ALSTOM HYDRO

PELTON POWER PLANT

POWER
ALSTOM HYDRO PELTON POWER PLANT
Producing cos t e f fec t ive clean
renewable energy has become an
issue of growing importance in the
current context of climate change,
increasing cost of fossil fuels, and the
need for individual country energy
independence.
Hydropower is by far the world’s
leading renewable energy source
because it is a mature technology
and one of the most economic power
sources available.
In addition, it has a number of specific
advantages that other renewable
energy sources don’t have, such as
the possibility to store large quantit-
ies of energy for several weeks or
months, only releasing this energy
2
when it is most needed, to meet network regulation, spinning reserve
power consumption levels during or black start.
peak demand periods.
Based on the combination of compet-
Pelton hydropower plants are particul- itively priced electricity, peak power
arly well adapted for sites with high sales revenues and the supply of
heads. The high energy density levels ancillary services, Pelton hydropower
associated with these sites require plants show very favourable economic
a relatively low investment per MW performance levels, in open electricity
capacity, resulting in competitively market environments.
priced electricity.
Furthermore, these types of power
plants are characterised by fast
response times and one of the widest
power adjustment capabilities poss-
ible. These plants are thus an ideal
solution for providing ancillary ser-
vices such as primary and secondary
 WHY CHOOSE A PELTON HYDROPOWER PLANT?

MAIN FUNCTIONS
• Can store large amounts of energy for weeks or months
• Act as a quick response for peak load energy supply
• Provide ancillary services (network frequency & voltage regulation, reserve capacity, black start capability, react-
ive power production)

KEY ADVANTAGES
• Clean, renewable power source
• Relatively low cost per installed MW
• High efficiency over a wide range of power output
• Fast output adjustment capability (very complementary to thermal power plants)

ALSTOM HYDRO – THE PLANT INTEGRATOR™

Alstom Hydro provides a complete

range of Pelton hydropower plant
electro-mechanical equipment. This
includes turbines, generators and
control systems as well as optimised
hydro-mechanical and balance of
plant equipment.

Depending on the customer prefer-

ence, these can be supplied either
separately or as an integrated turnkey
plant. In the latter case, specialised
Turbines Alstom teams have developed specific Hydro-mechanical equipment
skills for optimising the complete
plant configuration so that the highest
global water-to-wire performance is
achieved.

Generators Control systems & BOP

3
PELTON HYDROPOWER PLANT CONTROL SYSTEMS
Alstom Hydro developed and qualif-
ied specific control system solutions
as well as dedicated machine control
equipment, in order to guarantee safe,
optimised power plant operations.
In 2008, Alstom Hydro launched the
ALSPA® CONTROPLANT™ Series 7
control system, a major evolution
for Alstom Hydro control systems.
The turbine speed load governor
(NEYRPIC® T.SLG) and the automatic
voltage regulator (CONTROGEN™
AVR), both Alstom Hydro proprietary
equipment, are integrated in the ALSPA
CONTROPLANT system.
This new CONTROPLANT solution
was designed to meet three key re-
quirements: reliability, modularity, and
openness.
• Reliability of the system is aimed
at meeting the highest plant avail-
ability standards. This is guaranteed
through the use of industrial prod-
ucts from carefully selected market
leaders, the use of secured commun-
ication networks and the capability
4
of the system to implement redund- of ALSPA CONTROPLANT, and a plant
ancy at all levels. simulator is available for personnel
• Modularity allows to define cost training.
effective customized solutions by
using pre-qualified modules, for Finally, the Hydroset sof t ware
medium to large new or retrofit package provides a complete set of
plants, in simplex or non-redundant advanced hydro process functions
configurations. such as joint unit control, dam control
• Openness is achieved through the and valley control optimisation. The
use of Ethernet at all levels, support- latter is achieved through long term
ing both a large set of international and short term forecasting tools.
communication protocols and gate-
ways to connect third party equip-
ment.
A complete set of dedicated plant
control software is provided with the
CONTROPLANT system, providing
all standard control room functions,
enhanced human-machine interface
(HMI) with advanced information
management tools, remote access
through web server, report generation,
alarm management, statistics etc.
Complement ar y CON T ROC A D®
engineering software tools are provid-
ed for maintenance and configuration
ALSTOM HYDRO REINFORCES PELTON TECHNOLOGY

Pelton turbines are particularly well

suited for heads between 200 m and
1800 m. Since 1927, Alstom Hydro
has supplied over 300 Pelton turbines
worldwide, with power ranges between
1.2 MW and 202 MW, for heads
between 120 m and 1247 m. Alstom
Hydro Pelton turbines have either one
or two injectors for horizontal shaft
and between one and six injectors for
vertical shaft configurations.

Alstom Hydro produces turbines that

are adapted to the needs of each pro-
ject and take into account customer
specifications such as water head,
water discharge, operating range and
power generating requirements, in
addition to power plant space consider-
ations. Pelton scale model test laboratory

As turbine efficiency is of key import- After this, the complete turbine is

ance in power plants, Alstom Hydro
has heavily invested to create a Glo-
bal Technology Centre in Vadodara,
India to make further developments
in this area. The centre, which was
built in 2008, includes a Pelton scale
model test laboratory with one of the
highest head testing capacities for
Pelton turbines in the market.
The most up-to-date design technol-
ogy is used in both of the Alstom Hydro
Global Technology Centres (Grenoble,
France and Vadodara, India), to create
optimised shapes for Pelton turb-
ines. This covers all hydraulic water
passage parts, such as the manifold,
injectors, runner, housing and the
tail water channel. Alstom engineers
use the latest in-house and market
computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
software, sophisticated 3D surface
generating tools and Finite Element
Method (FEM) techniques for this
purpose.
Horizontal shaft Pelton test-rig
Computational fluid dynamics
model tested in its complete operat-
ing range in the hydraulic scale model
test laboratory.
Real life power plant conditions are
simulated in the laboratory in order
to test how the life-size horizon-
tal and vertical Pelton turbines will
operate on site. Experimental tests
are carried out using a scale model of
the turbine, which includes all hydrau-
lic parts, in order to optimise turbine
efficiency, overall hydraulic behaviour
and the final hydraulic design. Tests
cover a variety of aspects including
head, discharge, output, efficiency
and runaway.

5
WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT ALSTOM HYDRO PELTON TURBINES?
Alstom Hydro Pelton turbines have
a number of advantages compared
to Francis turbines for high heads,
because they provide:
• Increased flexibility with a jet dis-
patching capability
• Increased safety using deflectors in
case of overspeed
• Easier access to the runner for main-
tenance and dismantling (particular-
ly important in case of silt abrasion)
Manifold hydraulic design
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Alstom Hydro manufactures both
cast and forged runners for Pelton
turbines. Although more expensive,
the forged version offers the best
material qualit y. Alstom Hydro
customers can benefit from specific
technology initiatives:
• An optimised manifold design for
improved jet quality and runner
efficiency
• A specific needle design for self-
closing injectors, for improved jet
quality and head loss reduction
• A specific advanced jet dispatcher
governing function
• A specific spherical valve design for
increased safety and flexibility
• A Hooped Pelton patented runner
design that minimises fatigue
stress, vibration levels and replace-
ment cost.
A SPECIFIC ADVANCED JET DISPATCHER GOVERNING FUNCTION

One of the key advantages of Pelton

turbines is their broad range of power
output levels.
It is possible to select the number of
active jets required in order to always
ensure turbine operating at optimum
efficiency levels.

In order to do this, Alstom Hydro has

embedded a specific advanced jet
dispatcher function in the NEYRPIC
T.SLG, which continuously adapts
the number of jets in operation.
This advanced function is available as
an option in the NEYRPIC T.SLG.
Jet dispatcher efficiency curve
The jet dispatcher also manages
the injectors opening and closing on the turbine, in order to minimise mechanical loads, during configura-
sequence, to guarantee load balance power fluctuations and transverse tion transitions.

A SPECIFIC SPHERICAL VALVE DESIGN

The main power plant inlet valve is a
critical piece of plant equipment as it
plays an important role for both the
safety of individuals and the plant it-
self, particularly in the case of turbine
nozzle closure failure.
Spherical valves can fulfil these
functions and are the best solution
for Pelton turbines with heads over
300 m. The spherical valve’s design
provides a metal-to-metal tightness
eliminating head limitations. They also
facilitate safe maintenance operations
on downstream equipment.
Alstom Hydro can provide spherical
valves with diameters and working
pressures adapted to customer needs.
To date, the biggest diameter produc-
ed by Alstom Hydro measured 3.5 m
and the maximum working pressure
was 1610 mWC. Alstom Hydro prod-
uces three types of spherical valves
and is one of the only manufacturers
to propose valves with a monobloc
welded body.
The Alstom Hydro spherical valve
range includes:
• Valves with a monobloc welded
body
• Valves with a body in 2 bolted
Spherical valve with a monobloc welded body
asymmetrical parts
• Valves with a body in 2 bolted sym-
metrical parts
ADVANTAGES OF SPHERICAL VALVES
WITH A MONOBLOC WELDED BODY
• Light weight compact size for easier
installation
• No risk of water leakage between
body coupling flanges
• Innovative design for easier bearing
and seal maintenance operations,
without plug extraction

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THE HOOPED PELTON RUNNER DESIGN CONCEPT

Traditional Pelton runner buckets have
both a hydraulic function, converting
water’s kinetic energy into a force,
and a mechanical function, converting
this force into torque on the shaft line.
This results in cyclical forces on
the bucket attachments that cause
fatigue and vibrations, necessitating
frequent inspection.
In response to this problem, Alstom
Hydro has developed and patented a
Hooped Pelton runner design, capable
of providing the same hydraulic eff-
iciency levels as a standard Pelton, but
better able to withstand mechanical
stress. Instead of the traditional all-
in-one Pelton casing, the Hooped
Pelton buckets are manufactured se-
parately and attached to two hoops.
The Hooped Pelton buckets have only
a hydraulic function and the hoops
carry out the mechanical function by
transmitting the torque to the shaft
line.
ADVANTAGES OF HOOPED PELTON
RUNNERS
• Lower maintenance costs and fewer
plant outages
• Greatly reduced vibration levels (by
up to 90%)
• Reduced replacement costs
• Shorter delivery time
• Increased material quality levels
• Higher quality silt abrasion protect-
ive coating
replace individual buckets instead
of the complete runner. As Hooped
Pelton runners are manufactured
in several parts, this enables better
optimisation of the supply chain and
a significant reduction in delivery time
for customers. A high level of mater-
ial quality is guaranteed as buckets
are cut out of high quality small
cast or forged stainless steel pieces.
The individual buckets provide optim-
al conditions for the application of silt
abrasion protective hard coating to all
areas.

Fatigue stress levels are reduced by

replacing the individual bucket attach-
ments with the Hooped system.
This eliminates the need for repeated Computational fluid dynamics
quality inspections and associated
labour costs and plant outages.
Replacement costs of ageing runn-
Hooped Pelton system ers are reduced, as it is possible to

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ALSTOM HYDRO SILT ABRASION PROTECTIVE SOLUTIONS

Caused by the presence of solid silt

particles in water, silt abrasion causes
severe damage to turbines and plant
outages in extreme cases. In Pelton
turbines, silt abrasion can impact the
needle tip, nozzle seal rings and runner
buckets resulting in lower turb-
ine performance and shorter turbine
operating life.

Alstom Hydro develops, case by

case, design and coating solutions
for customers to combat silt abrasion
problems through:
• The application of a protective layer
of hard coating to components
• The development of turbine designs
that take into account critical eros-
ion zones

ALSTOM HYDRO HIGH VELOCITY

OXY FUEL (HVOF) HARD COATING
This technology is particularly well
suited to Pelton runners. Coating is
sprayed onto all surface areas using a
robot. The high abrasion and fatigue
resistance of the HVOF coating is
achieved using a metal substance
embedded with tungsten carbide cer-
amic powder. The application techniq-
ue used creates a high-density layer
of coating with very strong bonding
capabilities, which is on average
0.3 mm thick.
Silt abrasion test-rig
SPECIFIC HYDRAULIC DESIGN 65 m/s and silt concentration levels
INITIATIVES up to 10 kg/m3. The results of these
• Analysing the flow dynamics in tests enable Alstom Hydro to evaluate
order to adjust the turbine design the life span of existing coating solut-
profile in areas that are more prone ions and to develop even better high
to erosion performance solutions for customers.
• Use of numerical computational
fluid dynamics simulation tools to
predict effects of silt abrasion on
turbine performance
LABORATORY ABRASION
MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
In 2008, Alstom Hydro installed a
new high-tech silt abrasion test-rig
in their Global Technology Centre in
Vadodara, India.

The abrasion test-rig is designed to

HVOF protective coating spraying
carry out experimental research on
severe turbine silt abrasion by simulat-
ing conditions comparable to those
on site. It is designed to take into
account a water jet flow speed up to

9
ADVANCED GENERATOR TECHNOLOGY
MODERN GENERATOR DESIGN
TECHNIQUES
Alstom Hydro has extensive exper-
ience with all types of horizontal and
vertical generators driven by Pelton
turbines. Design concepts are based
on the most up-to-date calculation
methods, ensuring both reliable and
economic operating.
In reply to design requirements for
high-speed units and in order to
guarantee high availability and stab-
ility of the power-generating unit,
Mechanical FEM* calculation of a pole & plate
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Alstom Hydro generator main featu- PERMANENTLY PRE-STRESSED
res include: STATOR CORE
• Structural design with oblique The clamping bolts are positioned
elements in the stator yoke and ensure high,
• Permanently pre-stressed stator constant distribution of the stator
core core pressing. Spring elements com-
• Vacuum Pressure Impregnation in- pensate any potential settling of the
sulation system (VPI) & slot ripple stator lamination in order to maintain
spring the pre-stress in the stator core over
• Self ventilated rotor rim (standard long service periods.
or high speed design) Alstom Hydro’s stator core lamination
• Self pumping bearing pads pressing system is specially designed
for units with high load cycles due to
OBLIQUE ELEMENTS frequent starts and stops.
Oblique elements are designed to
*Finite Element Method
meet requirements like roundness,
concentricity and stability of the
generator in all operating conditions.
The oblique element stator frame
provides a rigid connection against
eccentric displacement but allows
free concentric thermal expansion.
T his ar r angemen t als o avoids
buckling of stator laminations,
which occurs in rigid frames with
non-flexible foundation connections.
In addition, the connection to the base
plates is totally maintenance-free.
VPI INSULATION SYSTEM
The reliability of the stator winding
is determined primarily by the qual-
ity of its stator winding technology.
Alstom Hydro has been using the
MICADUR® insulation system for
more than 40 years. Additional
research has led to further improve-
ment s to this system, providing
excellent results on units even under
severe conditions.

To ensure permanent thermal and

mechanical coupling between the
stator bar surface and the stator core,
the straight portions are supplied
with «round-packing» consisting of
a double-folded conductive polyester
foil, filled with a curable rubber
compound. This system also ensures
excellent grounding after installation
due to the gap-free installation.
The uniform VPI production process
ensures high insulation quality of
the MICADUR insulation system with
the following main advantages:
• Class F temperature requirements
are met
• High dielectric strength and voltage
endurance values with low loss
factors
• Proven system for all units up
to 30kV
• Excellent corona-resistance
• Highly resistant to oil, water, and
other coolants
• Excellent mechanical properties
MICADUR stator bar insulation
hoses, to the warm oil collecting ring,
and then on to the external oil cooler
before coming back to the cool oil
collecting ring, located below the
bearing.
the associated supervision and monit-
oring elements and pre-start check
functions.
ADVANTAGES OF ALSTOM HYDRO
SELF PUMPING BEARING PADS
• Failure and maintenance-free
system
• Increased bearing operating avail-
ability and reliability
• Safe run down is ensured in case of
failure of the whole auxiliary power
supply
• Reduced start-up time of the unit
• Overspeed security

SELF PUMPING BEARING PADS Self pumping bearing pads

Alstom Hydro has developed a simple
and effective oil-fed bearing pad
system that can be used for all types
of generators.
D e signe d w i t h p umping gap s
(pockets), the guide bearings act as
pumps as soon as the machine is start-
ed. Oil travels through drains located
at the end of the pumping gaps, via
The pumped oil flow increases with
the speed of the moving bearing sur-
faces. Therefore, in case of runaway,
much more oil is pumped through
the system. This prevents excessive
temperatures of both the oil and the
bearing. This eliminates the need for
external electric driven pumps and

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PWS/LEAF/THPLTN09/eng/HYD/01.09/FR/6712 © ALSTOM 2009. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is provided without liability for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty is given or to be implied as to the
completeness of information or fitness for any particular purpose. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited. - Photo credits: Alstom 2009 - Design & Layout: www.kineka.com.

PLANT INTEGRATOR, CONTROPLANT and CONTROGEN are trademarks of Alstom. ALSPA, NEYRPIC, CONTROCAD and MICADUR are registered trademarks of Alstom.

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