Hydro Power Plants

ME 411

Eng. H Chingosho
Overview
1. Introduction
2. Designing a micro-hydro scheme
3. Civil Works
4. Load Forecasting
5. Hydrology
6. Hydraulic Turbines
7. Electrical and Mechanical Equipment
8. Power Evacuation
9. Cost of Hydro-plant
Introduction
1. Introduction
• Micro-hydro schemes usually do not supply electricity to the national
grid.
• Typically they provide power to just one rural industry or one rural
community.
• They range in size from 200 W, just enough to provide domestic
lighting to a group of houses, to 100 kW, which can be used for small
factories and to supply an independent local ‘mini-grid’ which is not
part of the national grid.
Classification of Micro-Hydro schemes
Schemes are generally classified according to the “Head”:

• High head: 75 m and above

• Medium head: 40 - 75 m
• Low head: 3 - 40 m

NB: These ranges are not rigid but are merely means of categorizing sites.
Schemes can also be defined as:

• Run-of-river schemes without pondage.

• Run-of-river schemes with pondage.
• Storage type plants
• Schemes integrated on a canal.
• Pumped storage
Schemes can also be categorised using potential power
output:

• Micro-hydro: Up to 100 kW
• Mini-hydro: 101 kW – 2 MW
• Small-hydro: 2001 kW -25 MW (Unit size: 1 – 5MW)
Essential features of a Micro-hydro scheme

• Catchment Area
• Intake/ Diversion weir
• Spillways
• Desilting Tank
• Channel – directs the water to the forebay tank.
• Penstock – pipe which carries water from the forebay tank to the
powerhouse.
• Draft tube
• Surge tanks
• Tailrace
• Powerhouse – houses the turbines and generators.
Run-of-the river scheme
Run-of-the river scheme
Selection of Site

• Availability of water
• Water storage
• Water head
• Accessibility of site
• Distance from load centre
• Type of land of site
Hydropower Basics
• 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:
Hydropower Basics
• Before a water power site is considered for development, the following
factors must be thoroughly analysed:
• 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 centre.
• 3. The cost of electric generation compared with steam, oil or gas plants
which can be conveniently set up near the load centre.
 Hydropower Basics
Advantages of hydro-power plants are:
• 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 demands
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.
 Hydropower Basics
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
centre.
• 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.
 Designing a Micro-hydro scheme
Studies that should be undertaken include:
1. Capability and Demand survey – This should establish accurately how
much energy is wanted for what purposes, when it is required, and where
it is wanted. Can prospective consumers of the energy afford a new
energy source, and how much are they willing to pay for it. It is also
essential to assess the organizational capability of the users of the
scheme.
2. Hydrology study and site survey – This establishes the power potential
of the site. It shows how the water flow varies through the year, and
where water must be taken for the cheapest and most effective scheme.
The study takes into account the various uses of water, e.g irrigation
which will take precedence over hydropower.
 Designing a Micro-hydro scheme
3. Pre-feasibility study – This is a quick cost study of a range of design
options and rural energy sources. The designer of the scheme identifies
three or four different approaches to satisfying the consumer demand.
There may be two different designs of micro-hydro installations and other
possibilities, such as extension of national grid, or use of diesel generator.
The pre-feasibility compares these options & presents their main features.

4. Full feasibility study – If pre-feasibility report indicate that one of the

micro-hydro approaches is sensible, then proceed to detailed engineering
calculations and costing. Golden rule of feasibility study is: “O & M first,
economics & plant factor second, engineering design last”. The success of
the scheme will depend in the end on correct operational procedures &
effective management of the scheme. The feasibility will also set out the
tariff structure for the scheme.
 Hydrology
• Hydrology may be defined as the science which deals with the depletion &
replenishment of water resources.
• Hydrology helps to answer the following questions;
(i) How is the water going to precipitate
(ii) What happens to the water after precipitation
RUN-OFF

• Rain-fall is measured in terms of centimetres 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 hydro site is the total area behind the dam, draining water
into the reservoir. Thus,

Run-off = Total precipitation – Total evaporation

Essential features of a Micro-hydro scheme

• Catchment Area
• Intake/ Diversion weir
• Spillways
• Desilting Tank
• Channel – directs the water to the forebay tank.
• Penstock – pipe which carries water from the forebay tank to the
powerhouse.
• Draft tube
• Surge tanks
• Tailrace
• Powerhouse – houses the turbines and generators.
Hydrology

Factors affecting run-off include:

(i) Rainfall pattern
(ii) Character of catchment area
(iii) Topography
(iv) Shape & size of catchment area
(v) Vegetation
(vi) Geology of the area
(vii)Weather conditions
 Hydrograph
• A hydrograph is a graph showing the rate of flow (discharge) versus time
past a specific point in a river, channel, or conduit carrying flow.
• 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 m^3 /sec and the time may be in hours, days, weeks or
months.
Hydrology
Example: The run-off data of a river at a particular site is shown in the
table below.

Month Mean discharge per Month Mean discharge per

month, millions of month, millions of
m3 m3

January 40 July 75

February 25 August 100

March 20 September 110

April 10 October 60

May 0 November 50

June 50 December 40
Hydrology
Using the data in the table;
(i) Draw the hydrograph and flow duration curve.
(ii) Find the power available at mean flow if the head available is 80 m
and overall efficiency of the generation is 85 %.
Take each month to be 30 days.
 Flow duration curve
• Flow Duration Curve (FDC) – shows the flow available during a period versus the
fraction of time. If the magnitude on the ordinate is the potential power
contained in the stream flow, then the curve is known as the power duration
curve. This curve is very useful in the analysis for the development of water
power.
• FDCs are useful in the following cases;
(i) Preliminary studies &
(ii) Comparison between streams.
(iii) Very useful in the planning and design of water resource projects. For
hydropower studies the FDC serves to determine the potential for firm power
generation. In the case of run-of-the river plant, with no storage the firm
power is usually computed on the basis of flow available 90 to 97 % of the
time. Firm power is also known as primary power. Secondary power is power
generated utilizing water other than that used for firm power.
Flow duration curve

• Shortcomings of the flow duration curve include;

(i) It does not present the flows in natural source of occurrence &
(ii) It is not possible to tell whether the lowest flows occurred in
consecutive periods or were scattered throughout the period.
Exercise

Table for FDC

Discharge per month Total number of months during which flow Percent time during which flow is available
Millions of m3 is available

100 12 100

250 11 91.8

300 10 83.4

400 9 76.0

500 8 66.6

750 7 58.4

1000 4 33.3

1200 3 25.0

1250 2 16.65

1500 1 8.325
THE MASS CURVE
• The use of the mass curve is to compute the capacity of the reservoir
for a hydro site.
• 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.
• The slope of the curve at any point gives the flow rate in second-
meter.
• Joining two points X and Y on the curve, the slope of this line gives
the average rate of flow during the period between X and Y. This will
be
= (Flow at Y-Flow at X)/Time Span
Mass Curve
• Mass curve – Graph of cumulative values of water quantity (run-off)
against time. It is an integral curve of the hydrograph which expresses
the area under the hydrograph from one time to another.
• It is convenient for determining storage requirement that is needed to
produce a certain dependable flow from the fluctuating discharge of a
river by a reservoir.
Hydropower Basics
• Let the flow demand be, 3000 sec-meter. Then the line X-Y may be
called as `demand line' or ‘Use line’.
• If during a particular period, the slope of the mass Curve is greater
than that of the demand line, it means more water is flowing into the
reservoir than is being utilized, so the level of water in the reservoir
will be increasing during that period and vice versa.
• Upto point X and beyond point Y the reservoir will be overflowing.
being full at both X and Y.
Hydropower Basics
• The capacity of the reservoir is given by the maximum ordinate
between the mass curve and the demand line.
• For the portion of mass curve between point X and Y, the storage
capacity is about 4600 sec-meter-month.
• However, considering the entire mass curve, storage capacity will be
about 15,400 sec-meter-months.
CALCULATIONS OF WATER POWER PLANTS
• These calculations are concerned with the river or stream flow and
the available head through which the water falls to generate the
electric power.
• Water in motion possesses three forms of energy ; kinetic energy due
to its velocity, pressure energy due to its pressure and potential
energy due to its height.
Hydraulic Turbines
Definition of hydraulic turbine
• Classification of hydraulic turbines according to
(i) Head & quantity of water available
- Impulse turbine requires high head & low flow
- Reaction turbine requires low head & high flow
(ii) Name of originator – Pelton, Francis, Kaplan etc
(iii) Action of water on moving blades
- Impulse turbine – Pelton
- Reaction turbine – Francis, Kaplan & Propeller
(iii) Direction of flow of water :
Tangential – Pelton; Axial flow – Kaplan; Mixed (radial & axial) – Francis turbine
(iv) Disposition of turbine shaft – vertical or horizontal. Modern turbine practice Pelton turbines
usually have horizontal shafts whereas the rest especially the large units have vertical shafts
 Hydraulic Turbines
Hydraulic turbines are Machines which convert hydraulic energy in to mechanical energy. Uses the
potential energy and kinetic energy of water and rotate the rotor by dynamic action of water.

Classification of hydraulic turbines according to:

(i) Head & quantity of water available

- Impulse turbine requires high head & low flow
- Reaction turbine requires low head & high flow

(ii) Name of originator – Pelton, Francis, Kaplan etc

(iii) Action of water on moving blades

- Impulse turbine – Pelton
- Reaction turbine – Francis, Kaplan & Propeller
Hydraulic turbines

(iii) Direction of flow of water :

Tangential – Pelton; Axial flow – Kaplan; Mixed (radial & axial) – Francis turbine

(iv) Disposition of turbine shaft – vertical or horizontal.

(v) Energy at inlet to the turbine:

Impulse Turbine : The energy is in the form of kinetic form.
Reaction Turbine : The energy is in both Kinetic and Pressure form.

Modern turbines i.e the Pelton turbines usually have horizontal shafts whereas the
rest especially the large units have vertical shafts
Impulse Turbine
Reaction Turbine
Specific Speed
Specific speed – defined as the speed of a geometrically similar turbine that
would develop 1 brake horsepower under the head of 1 m.

All geometrically similar turbines (irrespective of their sizes) will have the
same specific speed when operating under the same conditions of head &
flow.

Specific speed, Ns = N√(Po)/H5/4

Where, N = normal working speed in r.p.m

Po = Power available on the turbine
H = net or effective head in m
Specific speeds for various types of runners
Type of turbine Type of runner Specific speed, Ns

Pelton Slow 10 to 20
Normal 20 to 28
Fast 28 to 35

Francis Slow 60 to 120

Normal 120 to 180
Fast 180 to 300

Kaplan - 300 to 1000

 Specific Speeds
Turbines with low specific speeds work under a high head & low discharge
condition, while high specific speed turbines work under low head & high
discharge conditions.
• Description of various type of turbines:
(1) Impulse turbines
Pelton wheel – Most important impulse turbine. It is a tangential flow impulse
turbine. All available P.E from a high head source is converted into K.E before the
jet strikes the buckets. Pressure all over the wheel is constant & equal to
atmospheric, so that energy transfer occurs due to purely impulse action.

(2) Reaction turbines – The runner utilizes both P.E & K.E. The water which acts
on the runner blades is under a pressure above atmospheric & the runner
passages are always completely filled with water.
(i) Francis turbine
(ii) Propeller & Kaplan turbines
Exercise
a)In a hydro-electrics station, the turbine water is available at the rate
of 175 m3/s under a head of 18 m. The turbine run at speed of 150
r.p.m with overall efficiency of 82%. Given that the turbines have the
maximum specific speed of 460, determine:

1. Power available at the turbine shaft [5]

2. Power available from turbines [3]
3. Find the number of turbines required [2]
 Matching Power Supply and Demand
Plant capacity factor – Ratio of actual energy produced in a given time in
kWh to the maximum possible energy that could have been generated
during the same period.

𝐸
Plant capacity factor =
𝐶𝑥𝑡

Where, 𝐸 = Energy produced (kWh) in a given period (kWh)

𝐶 = Capacity of the plant in kW.
𝑡 = Total number of hours in the given period
Unit Energy Cost
• Unit Energy Cost – It is important to know whether the electricity from the
hydro scheme is cheaper or more expensive than electricity produced in other
ways.

𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕

Unit Energy cost =
𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒎

The energy consumed usefully per annum depends on the Plant Factor (PF), &
the installed capacity (Pinstalled). Thus,

𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒍+(𝑶+𝑴)
Unit Energy cost=
𝑷𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒙 𝟖𝟕𝟔𝟎 𝒙 𝑷𝑭

Where, 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 = Annual cost of the capital, i.e loan repayment for the capital
borrowed
Load Forecasting
Annual Load Factor – For the Load forecast knowledge of annual load
factor is necessary. The load factor may be daily or monthly or annually
as given by the following equation;

𝑘𝑊ℎ 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑘𝑊ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

𝑘𝑊ℎ 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

=
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 365 𝑥 24

𝑘𝑊ℎ 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

=
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 8760
 Load Forecasting
Electrical load survey – Following factors may be considered during the
electrical load survey;

• Number of villages
• Number of houses
• Population
• Number of projected connections
• Average energy consumptions
• Current and projected demand for electrical energy of various types of
consumption
Electrical Power Generation in
Power plants
 Faraday’s Law;
Electromagnetic induction

• An Emf is set up in a closed electric circuit located in a magnetic field

whenever the total magnetic flux linking the circuit changes.
• The reverse is also true:
• A magnetic field is produced in a conductor by passing electrical
current through the conductor.
Faradays Law Continued

• Three things must be present in order to produce electrical current:

a) Magnetic field
b) Conductor
c) Relative motion
• When the conductor cuts lines of magnetic flux, a voltage is induced
in the conductor.
 Construction of AC Electrical
Generators
• The AC generator consists of a rotating magnet called the rotor/ field
surrounded by a stationary winding called the stator/ armature.
• The magnet is an electromagnet.
• The rotating electromagnet is energized by a DC source through slip rings.
• The stator consists of high current carrying copper coils wound on a metal
usually iron.
• Three separate windings or coils are physically placed 120 apart around the
stator.
Simplified 3 phase ac generator
 Electricity Generation Process

• The rotating magnetic field cuts the stator windings ( conductor )and as a
result, electricity is induced in the stator windings.
• From terminals of the stator three phase power is obtained.
• The induced voltage have equal magnitude but out of phase by 120°
(electrical)
Construction of an Generator
 DC Exciter

• A small DC generator is coupled to the same shaft as the rotor.

• Therefore, when the rotor rotates this exciter produces the power for the
electromagnet.
• Control of the exciter output is done by varying the field current of the exciter.
• This output from the exciter then controls the magnetic field of the rotor to
produce a constant voltage output by the generator.
• This DC current is feed to the rotor through slip rings.
 Static Exciter

• The DC power for the electromagnet is from the main generator output itself.
• A number of high power rectifiers, rectify the AC current to produce a DC
current which is fed to the rotor through slip rings.
• This eliminates the operation and maintenance problems associated with
having another rotating machine.
• During start up, when there is no output from the generator, a large battery
bank provides the necessary power for excitation.
Rotating Field Generator Illustration.
 Induced Current

• The direction of the induced current is related to the direction of motion of

the conductor in the magnetic field.
 THREE-PHASE WAVEFORM
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

120 120 120

240

Phase 2 lags phase 1 by 120. Phase 2 leads phase 3 by 120.

Phase 3 lags phase 1 by 240. Phase 1 leads phase 3 by 240.
Generation of 3 phase power
 Synchronization of Generators
• All the power plant generators connect to the national or the regional
transmission grid.
• This means all these generators should produce electric power that has the
same characteristics.

• Frequency: The power output is an alternating current with a frequency of

50 Hz.
• This means the voltage and the directional flow of the electric current
changes 50 times a second.
 Synchronization of Generators continued

• Voltage: this is the main electromotive force that drives the electric current.
• Large generators produce electricity at 20,000 volts.
• Transmission of electricity over large distances takes place at very high
voltages.
• Phase: Large electric power generators produce 3-phase electric power.
• This means there are three different circuits each generating power at the
same voltage and frequency.
AC Generators
• There are two types of ac generators suitable for use in micro-hydro
schemes. These are;
1) Synchronous generators (or alternators)
2) Induction generators (an induction motor is used as a generator)
• Induction generators are less common, but are being used
increasingly in micro-hydro schemes. Their advantages are that they
are easily & cheaply available as motors, simply constructed &
repaired, rugged, require little maintenance & can withstand 100 %
over-speed.
AC Generators
• Induction generators are easily used as generators when connected to
an existing supply system (grid).
• When used in stand alone applications such as an isolated micro-
hydro scheme they require fitting with excitation capacitors.
• Although these generators should be referred to as stand-alone or
self excited induction generators they are usually referred to as
induction generators or motor generators (MGs), or at times as
Induction motors as generators (IMAGs)
AC Generators
• Synchronous generators are so called because the frequency
generated is directly related to the shaft speed.
• Induction generators are also known as asynchronous generators
because the frequency generated, though dependent on shaft speed,
is not directly proportional to it and does change slightly with load
changes.
AC Generators
• Induction generator:
𝟏𝟐𝟎𝒙𝒇
N= 𝟏 − 𝒔 . (rpm)
𝒑
Where s = slip and p = number of poles.
The slip will be between 0 and 10 % (depending on the load &size of
machine). It is negative for a generator & positive for a motor.
The value s may for instance be -0.05 for a generator, & 1 − 𝑠 = 1.05.
For instance, a 4 pole induction generator on a 50 Hz supply runs at
between 1500 & 1575 rpm depending on the load.
AC Generators
Synchronous generator (wound rotor):
𝟏𝟐𝟎𝒙𝒇
N=
𝒑
Where p = number of poles.
For instance, a 4 pole synchronous generator at 50 Hz will run at a
speed of 1500 rpm.
 AC Generators
Specification of synchronous generators:
• The capacity of a generator is described by its volt-amp rating.
• The generator must have a volt-amp rating sufficient to supply the total
required volt-amps in conditions of maximum demand, & that it is wise to
employ generator having a considerably large volt-amp rating because:
1) This allows for possible expansion of the loads & supply systems
2) This minimizes momentary voltage reductions which occur when induction
motors are started.
3) Over-rated generators will run cooler
4) Over-rated generators are necessary when using ELC.
• Always add an extra 25 % (or more) to kVA capacity for these factors, i.e
select a 125 kVA alternator for a 100 kVA load. For an ELC increase this to 60 %
extra kVA capacity.
AC Generators
• In practice, most synchronous generators are rated in power output
(kW) at a specified power factor, for example 5 kW at 0.8 power
factor.
• This allows the engine or other unit (turbine) driving the generator to
be specified for the power rating of the generator, & assume that in
general the electrical load to be supplied have a power factor similar
to that at which the generator is rated.
AC Generators
• While the generator shaft will be designed to transmit the rated
power, its electrical design will be dependent on the volt-amp rating;

𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈
VA =
𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓
So the 5 kW, 0.8 power factor generator has a volt-amp rating of

𝟓𝟎𝟎𝟎
= 6.25 kVA.
𝟎.𝟖