Hydropower Engineering

HWRE 7021
Instructor: Mulu Sewinet (PhD)

Assistant Professor In Hydraulic &Water Resources

Engineering Dep’t,
Debre Markos University

Lecture III
Fundamental theory of water availability and demand
analysis
 Hydrological Analysis for hydropower
Development
Hydrological studies will provide data on the
flow of water, one of the main parameters
used in hydropower planning.
Precipitation varies widely between
geographical locations, from season to
season and from year to year.
All planning in hydrology terms is predicted
on the assumption that the past history
of water occurrence will be repeated in
future.
 Hydrological Analysis contd…
 In other words, plans for control and use of
water are based on the assumption that the
precipitation and stream flow conditions
which have been observed in the past can
be expected to occur, within reasonable
limits of similarity, in the future, except if
stream flows are modified by acts of Man.
 The generation of hydropower does not
imply consumption of water except as a
result of incidental evaporation, especially
from reservoirs.
 Hydrological data
 historical series of daily or monthly flows

 Rainfall data

 historical series of daily, monthly or

annual total of rainfall
 Basic hydrological studies are required

mainly to determine water discharge

and hydraulic head.
 Flow duration studies
A useful way of treating the time variability of

water discharge data in hydropower studies is by
utilizing flow duration curves.
 A flow duration curve is a plot of flow versus the
percent of time a particular flow can be expected
to be exceeded.
 A flow duration curve merely reorders the flows
in order of magnitude instead of the time
ordering of flows versus time plot.
Methods of computing:
rank-ordered technique
class-interval technique
• Developed flow duration curve
 Characteristics of Flow Duration Curves
 The flow duration curve (FDC) shows how
flow is distributed over a period (usually a
year).
 A flat curve indicates a river with a few floods
with large ground water contribution, while a
steep curve indicates frequent floods and dry
periods with little ground water contribution.
Flow Duration Curves characterstics contd..
 A steep flow duration curve implies a flashy
catchment – one which is subject to extreme floods
and droughts. Factors which cause a catchment to
be flashy are:
Rocky, shallow soil,
Lack of vegetation cover,
Steep, short streams,
Uneven rainfall (frequent storms, long dry
periods).
 Such type of FDC (i.e. steep) is bad for hydropower

development (especially run-of-river type).

 Flow Duration Curves characterstics contd..
 On the other hand, a flat flow duration curve is good
because it means that the total annual flow will be
spread more evenly over the year, giving a useful
flow for longer periods, and less severe floods.
 Characteristics of a flat FDC are:
 Deep soil,
 Heavy vegetation (e.g. jungle),
 Long gently sloping streams,
 Bogs, marshes,
 Even rainfall (e.g. temperate climate).
 Energy and power analysis using flow-
duration approach
 The capacity estimate for firm power is then made
by using the entire recorded flow data and plotting
in a single flow duration curve.
 In such a case two different methods are in use.
They are (i) the total period method, and (ii) the
calendar year method.
 Both methods utilize the flow data available for the
entire period for which records are available.
 flow-duration approach contd…
 In the total period method, the entire available
record is used for drawing the FDC. Thus, ten
years’ record would produce 120 values of monthly
average flows.
 In calendar year method, each year’s average
monthly values are first arranged in ascending order
 These average values are then used for plotting
flow duration curve. Such a curve would have only
twelve points.
 The total period method gives more correct
results than the calendar year method which
averages out extreme events.
 flow-duration approach contd…
 The available power from a run-of-river plant could be
represented by a power duration curve exactly on
lines analogous to a FDC
 Generally, the head variation in a run-of-river plant is
considerably less than the discharge variation. If the
head is presumed to be constant at an average
value, power duration curve would exactly
correspond to FDC. This is very often the procedure
in elementary rough calculations.
 If, however, a precise power duration curve is
desired, then the head corresponding to any
discharge is required to be known.
 Example
 Ex1. The following is the record of average
yearly flow in a river for 15 years. If the
available head is 15 m, construct the FDC
and power duration curve for the river.
•
Estimation of hydropower potentials of a River/Site
 In processing regulated and unregulated flow
data, it is important to recognize that in the power
equation, flow is the primary limiting factor.
 When a Run-Off-River type of power study is
done and a flow duration analysis is used, the
capacity or size of the hydropower units
determines the maximum amount of water that
will go through the unit or units.
 This is dictated by the nominal runner diameter
and the accompanying outlet area and draft tube.
 100
Q (m3/s)

10 Runner Discharge Capacity point

1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Exceedence percentage

Figure : Flow duration curve showing discharge capacity value

 100

Turbine power output

Turbine Capacity Point

10

1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
% of time pow er is equal or exceeded

Figure : Power duration curve

• Estimation of Water Pressure or ‘Head’

 Measurement of gross head:

The gross head is the vertical distance that the
water falls through in generating power, i.e.
between the upper and lower water surface levels.
Prepared contour maps
Surveyor’s level and staff
Digital theologies,
Electronic digital levels and electronic total stations
Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
Estimation of net head:
 Estimation of Water Pressure or ‘Head’
 Having established the gross head available
it is necessary to allow for the losses
arising from trash racks, pipe friction,
bends and valves.

 The potential or theoretical power in any

river stretch with a difference in elevation H
is computed from:
Pp    Q  H
 Estimation of Water Pressure or ‘Head’
 Potential power resources can be characterized by
values according to the discharge taken as a basis
of computation. The conventional discharges are
Q100, Q95, Q50, Qm.
 Thus we have,
 Minimum potential power designated Pp100,
computed from the minimum flow that is
available for 100% of the time (365 days or 8760
hrs.)
 Small potential power computed from the flow
available for 95% of the time. This represented
by Pp 95
 Median potential power is computed from the
flow available for 50% of time. This is
represented by Pp 50.
Estimation of Water Pressure or ‘Head
 Mean potential power is computed from the
average of mean yearly flows for a period of
10 to 30 years.
 This is designated as Ppm and is also
known as gross power potential.
Technically Available Power
 Evaluation of technically available power from
the available power is significance.
 According to Mossony the losses subtracted
from the Pp values represents an upper limit of
utilization.
 Losses = Conveyance loss + plant losses (
entrance, rack, generator, turbine)
Technically Available Power
According to F.I. Nestruck,
 Conveyance efficiency = 70 %

 Overall plant efficiency = 80 %

 Total overall efficiency (multiplying factor) =

0.56 to be used with average potential power

Pp50.
 Therefore, technically available power Pa =
0.56*Pp50.
 The multiplying factor depends up on the type of
development. i.e. run-of-river plant, high head
plant, etc.
 Pp= .Q.H (KW) = 9.81 Q.H (KW)
 Since 1 hp = 736 Watts
 Pp= 13.33 Q.H (hp)
 The hydraulic power P is given by
 P = η. .Q.H = 9.81 η.Q.H (KW)
 Where η - is the total efficiency

 Waterpower is also characterized by annual values of

potential energy in a river i.e. by quantities of work
expressed in Kilowatt hours & named as E95, E50,
Em, etc.
 The maximum potential energy of a river section is
thus:
 Emax = 8760*Pm (KWh)
 The upper value of net power capable of being
developed technically is computed from the potential
waterpower by introducing reduction factors to
account for losses in conveyance & in energy
conversion.
 The EEPCo puts the factor to be about 0.75 to 0.80.
 Thus, Pm net = (7.5 to 8.0) Qm.H (KW) for 
= 10
 Where Qm is arithmetic mean discharge.
 Therefore, Em net = 8760 Pm net (KWh)
 Firm and Secondary Power/ Electrical Load
on Hydro-turbines
 Load curve
 The power demand is defined as the total load,
which consumers choose, at any instant of time, to
connect to the supplying power system.
 The amount of load used at various hours of the
day may vary depending upon the requirements of
the consumption.
 At a certain hour of the day, the demand may reach
the highest value – known as the peak load.
Load curve contd….

 The maximum demand on the station determines

the size of the plant and its cost.
 The highest instantaneous value of the demand is,
strictly speaking, the peak load or peak demand.
 Generally, peak load is defined as that part of the
load carried at intensity greater than 4/3 times the
mean load intensity.
Load Curve
 If a curve is drawn between load as the ordinate and
time in hours as the abscissa for one day, then the
daily load curve results.
 Curves could be drawn for different time periods as
a day, a week, a month, or a year depending on the
requirements of the load analysis.
 Thus, a load curve is a graph of load consumption
with respect to time and directly gives an indication
of power used at any time.
 Figure 2.2 Daily Load Curve

Figure Daily Load Curve

 NOTE: Maximum demand determines the size of
the plant and its cost.
 Highest instantaneous value of demand is, strictly
speaking, the peak load or peak demand.
 Generally, however, peak load is defined as that
carried at intensity greater than 4/3 times the
average load intensity.
 Base Load is the total load continuously exceeded
where as the average load is the area under the
curve divided by the time.
 Load factor is the ratio of average load to the
peak load and is expressed as a daily, weakly,
monthly or yearly value.
 The area under a load curve is energy (KWh)
and it can be plotted to obtain energy
consumption curve.
 Thus the load factor can also be defined as:

Average load
Load Factor 
Peak load
 NOTE: Maximum load determines plant capacity
 Load factor - gives an idea of degree of utilization of
capacity. Thus an annual load factor of say 0.4
indicates that the machines are producing only 40% of
their yearly maximum production capacity.
 Capacity factor: also called plant use factor or plant
factor
Average output of plant for a given period
Capacity Factor 
Full plant capacity

Energy actually produced


Energy that a plant is capable of producing at full capacity
 For instance, if a plant with capacity of 100 MW
produces 6,000,000 KWh operating for 100 hrs,
its capacity factor will be:

6000000
C.F .   0.6 or 60 %
100000*100
 NOTE: The capacity factor for hydroelectric plant is generally
b/n 0.25 & 0.75.
 Therefore, if the peak load = plant capacity, then capacity factor
= load factor. If the plant is not used to its full capacity, then
load factor ≠ capacity factor.
 Thus in the above example, if the maximum load was 75 MW
instead of 100 MW then
•Firm and Secondary Power
 The term “firm” is given to supply which can be
guarantied at all times or a large percentage of the
time (e.g. 90% of the time).

 This type of supply is distinguished from the supply

governed by the availability of water, which is often
termed “secondary”. Supply available as a result of
seasonal excess of water or abnormal runoffs is
termed “surplus” as the alternative to generation is
letting the water run off (spilling).
 Firm Power: Also called primary power is the
power which always ensured to a consumer at
any hour of the day and is thus completely
dependable power.

 Such a power corresponds to the minimum

stream flow and is available for all times.
 Secondary Power

Primary Power Firm Power

( for run-off river plant)

0% 100%

Firm power can be increased by use of poundage (storage).

Flow Regulation
Increased firm power

Firm Power
(Without storage)

0% 100%
 Load Prediction and demand Assessment
Base Load - Peak Load
Power is needed for a variety of purposes, such as
domestic, commercial, industrial, municipal, agricultural,
public transport etc.

 The energy demand (local, regional, trans-regional) is

subject to considerable temporal fluctuations.

 These variations could be from hour to hour within a

day, from day to day within a week/month, from month
to month within a year, etc.
Load Prediction and demand Assessment cond..

 These seasonal fluctuations depend on:

 Weather, season;
 Vacation times;
 Cyclical business activities.
 Daily fluctuations are due to:
 Rhythm of work and free time;
 Weather;
 Traffic
Typical Daily Load Curve
 At certain times the demand may reach the highest
value, known as the peak-load. This maximum
demand usually determines the size of a plant.
 Generally, the peak-load is defined as that part of the
load carried at intensity greater than 4/3 times the
mean load intensity.
 To cover the fluctuating energy demand, the following
types of power plants are interconnected to each
others and work together:
 Base load power stations (coal, oil, nuclear and run-
of-river scheme power stations);
 Base load power stations having high utilization
times, they produce electric energy on a very
economical basis.
 Average load power stations (temporary, gas and
reservoir power stations);
 Peak load power stations (pumped storage and
peak load hydro power stations).

 The energy prime costs of peak load power stations

are higher due to shorter utilization times; their
emphasis lies on instant availability. These
differences affect considerably the price of base
load and peak load power.
 Hydropower

Load
(MW)

Nuclear

Thermal

Time (months)

Figure : Base load and Peak load stations

 Storage and Poundage
 Storage is provide to balance seasonal fluctuation
by building reservoir dams. Pondage is provided
through balancing reservoir or forebay for short
term fluctuations (daily or hourly)
 Reservoir (storage) capacity
 Reservoir capacity is determined by means of
mass curve procedure of computing the
necessary capacity corresponding to a given
inflow and demand pattern.
 Reservoir capacity has to be adjusted to account
for the dead storage, evaporation losses and carry
over storage.
Reservoir Mass Curve and Storage
 During high flows, water flowing in a river has to
be stored so that a uniform supply of water can be
maintained for water resources utilization like
irrigation, water supply, power generation, etc.
during periods of low flows of the river.

 A mass diagram is a graphical representation of

cumulative inflow into the reservoir versus time
which may be monthly or yearly (Fig.)
Reservoir Mass Curve contd…
 The use of mass curve is to determine:
 (i) the storage capacity of the reservoir required to
meet a particular withdrawal rate.
 (ii) the possible rate of withdrawal from a reservoir
of specified storage capacity.
 The observed inflow rates have to be adjusted for
the monthly evaporation from the reservoir
surface, precipitation, seepage through the dam,
inflow from adjacent basins, required releases for
downstream users, sediment inflow, etc. while
calculating the storage capacity of the reservoir.
Reservoir Mass Curve contd…
 The slope of the mass curve at any point is a
measure of the inflow rate at that time.
 Required rates of draw off from the reservoir are
marked by drawing tangents, having slopes equal
to the demand rates, at the highest points of the
mass curve.
 Reservoir Mass Curve contd…
 The maximum departure between the demand line
and the mass curve represents the storage capacity
of the reservoir required to meet the demand.
 A demand line must intersect the mass curve when
extended forward, otherwise the reservoir is not
going to refill.
 The vertical distance between the successive
tangents represent the water wasted over the
spillway.
 The salient features in the mass curve of flow,
referring to the above Fig. are:
 Reservoir Mass Curve contd…
 a-b: inflow rate exceeds the demand rate of x m3/s and
reservoir is overflowing
 b: inflow rate equals demand rate and the reservoir is just full
 b-c: inflow rate is less than the demand rate and the water is
drawn from storage
 c: inflow rate equals demand rate and S1 is the draw off from
the reservoir (Mm3)
 c-d: inflow rate exceeds demand rate and the reservoir is filling
 d: reservoir is full again
 d-e: same as a-b
 e: similar to b
 e-f: similar to b-c
 f: inflow rate equals demand rate and S2 is the draw off from
the reservoir f-g: similar to c-d
 Reservoir Mass Curve contd…
 To meet the demand rate of x m3/s the departure S2
> S1; hence, the storage capacity of the reservoir is
S2 Mm3.
 If the storage capacity of the reservoir, from
economic considerations, is kept as S1 Mm3, the
demand rate of x m3/s cannot be maintained during
the time e-f and it can be at a lesser rate of y m3/s (y
< x).
 The average flow figures for the site of a proposed
dam are collected for about 10 years.
 Graphical analysis is enough for preliminary studies.
 Final studies are made by tabular computation.
 Reservoir Mass Curve contd…
 If tangents are drawn to the crest and trough
of the mass curve such that the departure of
the lines represents the specified reservoir
capacity, the slope of the tangent at the crest
gives the continuous flow that can be
maintained with the available storage
capacity.
 From this the greatest continuous power
output for the available fall at the site for a
given plant efficiency and load factor can be
determined.
 Reservoir Mass Curve contd…
 The mass curve of water utilization need not be a
straight line.
 The dashed curve in Fig. below shows the
cumulative requirements of water use in different
months as compared with monthly cumulatively
inflow.
 The maximum draft in the reservoir (i.e., maximum
departure of the water use and inflow curves)
occurs by the end of April.
 The reservoir again becomes full by the end of
September when the two curves intersect
Reservoir Mass Curve contd…
Exercise
 The following is a record of the mean
monthly discharges of a river in a dry year.
The available fall is 80 m.
 Determine
 (i) the minimum capacity of a reservoir if the
entire annual inflow is to be drawn off at a
uniform rate (with no flow going into waste over
the spillway).
 (ii) the amount of water which must be initially
stored to maintain the uniform draw off.
 (iii) the uniform power output assuming a plant
efficiency of 70%.
 (iv) If the amount of water initially stored is 125
Mm3, the maximum possible draw off rate and the
amount of water wasted over the spillway
(assuming the same reservoir capacity determined
in (i) above.
 (v) if the largest reservoir that can be economically
constructed is of capacity 125 Mm3, the maximum
possible output and the amount of water wasted
over the spillway.
 (vi) the capacity of the reservoir to produce 22.5
megawatts continuously throughout the year.
Storage Components Storage (1)
Dam (2)
Appurtenant Structure: Intake
and Spillage Structures:
Spillage Structure:
Spillway (5)
Intake: Service Intake
(3) and Bottom Outlet (4)
Surveillance Structure (in
Dam, in Foundation as well
as Valley Sides)
Diversion (6)
Service Road (7)
 Plant Capacity Determination
Basic procedures
Limits of use of turbine types
Determination of number of units
Selection of most economical units
 Minimum capacity/installation is determined by the dependable flow

100
Q (m3/s)

10

Minimum dependable flow

1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Exceedence percentage
 Determination of number of units
 It is most cost effective to have a minimum number of
units at a given installation
 However, multiple units may be necessary to make
the most efficient use of water where flow variation is
high
 Factors such as space limitations by geologic
characteristics of existing structure may dictate larger
or smaller units.
 Difficulty of transporting and installing larger units
 Larger units require construction in segments and
field fabrication with special care
 Field fabrication is costly and practical only for
multiple units where the cost of facilities can be
spread over many units.
•Selection of Most economical installation/unit
 An economic analysis must be done in order to
justify the optimum installation
 When the curve of total cost of installation crosses
the total benefit gained the optimum installation
can be decided depending on the local situation