Dynamic Modeling of Distributed

Generation Sources: Micro

Hydropower Systems

Master's Degree in Control of Smartgrids and Distributed

Generation

Juanjo Ugartemendia de la Iglesia

February 2019, Donostia

Table of Contents
1.Introduction to Hydropower..............................................................................................................3
2.Micro hydropower Systems...............................................................................................................4
2.1.Micro hydropower System Components........................................................................................5
2.2.Micro hydropower System Turbines..............................................................................................7
2.3.Electric Generator.........................................................................................................................14
2.4.Regulation and Operation.............................................................................................................14
3.Bibliography....................................................................................................................................15
 1.Introduction to Hydropower

Micro Hydropower Systems

Modeling
1. Introduction to Hydropower
Humanity have been tapping the energy in flowing water for centuries, first for mechanical power, and, in
the last hundred years, for electricity. Early applications included milling, pumping, and driving machinery.
Unlike wind and sun, the right hydro resource can be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This allowed
pioneers to run irrigation pumps and grain mills, and allows people today to make clean, renewable
electricity at a reasonable cost.

Hydropower is fundamentally the combination of water flow and vertical drop (commonly called head).
Vertical drop creates pressure, and the continuous flow of water in a hydro system gives us an ongoing
source of pressurized liquid energy. Pressurized, flowing water is a very dense resource, and hydro-electric
systems convert a very large percentage of the available energy into electricity because the resource is
captive in a pipe or flume.

Broad categories of hydropower include:

• Conventional hydroelectric, referring to hydroelectric dams (Figure 1.1).

• Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity, which captures the kinetic energy in rivers or streams, without a
large reservoir and sometimes without the use of dams (Figure 1.2).

• Small hydro projects are 10 megawatts or less and often have no artificial reservoirs.

• Micro hydro projects provide a few kilowatts to a hundred kilowatts to isolated homes, villages, or
microgrids.

• Conduit hydroelectricity is a method of using mechanical energy of water as part of the water
delivery system through man-made conduits to generate electricity. Conduit projects utilize water
which has already been diverted for use elsewhere; in a municipal water system, for example.

• Pumped-storage hydroelectricity stores water pumped uphill into reservoirs during periods of low
demand to be released for generation when demand is high or system generation is low.
Micro Hydropower Systems Modeling

Figure 1.1: Outline of a conventional hydroelectric dam.

Figure 1.2: Chief Joseph Dam near Bridgeport, Washington, U.S., is

a major run-of-the-river station without a sizeable reservoir.

2. Micro hydropower Systems

The definition of micro hydropower varies in different countries and can even include systems with a
capacity of a few megawatts. One of the many definitions for micro hydropower is: hydro systems up till a
rated capacity of approximately 100 kW capacity. Although there are several ways to harness the moving
water to produce energy, run-of-the-river systems, which do not require large storage reservoirs, are often
used for microhydropower systems [1].

There are many of these installations around the world, particularly in developing nations as they can provide
an economical source of energy without the purchase of fuel. Microhydro systems complement solar PV
power systems because in many areas, water flow, and thus available hydro power, is highest in the winter
when solar energy is at a minimum.
 2.Micro hydropower Systems

A simple formula can give you a rough idea of how much capacity your stream might have [2]. Take the
head (H) in meters, multiply it by the flow (Q) in liter per second (l/s), and multiply again by a factor of
about 5:

P[W ]=5⋅Q [l/ s]⋅H [ m] (1)

This will give the approximate potential wattage of a reasonably efficient, small system. For example, if you
have 5 l/s available and 20 m of head, you will be able to generate something in the range of 500 watts
(5×[20×5] ≈ 500 W). Over the course of an entire day, the generation would be 12 kWh (24 hours/day x 500
W).

Within this formula is the understanding that systems with low vertical drop (head) need more flow to
generate the same amount of energy. Typically, low-head systems will have high flow, and high-head
systems will have lower flow. Adapting the example above, if we have 50 m of head, theoretically, we only
need 2 l/s to generate the same 500 W.

There are a wide range of small hydro turbine types to suit the head and flow of the site. For electricity
generation, systems can be divided into low-head and high-head.

Low-head systems may have less than 1.5 m of vertical drop—sometimes they may have only 25 or 50 cm.
In this case, most or all of the water in a small stream will run through the turbine to maximize output. The
runner (the part of the turbine that receives the water and turns its energy into rotation in a shaft) for low-
head turbines may be a Turgo or Francis type. These systems typically have short pipelines that then allow
the water to drop through the runner.

High-head systems may be defined as any site with more than 3 m of head . Common runners are Turgos on
the low end, and the most common, Pelton, for medium to high heads. These systems may have hundreds of
meters of pipeline to develop the head (pressure), with the water delivered to the runner via multiple nozzles.

2.1. Micro hydropower System Components

The basic components of a small hydro-electric system, running from “water-to-wire” are:

• Diversion and intake screen—Directs water from the stream or river into the pipe or channel

• Penstock (pipeline)—Carries the water to the turbine

• Turbine, pump, or waterwheel—transforms the energy of flowing water into rotational energy

• Alternator or generator —transforms the rotational energy into electricity

• Regulator (usually electronic)—controls the generator

Micro Hydropower Systems Modeling

• Batteries (if used)—Stores energy

• Dump load—Absorbs surplus energy

• Transmission and distribution—Delivers the energy to its end use

In Figure 2.1 can be seen a typical microhydropower system setup.

Figure 2.1: Typical Microhydro Setup

Water from the river is channeled through a settling basin, which helps to remove sediment that could harm
the turbine. The water then flows into the forebay tank where it is directed downhill through a penstock.
When the water reaches the bottom, it drives a specially designed turbine to produce the electricity.

Whether a micro hydropower system will be grid-connected or stand-alone will determine many of its
balance of system components. For example, some stand-alone systems use batteries to store the electricity
generated by the system. However, because hydropower resources tend to be more seasonal in nature than
wind or solar resources, batteries may not always be practical for microhydropower systems.

The turbine drives a generator that provides the electricity to the local grid. By not requiring an expensive
dam for water storage, run-of-the-river systems are a low-cost way to produce power. They also avoid the
damaging environmental and social effects that larger hydroelectric schemes cause, including a risk of
flooding.

2.2. Micro hydropower System Turbines

Turbines are commonly used today to power micro hydropower systems (aforetime were waterwheels). The
moving water strikes the turbine blades, to spin a shaft. Turbines are more compact in relation to their energy
 2.Micro hydropower Systems

output than waterwheels. They also have fewer gears and require less material for construction.

Hydro-turbines convert water pressure into mechanical shaft power, which can be used to drive an electricity
generator, or other machinery. The power available is proportional to the product of pressure head and
volume flow rate. The general formula for any hydro system’s power output is:

P=η⋅ρ⋅g⋅Q⋅H (2)

where P is the mechanical power produced at the turbine shaft (Watts), η is the hydraulic efficiency of the
turbine, ρ is the density of water (kg/m 3), g is the acceleration due to gravity (m/s 2), Q is the volume flow
rate passing through the turbine (m3/s), and H is the effective pressure head of water across the turbine (m).

The best turbines can have hydraulic efficiencies in the range 80 to over 90% (higher than most other prime
movers), although this will reduce with size. Micro-hydro systems tend to be in the range 60 to 80%
efficient.

Only a few companies make micro hydropower turbines, and most are high-head turbines. Low-head, low-
flow turbines may be difficult to find, and may have to be custom-made.

There are two general types of turbines: impulse and reaction.

Impulse Turbines

In an impulse turbine, a fast-moving fluid is fired through a narrow nozzle at the turbine blades to make them
spin around. They have the least complex design, and are most commonly used for high-head microhydro
systems. The blades of an impulse turbine are usually bucket-shaped so they catch the fluid and direct it off
at an angle (Figure 2.2) or sometimes even back the way it came (because that gives the most efficient
transfer of energy from the fluid to the turbine). They rely on the velocity of water to move the turbine
wheel, which is called the runner. The kinetic energy is in the form of a high-speed jet that strikes the
buckets, mounted on the periphery of the runner. The most common types of impulse turbines include the
Pelton wheel and the Turgo wheel, but they are not the only ones:
Micro Hydropower Systems Modeling

Figure 2.2: Outline of a Impulse Turbine

• Pelton wheel – uses the concept of jet force to create energy. Water is funneled into a pressurized
pipeline with a narrow nozzle at one end. The water sprays out of the nozzle in a jet, striking the
double-cupped (Figure 2.3) buckets attached to the wheel. The impact of the jet spray on the curved
buckets creates a force that rotates the wheel at high efficiency rates of 70–90% (see Figure 2.4).
Pelton wheel turbines are available in various sizes and operate best under low-flow and high-head
conditions.

Figure 2.3: Detail of the double cupped bucket of Pelton Turbine

 2.Micro hydropower Systems

Figure 2.4: Pelton turbines: Effect of number of buckets on water-bucket interaction.

• Turgo impulse wheel – an upgraded version of the Pelton. They are based on the same jet spray
concept, but the Turgo jet, which is half the size of the Pelton, is angled 20º so that the spray hits
three buckets at once (Figure 2.5). As a result, the Turgo wheel moves twice as fast. It's also less
bulky, needs few or no gears, and has a good reputation for trouble-free operations. The Turgo can
operate under low-flow conditions but requires a medium or high head, in the range of 30-300 m.
Water enters the runner through one side of the runner disk and emerges from the other (Figure 2.6).
Whereas the volume of water a Pelton turbine can admit is limited because the water leaving each
bucket interferes with the adjacent ones, the Turgo runner does not present this problem. The
resulting higher runner speed of the Turgo makes direct coupling of turbine and generator more
likely, improving its overall efficiency and decreasing maintenance cost.

Figure 2.5: 10 cm turgo runner seen from

beneath in an Australian-made Platypus turbine
Micro Hydropower Systems Modeling

Figure 2.6: Outline of the hit of jet spray on a Turgo turbine.

• Cross-flow turbine, also known as Banki-Michell in remembrance of its inventors and Ossberger
after a company which has been making it for more than 50 years, is used for a wide range of heads
overlapping those of Kaplan, Francis and Pelton. It can operate with discharges between 20 litres/sec
and 10 m3/sec and heads between 1 and 200 m. Water (Figure 2.7) enters the turbine, directed by one
or more guide-vanes located in a transition piece upstream of the runner, and through the first stage
of the runner which runs full with a small degree of reaction. Flow leaving the first stage crosses the
open center of the turbine. As the flow enters the second stage, a compromise direction is achieved
which causes significant shock losses. Their efficiency is lower than conventional turbines, but
remains at practically the same level for a wide range of flows and heads (typically about 80%).

Figure 2.7: Water flow in cross-flow turbine

• Jack Rabbit turbine – a drop-in-the-creek turbine that can generate power from a stream with as little
as 32 cm3/s of water and no head. Output from the Jack Rabbit is a maximum of 100 Watts, so daily
output averages 1.5–2.4 kilowatt-hours, depending on the site. Sometimes referred to as the Aquair
UW Submersible Hydro Generator (Figure 2.8).
 2.Micro hydropower Systems

Figure 2.8: Jack Rabbit turbine picture.

Reaction Turbines

In a reaction turbine, the blades sit in a much larger volume of fluid and turn around as the fluid flows past
them. A reaction turbine doesn't change the direction of the fluid flow as drastically as an impulse turbine: it
simply spins as the fluid pushes through and past its blades (Figure 2.9). Wind turbines are perhaps the most
familiar examples of reaction turbines.

Reaction turbines, which are highly efficient, depend on pressure rather than velocity to produce energy. All
blades of the reaction turbine maintain constant contact with the water. These turbines are often used in
large-scale hydropower sites (Francis turbines for example).

Figure 2.9: Typical reaction turbine from a

geothermal power plant.
Because of their complexity and high cost, reaction turbines aren't usually used for micro hydropower
projects. An exception is the propeller turbine, which comes in many different designs and works much like
a boat's propeller.

Propeller turbines have three to six usually fixed blades set at different angles aligned on the runner . The
bulb, tubular, and Kaplan tubular are variations of the propeller turbine. The Kaplan turbine, which is a
highly adaptable propeller system, can be used for micro-hydro sites.
Micro Hydropower Systems Modeling

Figure 2.10: Kaplan turbine

Pumps and waterwheels

Conventional pumps can be used as substitutes for hydraulic turbines. When the action of a pump is
reversed, it operates like a turbine. Since pumps are mass produced, you'll find them more readily than
turbines. Pumps are also less expensive. For adequate pump performance, however, the micro hydropower
site must have fairly constant head and flow. Pumps are also less efficient and more prone to damage.

The waterwheel is the oldest hydropower system component. Waterwheels are still available, but they aren't
very practical for generating electricity because of their slow speed and bulky structure.

Turbine performance characteristics

Turbine manufacturers use scaled models to obtain different curves correlating their characteristics.

Torque-velocity characteristic

It represents the correlation between the rotational speed and the turbine torque for different admission
degrees. According to Figure 2.11 the torque, for the same admission degree, decreases linearly with the
rotational speed. The maximum torque corresponds to a null speed, hence the high starting torque of
hydraulic turbines. The speed corresponding to the point where the curve cut the horizontal axis is called
runaway speed.
 2.Micro hydropower Systems

Figure 2.11: Torque-velocity characteristic for different admission

degrees

Power-velocity characteristic

This represents graphically how under a given head the power evolves, at different degrees of admission,
with the velocity. The parabolic curves (Figure 2.12) cut the horizontal axis in two different points,
corresponding respectively to the null speed and the runaway speed.

Figure 2.12: Power-velocity characteristic for

different admission degrees

Flow-velocity characteristic

This practically linear (Figure 2.13) representing the flow admitted by the turbine at different speeds, under a
constant head, and a variable admission degree. In the Pelton turbines the straight lines are almost horizontal;
drooping in the slow Francis (when the speed increases the turbines accept less and less flow), and ascendant
Micro Hydropower Systems Modeling

in the fast Francis.

Figure 2.13: Flow-velocity characteristic for different turbine types

Turbine performance

In the flow-velocity plane, by connecting the points that have the same efficiency, iso-efficiency curves are
obtained (Figure 2.14), that look like contour lines on a topographic map. Compounding these curves with
the power as the third axis,they will form a sort of “hill”, the so called “hill charts”.

Figure 2.14: Iso-efficiency curves

2.3. Electric Generator

Generators transform mechanical energy into electrical energy. Although most early hydroelectric systems
were of the direct current (DC) variety to match early commercial electrical systems, nowadays only three-
phase alternating current generators are used in normal practice. Depending on the characteristics of the
network supplied, the producer can choose between:
 2.Micro hydropower Systems

Induction or Asynchronous Generator

For pico/micro/mini -scale hydro, a stand-alone induction generator system has been successfully developed
using low-cost electronic controls (Figure 2.15). Two systems were developed: one provides dc power to
charge batteries and the other provides standard ac power for general use. The frequency control is precise,
allowing the use of electronic equipment on the circuit. Adding a bank of capacitors can compensate for the
absorbed reactive energy. They cannot generate when disconnected from the grid because are incapable of
providing their own excitation current. The system advantages include lower costs due to the induction
motors, more rugged construction and general availability; greatly reduced short-circuit energy; ability to
withstand 100% overspeed; and good sinusoidal power wave form with low harmonics and high efficiency in
the range of 86–96% [3].

Figure 2.15: Induction or asynchronous 3-phase

AC machine

Synchronous Generators

They are equipped with a DC excitation system (rotating or static) associated with a voltage regulator, to
provide voltage, frequency and phase angle control before the generator is connected to the grid and supply
the reactive energy required by the power system when the generator is tied into the grid. Synchronous
generators can run isolated from the grid and produce power since excitation is not grid-dependent [4].

Permanent Magnet Generator (PMG)

Low-head hydro installations are almost always characterized by great variations in flow and head , which
require a generator that can accommodate the variations. Should frequency/speed regulation and voltage
control be required, double regulation and external excitation systems are often needed; these result in
complexity of turbine and generator and considerable expense to the developer.

The PMG, is a synchronous generator where the excitation field is provided by a permanent magnet instead
Micro Hydropower Systems Modeling

of a coil, supplies continuous power to the exciter through the voltage regulator, which varies with speed
(that is, with head and flow variations) regardless of the generator voltage. Brushless permanent magnet
(BPM) alternators are the better choice (vs off-the-shelf alternators with brushes), since they eliminate the
need for brush replacement. In addition, BPM alternators perform at higher efficiencies, increasing the hydro
system’s output.

Figure 2.16: Energy Systems & Design BPM

Alternator from a Stream Engine Turbine

In addition, the axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) generator has been widely applied in wind turbines and
electric vehicles (vs Radial Flux) but rarely in hydropower applications. With proper design, the AFPM
could significantly reduce the size and cost of generators for pico-hydropower applications [3].

2.4. Regulation and Operation

Typically, an automatic controller operates the turbine inlet valve to maintain constant speed (and frequency)
when the load changes on the generator. In schemes connected to an isolated net, the parameter to be
controlled is the runner speed, which control the frequency. In this case there are basically two approaches to
control the runner speed: either by controlling the water flow to the turbine or by keeping the water flow
constant and adjusting the electric load by an electric load bank connected to the generator terminals to
dissipate energy not required by the load [4].

In the first approach, speed (frequency) regulation is normally accomplished through flow control; once a
gate opening is calculated, the actuator gives the necessary instruction to the servomotor, which results in an
extension or retraction of the servo’s rod. To ensure that the rod actually reaches the calculated position,
feedback is provided to the electronic actuator. These devices are called speed governors.

Governing system as per IEEE std.-75 includes following:

a) Speed sensing elements

b) Governor control actuators

c) Hydraulic pressure supply system

 2.Micro hydropower Systems

d) Turbine control servomotors-these are normally supplied as part of turbine

Figure 2.17: Governing System – Block Diagram [5]

In the second approach it is assumed that, at full load, constant head and flow, the turbine will operate at
design speed, so maintaining full load from the generator; this will run at a constant speed. If the load
decreases the turbine will tend to increase its speed. An electronic sensor, measuring the frequency, detects
the deviation and a reliable and inexpensive electronic load governor, switches on preset resistances and so
maintains the system frequency accurately.

With the availability of modern power electronics it is often easier to operate the generator at an arbitrary
frequency and feed its output through an inverter which produces output at grid frequency. Power electronics
now allow the use of permanent magnet alternators that produce wild AC to be stabilized . This approach
allows low speed / low head water turbines to be competitive; they can run at the best speed for extraction of
energy, and the power frequency is controlled by the electronics instead of the generator.

3. Bibliography
[1] “Microhydro web portal.” [Online]. Available: http://www.microhydropower.net/index.php.
[Accessed: 09-Dec-2016].
[2] “What is Microhydro Power? | Home Power Magazine.” [Online]. Available:
http://www.homepower.com/articles/microhydro-power/basics/what-microhydro-power.
[Accessed: 09-Dec-2016].
[3] “Small Hydropower Reference Modeling - pub39663.pdf.” [Online]. Available:
https://info.ornl.gov/sites/publications/files/pub39663.pdf. [Accessed: 09-Dec-2016].
[4] “Intro - EU_layman’s_guide_to_small_hydro.pdf.” [Online]. Available:
http://www.seai.ie/Renewables/Hydro_Energy/EU_layman’s_guide_to_small_hydro.pdf.
[Accessed: 11-Dec-2016].
[5] “Microsoft Word - CHAPTER-6_governing_system - Chapter-6_Hydro-
Turbine_Governing_System.pdf.” [Online]. Available:
http://ahec.org.in/publ/Modern_Hydroelectric_Engineering_Practice_Prof_OD_Thapar/
Volume_I/Chapter-6_Hydro-Turbine_Governing_System.pdf. [Accessed: 23-Oct-2017].
Micro Hydropower Systems Modeling