Hydroelectric Power Plants

1. Introduction
The hydroelectric power plants convert the energy stored in water into electrical energy by the use of
water turbines coupled with generators (Fig. 1). The water stored at higher altitudes is allowed to
impinge the turbine blades through penstocks, thus the potential energy (difference of water levels called
head) and kinetic energy (energy of motion) of water is first transformed into mechanical energy and
then to electrical energy. Hence the continuous availability of water throughout the year is an absolute
necessity for proper operation of hydro electric power plants. Thus the analysis of availability of
electrical energy also includes the study of rainfall, runoff and stream flow, available head and its
limitations and facilities for storage and pondage.

Fig. 1
In view of the above stated considerations, it is obvious that the location of such plants is possible only
in non populous mountainous areas. Generally such schemes are multipurpose i.e. They can be used for
power generation as well as for irrigation purposes. Multipurpose schemes are quite popular in countries
whose economy depends mostly on agriculture products.
1.1 Advantages of Hydroelectric Power Plants
i) The plant is simple in construction, robust and requires low maintenance.
ii) The plant can be put in service in a few minutes.
iii) It can respond to changing loads without any difficulty.
iv) There is no standby losses.
v) Highly skilled technicians and engineers are required only during construction, but later only a few
experienced people may be required.
vi) The running charges are very small.
vii) No fuel is burned. Hence, no fuel cost and no environmental population.
viii) The water after running the turbine can be used for irrigation and other purposes.
1.2 The Disadvantages
i) The capital cost of generators, Civil Engineering works etc. are enormously high.
ii) High cost of transmission lines.
iii) Long dry season may affect the delivery of power.
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2. Selection of Site for Hydroelectric Power Stations
Site selection is based on the following points:
i) Sufficient quantity of water at reasonable head should be available.
ii) It should be possible to construct an economical dam to store water at the selected site. Preferably
there should be high strong mountains on the two sides.
iii) There should be no possibility of future sources of water leakage.
iv) The reservoir to be constructed should have large catchment area, so that water in it should never
fall below the minimum level.
v) The selected site should be accessible easily.
vi) There should be possibility of stream diversion during the construction period.
vii) Construction materials should be available locally.
3. Water Power Equation
The water power which can be obtained from any river or stream can be determined by the following
two parameters
i) The available head – H.
ii) The rate of discharge – Q.
3.1. Gross Head and Effective (Available) Head
The total head H between the water levels at inlet and tail race is called total or gross head (Fig. 2). In
order to obtain the available head the following head losses should be deducted from the gross head.

Manometer

Fig. 2
The different losses are:
h1 = Loss due to inlet to the head race caused by the bend in flow of water and flow through the
course grid.
h2 = Head loss due to friction and whirls in the head race.
h3 = Head loss in the second grid (fine grid)
h4 = Head loss in the tail race
The kinetic energy at the inlet to the turbine
v 12
=
2g
2
Where v1 is the velocity of water at the inlet to the turbine. Similarly if v2 is the velocity of water at the
outlet of the turbine then the kinetic discharge to the tail race.
v2 2
=
2g
The net kinetic energy which must be added to the gross head
v1 2 v2 2
= -
2g 2g
Thus the available head Hef or H
v1 2 v2 2
= Hgross - Σ h + -
2g 2g
If 1 kg of water falls through H meters height in such a way that it reaches to the lower position at zero
velocity, the work done in this fall can be given as:
1 kg x H = H kg-m
If Q is the quantity of water (in m3/sec or liters/sec) which has fallen through H meters then the
theoretical work done is given as:
Wth = w Q H kg-m/sec
Where w is the specific gravity of water in kg/ unit volume in which Q is represented.
i.e. w = 1000 kg/m3 for Q in m3/sec
and w = 1 kg/litre for Q represented in litres/sec
If  is the efficiency of the system then effective work done or output of the system
Weff =  w Q H kg-m/sec
wQH
The metric Output = H.P.
75

[ 1 H. P. = 75 kg-m/sec]

 w Q H x 746
Output in kW =
75 𝑥 1000

1 H.P. = 746 Watts

[Note: Net available head Heff can also be given as
v1 2 v2 2
Heff = h’ + h” + - ,
2g 2g
where h’ = Position energy of manometer and h” is the pressure energy of the water at the inlet of the
turbine as measured by the manometer in water column.]
Problem 1
A hydroelectric station operates under a mean head of 30 m. The reservoir employed has a catchment
area of 4x104 hectares. The average rainfall in the area is 125 cms per annum. Determine the capacity of
the station for which it should be designed. Assume that 30 % of the rainfall is lost due to evaporation
etc., 5 % of the head is lost in the penstock, turbine efficiency as 85 %, alternator efficiency as 90 %,
and a load factor as 50 %.
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Solution
Total quantity of water available in the whole year
= 4x108 x 125x10-2 x 0.7
= 3.5x108 cu m.
Rate of availability of water
Total quantity of water in cu m in a year
=
Total No.of seconds in a year
3.5x108
= = 11.1 cu m/sec
365 x 24 x 3600
Overall efficiency of the system
 = p x t x a
= 0.95 x 0.85 x 0.9 = 0.727
Available power is given by
 w Q H x 746 0.727 x 1000 x 11.1 x 30 x 746
= =
75 𝑥 1000 75 x 1000
= 2408 kW
Installed capacity of the plant
Available powers 2408
= = = 4816 kW
Load factor 0.5
4. Classification of Hydraulic Turbines
The hydrodynamic machines are also called hydraulic turbines and can be classified in the following
two ways.
1) According to the type of flow of water
2) According to the action of fluid
4.1. Classification According to the Types of Flow of Water
i) Axis along the shaft of the machine: These machines have the flow of water along the axis are
called axial flow turbines.
ii) Axis along the radius: The machines in which water flows along the radius are called radial flow
turbines. Generally these are inward flow turbines known as Francis Turbine (Fig. 4).
iii) Axis along the tangential directions: The turbines using this type of flow are called tangential flow
turbines known as Pelton Turbine (Fig. 3).
iv) Mixed flow turbines: The turbines which have radial inlet and axial outlet are called mixed flow
turbines.
Hydraulic Turbines

Tangential Flow Inward Radial Flow Axial Flow Mixed Flow

(Pelton Wheel) (Francis Turbine) (Propeller & Kaplan) (Francis Turbine)

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4.2. Classification According to the Action of Fluid
According to the action of the fluid the turbines can be classified into the following two categories.
i) Impulse Turbine: When whole of the available pressure energy of water is first converted into
kinetic energy and the water at atmospheric pressure impinges on the blades of the turbine. This type of
turbine is called the impulse turbine.
ii) Reaction Turbine: If part of the available pressure is converted into kinetic energy in the guide
apparatus before the water strikes the turbine blades. Such type of turbine are called reaction turbines. In
this case, the pressure at all stages are not atmospheric.
5. Hydro Prime-Movers
5.1. Pelton Turbine
This turbine was discovered by Pelton in 1880. This is a special type of axial flow impulse turbine
generally mounted on horizontal shaft. A number of buckets are mounted round the periphery of the
wheel (Fig. 3). 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 Peltan wheel lies between 85 to 95%.
5.2. 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 tail-water level (Fig. 4).

Fig. 3: Pelton Wheel Fig. 4: Francis Turbine

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5.3. Propeller Turbine
The propeller runner may be considered as a development of a Francis type in which the number of
blades is greatly reduced and the lower band omitted. It is axial flow turbine having a small number of
blades from three to six (Fig. 5). The propeller turbine may be fixed blade type or movable blades type
known as Kaplan Turbine.
Fixed blade propeller type turbine has high efficiency (88 %); at full load but its efficiency rapidly drops
with decrease in load. Efficiency of the unit is hardly 50 % at 40 % of full load at part load operation.
Use of propeller turbine is limited to the installations where the units run at full load conditions at all
times. Use of propeller turbine is further limited to low head installations of 5 - 10 meters.
5.4. Kaplan Turbine
The Kaplan turbine is a propeller type having a movable blade instead of fixed one (Fig. 6). This turbine
was introduced by Dr. Vitkor Kaplan. The blades are rotated to the most efficient angle by a hydraulic
servo-motor (Fig. 7). 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.

Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7

The capital and maintenance cost of Kaplan turbine is much higher than fixed blade propeller type units
operated at a point of maximum efficiency. For a low head development with fairly constant head and
requiring a number of units, it is always advisable to install fixed blade propeller type runners for most
of them and one or two units of Kaplan type. With this combination, the fixed blade units could be
operated at point of maximum efficiency and Kaplan units could take the required variations in load.
6. Specific Speed
Specific speed gives a basis of comparison of performances of different types of turbines. The specific
speed (Ns) is defined as the speed of a geometrically similar machines which develops a unit horse
power under a unit head.
N√P
Ns = 5/4
H
Where Ns = Specific speed in r.p.m.
N = Speed in (r.p.m.) of the actual turbine.
P = Output in horse power
H = Available head in meters
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6.1. Comparison between Different types of Turbines
The study of large number of hydroelectric power stations has revealed that there is a particular range of
head and specific speed for which a particular turbine is most suitable. The range is given in the
following table.
S. No. Turbine Classification Head in Meter Specific Speed
(r.p.m)
1. Pelton Wheel Impulse 90 – 1100 10 – 40
2. Francis Reaction 14 – 300 95 – 440
3. Kaplan Reaction 3 - 30 550 - 830
Problem 2
A river has a discharge of 400 litres per second and the available head is 80 meters. Will it be advisable
to use a single jet Pelton Wheel running at 700 r.p.m. If not what is your recommendation? Assume
efficiency of the machine as 87 %.
Solution
The output power in H.P. is given by
wQH
P =
75
0.87 x 1 x 400 x 80
=
75
= 371.2 H.P.
The specific speed of the machine is given by
N√P
Ns =
H5/4
700√371.2
=
(80)5/4
700 x 19.27
= = 56.36 r.p.m.
239.3
Since the specific speed of a Pelton Wheel varies between 10 to 40 r.p.m., the above speed is not within
the range of Pelton wheel. So, either two wheels should be used or two jets with one wheel should be
used.
Problem 3
A river has a flow of 40,000 litres/ sec at a head of 12.5 m. It is desired to build a hydroelectric power
station to use the head effectively. Will it be possible to use two turbines with a speed not less than 100
r.p.m., and the specific speed not greater than 400 r.p.m.? Which type of turbine will be used? Assume
turbine efficiency as 84%
Solution
Total power output available from the river
wQH
=
75

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 0.84 x 1 x 40,000 x 12.5
= = 5600 H.P.
75
5600
If it is required to use two turbines, the output of each machine will be = = 2800 H.P.
2
The specific speed of the turbine for a speed of 100 r.p.m. is
N√P
Ns =
H5/4
100√2800
= 5
(12.5)4
100 x 52.92
= = 225 r.p.m.
23.51
and when
N√2800
Ns = 400 r.p.m. = 5
(12.5)4
400 x (12.5)5/4
N =
√2800
400 x 23.51
= = 177.7 r.p.m.
52.92
Thus the specific speed of the turbine is less than 400 r.p.m. for a speed of 100 r.p.m. The speed can be
even increased upto 170 r.p.m. Since the available head of 12.5 meters and specific speed of 400 r.p.m.
lies in the range of Francis Turbine. Hence the Francis turbine will be quite suitable.
7. Classification of Hydroelectric Power Plants
The hydroelectric stations generally require the construction of a dam. The dam serves to store large
amount of water or it may serve only to provide diversion or pondage. But there may be a scheme which
may not require pondage. The pondage refers to the collection of water for a short period whereas
storage refers to the collection of water for months or years together. The power house is located below
the dam or at a distance from it.
A hydroelectric plant may be of the following types.
7.1. Plants which do not require pondage: In such a schemes, the whole water of the stream is
allowed to pass through the turbine for development of power. As there is no control of water passing
through the turbine, there will be more water flow and hence power during the rainy seasons. Due to
lack of assurance and non-uniformity of supply such type of plants are constructed rarely.
7.2. Plants for which Pondage or Storage are needed: Accumulation type Plants: For such plants,
always a regulated water is allowed to pass through the turbine, so that there is no fluctuation in power
output throughout the year.
7.3. Peak Load Plants: It is a pumped storage design as shown in Fig. 8.
8. Classification of Hydroelectric Power Plants According to the Head
i) High head plants (about 100 m and above)
ii) Medium head plants (about 50 to 100 m)
iii) Low head plants (upto about 50 m).

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 Fig. 8
8.1. High Head Plants
The water is taken from the reservoir through tunnels which distribute the water to penstock through
which the water is conveyed to the turbines (Fig. 9). Alternately, the water from the reservoir can be
taken to a smaller storage known as a fore-bay, by means of tunnels. From the fore-bay, the water is
then distributed to the penstocks.

Fig. 9
The function of the fore-bay is to distribute the water to penstocks leading to turbines. The inflow to the
fore-bay is so regulated that the level in the fore-bay remains nearly constant. The turbines will thus be
fed with under a constant static head. Thus, the fore-bays help to regulate the demand for water
according to the load on the turbines. Trash racks are fitted at the inlets of the tunnels to prevent the
foreign matter from going into the tunnels.
Use of Surge Tank
Surge tank is constructed to store water under the incident of turbine inlet valve closure due to turbine
trip. Under this incident, the momentum of water is too high so it is diverted to surge tank in order to
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reduce the chances of busting of Penstock. The diverting valve is operated automatically. The surge tank
absorbs water hammer. In the absence of surge tank the water hammer will damage the fixed gates of
the turbine. The use of surge tank is shown in the Fig. 9.
8.2. Medium Head Plants
If the head of water available is more than 50 m., then the water from the fore-bay is conveyed to the
turbines through pen-stocks. In these plants, the river water is usually tapped off to a fore-bay on one
bank of the river as in the case of a low head plant. From the fore-bay, the water is then led to the
turbines through penstocks (Fig. 10).

Fig. 10
8.3. Low Head Power Plants
These power plants are also known as Canal power plants (Fig. 11). A dam is built on the river and the
water is diverted into a canal which conveys the water into a fore-bay from where the water is allowed
to flow through turbines. After this, the water is again discharged into the river through a tail race. At
the mouth of the canal, head gates are fitted to control the flow in the canal.

Fig. 11
Before the water enters the turbines from the fore-bay it is made to flow through screens or trash-racks
so that no suspended matter goes into the turbines. If there is any excess water due to increased flow in
the river or due to decrease of load on the plant, it will flow over the top of the dam.

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 Hydroelectric Power Station Exercise
Q. 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of hydro-electric power plants?
Q. 2. On which points the selection of site for hydroelectric power stations is based
Q. 3. How the availability of water is assessed for hydro project?
Q. 4. Why water storage is needed for hydro power project?
Q. 5. Why the distance of load centre is considered for selecting hydro site?
Q. 6. Why the access to hydro site is important?
Q. 7. What do you understand about the catchment area of hydro plant?
Q. 8. What is the difference between head race and tail race of hydro power station?
Q. 9. What is the fore-bay and outlet water way?
Q. 10. Why coarse grid (trash rack) and fine grid (screen) are installed at the entrance of water intake
tunnel of hydro turbine?
Q. 11. Which type of losses of water head occur at hydro power station?
Q. 12. What is the fore-bay? Why the inflow to fore-bay of high head hydro plant regulated?
Q. 13. Give a brief classification of hydraulic turbine according to:
i) the type of flow of water
ii) the action of fluid
Q. 14. What is the difference between impulse turbine and reaction turbine?
Q. 15. Describe the main features of Pelton Turbine.
Q. 16. What is the difference between Francis turbine and propeller turbine?
Q. 17. Why efficiency of propeller turbine varies with variation in load? What modification was carried
out in the turbine to overcome this problem?
Q. 18. Why Kaplan turbine is provide with movable blades instead of fixed blades?
Q. 19. Define Specific Speed of hydraulic turbine and discuss its significance.
Q. 20. Give classification of hydroelectric power plants.
Q. 21. Why surge tank is constructed in high head hydro power station before the fixed water gate?
Q. 22. What is the purpose of Canal power plant?

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