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Hydro-Electric Power Plant

INTRODUCTION

When rain water falls over the earth’s surface, it possesses potential energy relative to sea or ocean
towards which it flows. If at a certain point, the water falls through an appreciable vertical height,
this energy can be converted into shaft work. As the water falls through a certain height, its
potential energy is converted into kinetic energy and this kinetic energy is converted to the
mechanical energy by allowing the water to flow through the hydraulic turbine runner. This
mechanical energy is utilized to run an electric generator which is coupled to the turbine shaft. The
power developed in this manner is given as:
Power = W.Q.H.η watts
Where:
W = Specific weight of water, N/m³
Q = rate of water flow, m³/sec.
H = Height of fall or head, m
η = efficiency of conversion of potential energy into mechanical energy.

Hydro projects are developed for the following purposes:

1. To control the floods in the rivers.
2. Generation of power.
3. Storage of irrigation water.
4. Storage of the drinking water supply.

There are two reasons for the extensive development of the water power. One is that more and
more electric power is needed for industrial; agricultural, commercial and domestic purposes. The
other is the high cost of coal and its dwindling reserves. A water power site is usually developed
to supply electric power to a newly and a specially established industry or town or to provide
additional power to an already existing or a proposed interconnected electric system. Before a
water power site is considered for development, the following factors must be thoroughly analyzed:

1. The capital cost of the total plant.

2. The capital cost of erecting and maintaining the transmission lines and the annual
power loss due to transformation and transmission of electric power since the water
power plants are usually situated in hilly areas away from the load center.
3. The cost of electric generation compared with steam, oil or gas plants which can be
conveniently set up near the load center.

In spite of the above factors, the water power plants have the following advantages which make
these suitable for large interconnected electric system:
1. The plant is highly reliable and its maintenance and operation charges are very low.
2. The plant can be run up and synchronized in a few minutes.
3. The load can be varied quickly and the rapidly changing load de-mands can be met without
any difficulty.
4. The plant has no stand by losses.
5. No fuel charges.
6. The efficiency of the plant does not change with age.
7. The cost of generation of electricity varies little with the passage of time.

However, the hydro-electric power plants have the following disadvantages also:
1. The capital cost of the plant is very high.
2. The hydro-electric plant takes much longer in design and execution.
3. These plants are usually located in hilly areas far away from the load center.
4. Transformation and transmission costs are very high.
5. The output of a hydro-electric plant is never constant due to vagaries of monsoons and their
dependence on the rate of water flow in a river.
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Run-off
Rain fall (used in a general sense) or “precipitation” may be defined as the total condensation of
moisture that reaches the earth in any form. It includes all forms of rains, ice, snow, hail or sleet
etc. “Evaporation” represents practically all of that portion of the rainfall that does not reach the
point of ultimate use as stream flow.
Thus total evaporation is:
1. Evaporation from land and water surfaces.
2. Evaporation by transpiration which is the vaporization of water from the breathing pores
of vegetable matter.
3. Atmospheric evaporation (evaporation while precipitation is falling).

Rain-fall is measured in terms of centimeters of water over a given area and over a given period
(usually one year). The portion of the total precipitation that flows through the catchment area is
known as “Run-off”. The catchment area of a hydrosite is the total area behind the dam, draining
water into the reservoir. Thus,

Run-off = Total precipitation – Total evaporation

Part of the precipitation is absorbed by the soil and seeps or percolates into ground and will
ultimately reach the catchment area through the underground channels. Thus.

Total run-off = Direct run off over the land surface + Run-off through seepage.

Factors Affecting Runoff

1. Nature of Precipitation. Short, hard showers may produce relatively little run-off. Rains
lasting a longer time results in larger run-off. The soil tends to become saturated and the
rate of seepage decreases. Also, the humid atmosphere lowers evaporation, resulting in
increased run-off.
2. Topography of Catchments Area. Steep, impervious areas will produce large percentage
of total run-off. The water will flow quickly and absorption and evaporation losses will be
small.
3. Geology of Area. The run-off is very much affected by the types of surface soil and sub-
soil, type of rocks etc. Rocky areas will give more run-off while pervious soil and sub-soil
and soft and sandy area will give lesser run-off.
4. Meteorology. Evaporation varies with temperature, wind velocity and relative humidity.
Runoff increases with low temperature, low wind velocity and high relative humidity and
vice versa.
5. Vegetation. Evaporation and seepage are increased by cultivation. Cultivation opens and
roughens the hard, smooth surface and promotes seepage. Thick vegetation like forests
consumes a portion of the rain fall and also acts as obstruction for run-off.
6. Size and Shape of Area. Large areas will give more run-off. A wide area like a fan will
give greater run-off, whereas, a narrow area like a leaf will give lesser run-off. In an area
whose length is more than its width, the flow along its width will give more run-off than if
the flow is along its length, since in the former case, seepage and evaporation will be less.

Measurement of Run-Off or Flow : The run-off or stream flow can be determined with the help
of three methods:
1. From Rain-Fall Records. The run-off can be estimated from rain-fall records by
multiplying the rain fall with “run-off coefficient” for the drainage area. The run-off
coefficient takes into account the various losses and will depend upon the nature of the
catchment area, as given below :

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Then, Run-off = Rain fall × run-off co-efficient

2. Empirical Formulas. Empirical relations to determine the stream flow relate only to a
particular site and can not be relied upon for general use.
3. Actual Measurement. Direct measurement by stream gauging at a given site for a long
period is the only precise method of evaluation of stream flow. The flow is measured by
selecting a channel of fixed cross-section and measuring the water velocity at regular
intervals, at enough points in the cross-section for different water levels. The velocity of
flow can be measured with the help of current meter or float method. By integrating the
velocities over the cross-section for each stage, the total flow for each stage can be
calculated.

Hydrograph, Floe Durattion and The Mass Flow Curve

A hydrograph indicates the variation of discharge or flow with time. It is plotted with flows as
ordinates and time intervals as abscissas. The flow is in m3/sec and the time may be in hours, days,
weeks or months.
A flow duration curve shows the relation between flows and lengths of time during which they are
available. The flows are plotted as the ordinates and lengths of time as abscissas. The flow duration
curve can be plotted from a hydrograph.
The use of the mass curve is to compute the capacity of the reservoir for a hydrosite. The mass
curve indicates the total volume of run-off in second meter-months or other convenient units,
during a given period. The mass curve is obtained by plotting cumulative volume of flow as
ordinate and time (days, weeks by months) as abscissa.

Selection of Site for Hydro-Electric Power Plant

The following factors should be given careful consideration while selecting a site for a hydro-
electric power plant:
1. Water Available. To know the available energy from a given stream or river, the discharge
flowing and its variation with time over a number of years must be known. The estimates
of the average quantity of water available should be prepared on the basis of actual
measurements of stream or river flow. The recorded observation should be taken over a
number of years to know within reasonable, limits the maximum and minimum variations
from the average discharge. the river flow data should be based on daily, weekly, monthly
and yearly flow ever a number of years.

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The plant capacity and the estimated output as well as the need for storage will be governed
by the average flow. The primary or dependable power which is available at all times when
energy is needed will depend upon the minimum flow. Such conditions may also fix the
capacity of the standby plant. The maximum of flood flow governs the size of the
headwords and dam to be built with adequate spillway.
2. Water-Storage. As already discussed, the output of a hydropower plant is not uniform due
to wide variations of rain fall. To have a uniform power output, a water storage is needed
so that excess flow at certain times may be stored to make it available at the times of low
flow. To select the site of the dam ; careful study should be made of the geology and
topography of the catchment area to see if the natural foundations could be found and put
to the best use.
3. Head of Water. The level of water in the reservoir for a proposed plant should always be
within limits throughout the year.
4. Distance from Load Center. Most of the time the electric power generated in a hydro-
electric power plant has to be used some considerable distance from the site of plant. For
this reason, to be economical on transmission of electric power, the routes and the distances
should be carefully considered since the cost of erection of transmission lines and their
maintenance will depend upon the route selected.
5. Access to Site. It is always a desirable factor to have a good access to the site of the plant.
This factor is very important if the electric power generated is to be utilized at or near the
plant site. The transport facilities must also be given due consideration.

Essential Features of a Water–Power Plant

The essential features of a water power plant are as below:

1. Catchment Area. The catchment area of a hydro plant is the whole area behind the dam,
draining into a stream or river across which the dam has been built at a suitable place.
2. Reservoir. Whole of the water available from the catchment area is collected in a reservoir
behind the dam. The purpose of the storing of water in the reservoir is to get a uniform
power output throughout the year. A reservoir can be either natural or artificial. A natural
reservoir is a lake in high mountains and an artificial reservoir is made by constructing a
dam across the river.
3. Dam and Intake House. A dam is built across a river for two functions: to impound the
river water for storage and to create the head of water. To protect the dam from the wave
erosion, a protecting coat of rock, concrete or planking must be laid at the water line. The
other exposed surfaces should be covered with grass or vegetation to protect the dam from
rainfall erosion.
4 Inlet Water Ways. Inlet water ways are the passages, through which the water is conveyed
to the turbines from the dam. These may include tunnels, canals, flumes, forebays and
penstocks and also surge tanks. A forebay is an enlarged passage for drawing the water
from the reservoir or the river and giving it to the pipe lines or canals. Tunnels are of two
types: pressure type and non-pressure type. The pressure type enables the fall to be utilized
for power production and these are usually lined with steel or concrete to prevent leakages
and friction losses. The non-pressure type tunnel acts as a channel. The use of the surge
tank is to avoid water hammer in the penstock. Water hammer is the sudden rise in pressure
in the penstock due to the shutting off the water to the turbine. This sudden rise in pressure
is rapidly destroyed by the rise of the water in the surge tank otherwise it may damage or
burst the penstock. Dams must be able to pass the flood water to avoid damage to them.
This may be achieved by : spillways, conduits piercing the dam and the tunnels by passing
the dam.
5. Power House. The power house is a building in which the turbines, alternators and the
auxiliary plant are housed.
6. Tail Race or Outlet Water Way. Tail race is a passage for discharging the water leaving
the turbines, into the river and in certain cases, the water from the tail race can be pumped
back into the original reservoir

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Classification of a Hydro Plant

The hydro-power plants can be classified as below:

A. Storage plant
(a) High head plants
About 100m and above

(b) Low head plants

About 30 to 500m

(c) Medium head plants.

Up to 50m

A. Run-of-river power plants

a. With pondage
b. Without pondage.
B. Pumped storage power Plants.

Prime Movers
The details of few turbines which are commonly used in hydro-electric power plants are given
below.

Pelton Turbine. This was discovered by Pelton in 1880.This is a special type of axial flow impulse
turbine generally mounted on horizontal shaft, as mentioned earlier A number of buckets are
mounted round the periphery of the wheel as shown. The water is directed towards the wheel
through a nozzle or nozzles. The flow of water through the nozzle is generally controlled by special
regulating system. The water jet after impinging on the buckets is deflected through an angle of
160° and flows axially in both directions thus avoiding the axial thrust on the wheel. The hydraulic
efficiency of Pelton wheel lies between 85 to 95%. Now-a-days, Pelton wheels are used for very
high heads upto 2000 meters.

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Francis Turbine. In Francis turbine, the water enters into a casing with a relatively low velocity,
passes through guide vanes located around the circumference and flows through the runner and
finally discharges into a draft tube sealed below the tailwater level. The water passage from the
headrace to tail race is completely filled with water which acts upon the whole circumference of
the runner.
A large part of the power is obtained from the difference in pressure acting on the front and back
of the runner buckets, and only a part of total power is derived from the dynamic action of the
water.
There are mainly two types of Francis turbines known as open flume type and closed type.
In open flume type, the turbine is immersed under water of the headrace in a concrete chamber and
discharges into the tailrace through the draft tube. The main disadvantage of this type is that runner
and guide-vane mechanism is under the water and they are not open either for inspection or repair
without draining the chamber.
In the closed type, the water is led to the turbine through the penstock whose end is connected to
the spiral casing of the turbine. The open flume type is used for the plants of 10 meters head
whereas, closed type is preferred above 30 meters head. The guide vanes are provided around the
runner to regulate the water flowing through the turbine The guide vanes provide gradually
decreasing area of flow for all gate openings, so that no eddies are formed, and efficiency does not
suffer much even at part load conditions.

Kaplan Turbine. Great strides are made in last few decades to improve the performance of
propeller turbine at part load conditions. The Kaplan turbine is a propeller type having a movable
blade instead of fixed one. This turbine was introduced by Dr. Vitkor Kaplan. This turbine has

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attained popularity and rapid progress has been made in recent years in the design and construction
of this turbine.
The blades are rotated to the most efficient angle by a hydraulic servo-motor. A cam on the
governor is used to change the blade angle with the gate position so that high efficiency is always
obtained at almost any percentage of full load.
These turbines are constructed to run at speeds varying from 60 to 220 r.p.m. and to work under
varying head from 2 to 60 meters. These are particularly suitable for variable heads and for variable
flows and where the ample quantity of water is available.
The specific speed of Kaplan lies in the range of 400 to 1500 so that the speed of the rotor is much
higher than that of Francis Turbine for the same output and head or Kaplan turbine having the
same size as Francis develops more power under the same head and flow quantity.

The ranges of heads and specific speeds for different types of turbines are tabulated in tables below:

Cavitation and Limitation of Turbine Height above Tailrace Level

The formation of water vapour and air bubbles on the water surface due to the reduction of pressure
is known as "Cavitation". When the pressure on the water reduces below the saturation pressure
corresponding to the temperature of the water, the rapid formation of water vapour and air bubbles
starts. The bubbles suddenly collapse with the violent action and collapsing pressure will be very
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high. The rapid formation and collapsing of the bubbles causes the pitting of the metallic surface.
It also reduces the efficiency of the hydraulic prime mover causing honeycombing of runner and
blade contours which reduces the power output.

Methods to Avoid Cavitation

1. Installation of Turbine below Tailrace Level. The danger of cavitation increases in case
of low head and high speed propeller runne. In order to keep the value of pc within the
cavitation limit, the value of h is made negative keeping the runner below tailrace level.
For such installations, the turbines remain always under water. It is riot advisable as the
inspection and repair of the turbine is difficult. The other method to avoid cavitation zone
without keeping the runner under water is to use the runner of low specific speed as
mentioned earlier.
2. Cavitation Free Runner. The cavitation free runner can be designed to fulfill the given
conditions with extensive research. The shape of the blade, the angle of the blade, the
thickness of the blade can be changed and experiments can be conducted to find out the
best dimensions of the blade (shape, size, angle. etc.
3. Use of Material. The cavitation effect can be reduced by selecting materials which can
resist better the cavitation effect. The cast steel is better than cast iron and stainless steel
or alloy steel is still better than cast steel. The pitting effect of cavitation on cast steel can
be repaired more economically by ordinary welding. It has been observed that the welded
parts are more resistant to cavitation than ordinary ones.
4. Polishing. The cavitation effect is less on polished surfaces than ordinary one. Mat, is why
the cast steel runners and blades are coated with stainless steel.
5. Selection of Specific Speed. By selecting a runner of proper specific speed for the given
head, it is possible to avoid the cavitation.

Selection of Turbine
The following factors have the bearing on the selection of the right type of hydraulic turbine
which will be discussed separately.
(1) Rotational Speed.
(2) Specific Speed.
(3) Maximum Efficiency.
(4) Part Load Efficiency.
(5) Head.
(6) Type of Water.
(7) Runaway Speed.
(8) Cavitation.
(9) Number of Units.
(10) Overall Cost.

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THEORETICAL QUESTIONS (Week 10 Activities)

1. Draw a neat sketch of a powerhouse and describe the main features of sub-
structure and superstructure.

2. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of underground power stations

compared with over ground power stations.
(a) What topographical and other conditions decide the setting of turbine
either vertical or horizontal in case of reaction turbine
(b) In case of Pelton wheel?

3. What do you understand by open flume setting? Draw the neat sketches of
horizontal and vertical open flume setting for reaction turbines. When the
open flume setting is more preferable?

4. What are its disadvantages? Which factors are considered in deciding the
setting of Pelton wheel (a) in horizontal plane (b) in vertical plane? Discuss
the advantages of one over the other.

5. Discuss the differences between Pelton, Francis and Kaplan turbines and type
of power plants they are suitable. Why the inward flow reaction turbines have
superseded the outward flow turbines?

6. What do you understand by the term specific speed of a water turbine? What
information does it give and how it is made use in practice? Indicate how the
form of a reaction turbine depends upon “specific speed”.

Note:
1. Answers should be hand written in a long bond paper.
2. Date of submission is in the last day of scheduled class.

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Example Problems with Solutions:

1. A Pelton wheel driven by two similar jets transmits 4000KW to the shaft when
running at 400 rpm. The head from the reservoir level to the nozzle in 200m and
the efficiency of the power transmission through the pipelines and nozzles is 90%.
The jets tangential to the 1.5m diameter circle. The relative velocity decreases by
10% as the water traverses the buckets, which are so shaped that they would , if
stationary, deflect the jet by 165°. Neglecting windage losses, estimate;
a. The efficiency of the runner
b. The diameter of each jet

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2. A single jet impulse turbine of 10MW capacity is to work under a head of 500m.
If the specific speed of the turbine is 10, the overall efficiency is 80% and the
coefficient of velocity is 0.98, find the diameter of the jet and the bucket wheel.
Assume the speed of the bucket wheel as 0.46 of the velocity of the jet.

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3. Four jets each 60mm diameter strike the buckets of the impulse wheel and each
gets deflected by an angle of 165°. The speed of the bucket wheel is 45 m/s. Find
the velocity of the jet for maximum efficiency, power developed and the hydraulic
efficiency. Assume that the bucket move linearly.

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4. A kaplan turbine develops 10MW under a head of 12m when the following
conditions prevail. Speed ratio = 2, flow ratio = 0.65, diameter of the hub = 0.3
times the external diameter of the vane and the over efficiency = 94%. Estimate;
a. The speed b. The diameter of the runner c. Specific speed

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PROBLEM SET

1. A pelton wheel has to be designed for the following specifications, power

to be developed = 6MW, Net head available = 300m, Speed = 550rpm,
Ratio of jet diameter to wheel diameter = 1/10, Hydraulic efficiency = 0.85.
Assuming Cv = 0.98 and speed ratio ʄ = 0.46, find (a) the number of jets,
(b) diameter of each jet, (c) diameter of the wheel and (d) the quantity of
water required.

2. Show that the specific speed of a single jet Pelton wheel is about 202 (d/D)
where d and D represent the jet and bucket wheel diameters respectively.
Take Cv= 0.97, ʄ= 0.45 and h=0.85.

3. The peripheral velocity of the wheel of an inward flow reaction turbine is

20 m/s. The velocity of whirl of the inflowing water is 17m/s and the radial
velocity of flow is 2 m/s. If the flow is 0.7 m³/s and the hydraulic efficiency
is 80%, find the head on the wheel, the power generated by the turbine
and the angles of the vanes. Assume radial discharged.

4. Water is supplied to an axial flow turbine under a gross head of 35m. The
mean diameter of the runner is 2m and it rotates at 145 rpm. Water leaves
the guide vanes at 30° to the direction of the runner rotation at mean
radius the angle of the runner blade at outlet is 28°. If 7% of the gross
head is lost in the casing and guide vanes, and the relative velocity is
reduced by 8% due to friction in the runner, determine the blade angle
at inlet and the hydraulic efficiency of the turbine.

Note:
1. Solutions to the above problems should be neat and hand written in a long
bond paper.
2. Date of submission is on the last day of each scheduled class.

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