEN ANDREW 19/U/BET/19100/PE
MUJURIZI DERICK 19/U/BEL/709/PD

Lecturer: Mr Paul Kyoma

Date of submission: 12th September, 2023.
Question: Give the advantages and disadvantages of hydro power plants.

Advantages

The useful life of a hydro-electric plant is around 50 years as compared to around 25- 30 years
for a steam station.

The hydro plants do not require any fuel. Their operating cost are, therefore, low. Since no fuel is
required, there are no charges and problems of handling and storage of fuel ad disposal of ash.

There are no standby losses in hydro plants. They can be run up and synchronized in a few
minutes. The load can be adjusted rapidly.

Hydro plants are more robust as compared to steam plants.

The maintenance cost of hydro plants is very low as compared to that of steam and nuclear
plants.

Efficiency of hydro plants does not reduce with age. On the other-hand efficiency of steam plants
decreases with age.

Generation of electric energy through hydro plants leads to conservation of coal and other fuels.

The operation of thermal plants is totally dependent on efficient and quick transport of coal.
Transport bottle-necks are likely to render thermal plants idle for long periods. Hydro plants are
free from such bottle-necks.

The operating personnel required for hydro plants are smaller in number as compared to those
required for other plants.

Hydro projects are generally multipurpose projects. In addition to electric power generation, they
are also useful for irrigation, flood control, navigation etc.

Hydro plants are free from air pollution due to smoke and exhaust gases.

Hydro plants are located in remote areas where land costs are low.

Disadvantages
Fish populations can be impacted if fish cannot migrate upstream past impoundment dams to
spawning grounds or if they cannot migrate downstream to the ocean. Upstream fish passage can
be aided using fish ladders or elevators, or by trapping and hauling the fish upstream by truck.
Downstream fish passage is aided by diverting fish from turbine intakes using screens or racks or
even underwater lights and sounds, and by maintaining a minimum spill flow past the turbine.

Hydropower can impact water quality and flow. Hydropower plants can cause low dissolved
oxygen levels in the water, a problem that is harmful to riverbank habitats and is addressed using
various aeration techniques, which oxygenate the water. Maintaining minimum flows of water
downstream of a hydropower installation is also critical for the survival of riparian habitats.

Hydropower plants can be impacted by drought. When water is not available, the hydropower
plants can't produce electricity.

New hydropower facilities impact the local environment and may compete with other uses for
the land. Those alternative uses may be more highly valued than electricity generation. Humans,
flora, and fauna may lose their natural habitat. Local cultures and historical sites may be
impinged upon. Some older hydropower facilities may have historic value, so renovations of
these facilities must also be sensitive to such preservation concerns and to impacts on plant and
animal life.

Power plants are generally expensive to build. This applies to hydroelectric power plants as well.
The plant, however, requires fewer workers and maintenance costs are normally low.

Skilled and experienced manpower is required to construct the plants.

Question: Write short notes on Kaplan, Francis and Pelton turbines.

Kaplan turbine

It is an axial flow reaction turbine. This operates in an entirely closed conduit to tailrace. Kaplan
turbine is employed, where a large quantity of water is available. It consists of spiral casing;
guide mechanism and draft tube of Kaplan turbine runner.

The blades are adjusted automatically by servomechanism so that at all loads the flow enters
them without shock. Thus, a high efficiency is maintained even at part load. The servomotor
cylinder is usually accommodated in the hub.

In the Kaplan turbine the runner has 4 to 6 blades attached to the hub or boss. The water enters
the turbine in the axial direction. Since only a few blades are used the contact surface with water
and hence the frictional resistance is reduced. The blades are made of stainless steel. The runner
blades are so arranged that their angle of inclination can be adjusted while running Hence the
Kaplan turbine is also called variable pitch propeller turbine.

The water from the scroll casing flows over the guide vanes. It is then deflected through 90° and
enters the adjustable runner vanes. The water enters with maximum potential energy and with
little kinetic energy. It flows through the blades in the axial direction. The force exerted on the
vanes causes the shaft to rotate. In this turbine only 3 to 6 blades are used and they are fixed at
equidistance. The runner is in the form of boss having a bigger diameter. As the blades of the
runner as well as guide blades can be adjusted during operation, the governing of the turbine is
easy. The water after doing work passes on to the tail race through a draft tube. The specific
speed of this turbine is between 300 to 1000 rpm.

Francis turbine

Best suited for sites with high flows and low to medium head. Efficiency of about 90%.
Expensive to design, manufacture and install, but have longer life time and install. This turbine is
reversible Francis turbines may be designed for a wide range of heads and flows.

The Francis turbine operates under medium heads and also requires medium quantity of water. It
is employed in the medium head power plants. This type of turbine covers a wide range of heads.

The head acting on the turbine is partly transformed into kinetic energy and the rest remains as
pressure head. There is a difference of pressure between the guide vanes and the runner which is
called the reaction pressure and is responsible for the motion of the runner.

The flow is contained in a spiral casing called volute that channel the water into the runner. The
volute has decreasing area to maintain uniform velocity, to the row of stationary vanes. The
water passes through row of fixed guide vanes followed by adjustable guide vanes. The water
then passes through the runner with radial vanes. The interaction between the fluid and runner
blades results in torque applied to the runner. The runner is connected to the driving shaft to
drive an electric generator.
Pelton turbine

It is normally used for high head.

Nozzles direct forceful streams of water against a series of spoon shaped buckets mounted
around the edge of the wheel. Each bucket reverses the flow of water and this impulse spins the
turbine.

The gravitational power energy of the water dammed becomes in kinetic energy. The injector
throws the high-speed water to the blades that are fixed to the bun. The water spurt transmits its
kinetic energy to the bun where it is transported instantly into rotational mechanical energy.
Question: A hydroelectric plant has a 20MW generator with an efficiency of 96%. The
generator is directly coupled to a vertical Francis type hydraulic turbine having an
efficiency of 80%. The total head on the turbine is 150m while the head due to friction is
4% of the total head. Determine the flow of water through the turbine.

𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑃 = 𝜌𝑤 ℶ𝑇 ℶ𝐺 𝑔𝐻𝑄 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 ℶ 𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦

Where H is the effective head = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 − 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 0.96 × 150 =
144𝑚

Substituting; 20 × 106 = 1000 × 0.8 × 0.96 × 9.81 × 144 × 𝑄

𝑸 = 𝟏𝟖. 𝟒𝟑𝟓𝒎𝟑 /𝒔

Question: A hydroelectric generating station is supplied from a reservoir of capacity

4,000,000m3 at a head of 170m. Assuming hydraulic efficiency of 80% and electric
efficiency of 90%, calculate the fall in reservoir level after a load of 15MW has been
supplied for 3 hours, if the reservoir has an area of 2.5km2.

Let x metres be the fall in reservoir level in 3 hours

𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒×𝑥 2.5×106 ×𝑥

Average discharge/sec = = = 231.4815𝑥𝑚3
3×3600 3×3600

Weight of water available/sec, W = 231.4815𝑥 × 1000 × 9.81 = 2.271 × 106 𝑥 𝑁

Average power produced = 𝑊 × 𝐻 × ℶ𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 = 2.271𝑥 × 106 × 170 × 0.8 × 0.9 =

277970.4𝑥 𝑘𝑊

But kw produced = 15000kW

Equating the 2; 277970.4𝑥 = 15000

15000
𝑥= = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟓𝟑𝟗𝒎
277970.4
References

Erlandsson K (2008) Use of scenarios for strategic environmental assessments for hydropower

installations. Ph.D. thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden.

National Hydropower Association, 1996, Facts You Should Know About Hydropower.