POWER STATION

ENGINEERING &
ECONOMY

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 Installed GENERATION CAPACITY(FUELWISE) AS ON 31.05.2023
Power Sector Scenario in India
CATAGORY INSTALLED % of SHARE IN
Sector MW % of Total CAPACITY( Total
MW)
Central 1,00,055 24.0%
Fossil Fuel
Sector
Coal 205,235 49.1%
State Sector 1,05,726 25.3%
Lignite 6,620 1.6%
Private 2,11,887 50.7% Gas 24,824 6.0%
Sector Diesel 589 0.1%

Total 4,17,668 Total Fossil Fuel 2,37,269 56.8 %

Non-Fossil Fuel
RES (Incl. Hydro) 1,59,949 39.7%
Hydro 46,850 11.2 %
Wind, Solar & Other RE 125,692 30.2 %
Wind 42,868 10.3 %
Solar 67,078 16.1 %
BM Power/Cogen 10,248 2.5 %
Waste to Energy 554 0.1 %
Small Hydro Power 4,944 1.2 %
Nuclear 6,780 1.6%
Total Non-Fossil Fuel 179,322 43.0%
Total Installed Capacity 4,17,668 100%
(Fossil Fuel & Non-Fossil Fuel) 2
Hydro Power Plant

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Hydro Power

Hydro-electric projects harness water power for generation of electric energy. When
water drops through a height, its energy is able to rotate turbines which are coupled to
alternators. The electric power, P is given by

735.5
P= QH Kilowatt
75

Here Q is water discharge (m3/sec), H- Waterhead (m), ƞ is the efficiency of turbine

and alternator

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ADVANTAGES OF HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANTS

➢ The useful life of a hydro-electric plant is around 50 years as compared to around 25- 30 years
for a steam station.
➢ The hydro plants do not require any fuel. Their operating cost are, therefore, low. Since no fuel
is required, there are no charges and problems of handling and storage of fuel ad disposal of ash.
➢ There are no standby losses in hydro plants. They can be run up and synchronized in a few
minutes. The load can be adjusted rapidly.
➢ Hydro plants are more robust as compared to steam plants.
➢ The maintenance cost of hydro plants is very low as compared to that of steam and nuclear
plants.
➢ Efficiency of hydro plants does not reduce with age. On the other hand efficiency of steam
plants decreases with age.
➢ Generation of electric energy through hydro plants leads to conservation of coal and other fuels.
➢ The operation of thermal plants is totally dependent on efficient and quick transport of coal.
Transport bottle-necks are likely to render thermal plants idle for long periods. Hydro plants are
free from such bottle-necks.
➢ The operating personnel required for hydro plants are smaller in number as compared to those
required for other plants.
➢ Hydro projects are generally multipurpose projects. In addition to electric power generation,
they are also useful for irrigation, flood control, navigation etc.
➢ Hydro plants are free from air pollution due to smoke and exhaust gases.
➢ Hydro plants are located in remote areas where land costs are low. 5
DISADVANTAGES OF HYDROELECTRIC PLANTS

➢ The capital cost of the hydroelectric power plants is very high.

➢ Preparation of detailed project reports for hydroelectric power plants takes
relatively longer period than for thermal power plants because reliable
hydrological. geological seismological and environmental studies have to be
carried out for a longer period.
➢ These plants are usually located in the hilly areas and plant site is difficult to
access. Power generation is dependent on the nature, i.e. rainfall or quantity of
water available. The output of a hydroelectric power plant is never constant
because the rate of water flow to a river depends on monsoons and it is difficult to
predict and control monsoons.
➢ A large number of hydropower projects having common river systems between
adjoining states are held up on account of interstate aspects.
➢ Large storage-based hydroelectric power plants have environmental impact and
rehabilitation issues.

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 SITE SELECTION FOR HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANTS

• Availability of Water: Run-off data for many years available

• Water Storage: for water availability throughout the year
• Head of Water: most economic head, possibility of constructing a dam to get required head
• Geological Investigations: strong foundation, earthquake frequency is less
• Water Pollution: excessive corrosion and damage to metallic structures
• Sedimentation: capacity reduces due to gradual deposition of silt
• Social and Environmental Effects: submergence of areas, effect on biodiversity (e.g.
western ghat), cultural and historic aspects
• Access to Site: for transportation of construction material and heavy machinery new railway
lines or roads may be needed
• Multipurpose: power generation, irrigation, flood control, navigation, recreation; because
initial cost of power plant is high because of civil engineering construction work

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Constituents of Hydro-electric Plant
RUN-OFF
Rain fall (used in a general sense) or “precipitation” may be defined as the total condensation
of moisture that reaches the earth in any form. It includes all forms of rains, ice, snow, hail or
sleet etc. “Evaporation” represents practically all of that portion of the rainfall that does not
reach the point of ultimate use as stream flow. So, evaporation, includes all the rainfall that is
returned to the atmosphere from land and water surfaces. Thus total evaporation is:

1. Evaporation from land and water surfaces.

2. Evaporation by transpiration which is the vaporization of water from the breathing pores of
vegetable matter.
3. Atmospheric evaporation (evaporation while precipitation is falling).

Run-off = Total precipitation – Total evaporation

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FACTORS AFFECTING RUN-OFF
Nature of Precipitation. Short, hard showers may produce relatively little run-off. Rains
lasting a longer time results in larger run-off. The soil tends to become saturated and the
rate of seepage decreases. Also, the humid atmosphere lowers evaporation, resulting in
increased run-off.
Topography of Catchments Area. Steep, impervious areas will produce large percentage
of total run-off. The water will flow quickly and absorption and evaporation losses will be
small.
Geology of Area. The run-off is very much affected by the types of surface soil and sub-
soil, type of rocks etc. Rocky areas will give more run-off while pervious soil and sub-soil
and soft and sandy area will give lesser run-off.
Meteorology. Evaporation varies with temperature, wind velocity and relative humidity.
Run-off increases with low temperature, low wind velocity and high relative humidity and
vice versa.
Vegetation. Evaporation and seepage are increased by cultivation. Cultivation opens and
roughens the hard, smooth surface and promotes seepage. Thick vegetation like forests
consumes a portion of the rain fall and also acts as obstruction for run-off.

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Measurement of Run-Off or Flow
From Rain-Fall Records. The run-off can be estimated from rain-fall records by
multiplying the rain fall with “run-off coefficient” for the drainage area. The run-off
coefficient takes into account the various losses and will depend upon the nature of the
catchment area.
Empirical Formulas. Empirical relations to determine the stream flow relate only to a
particular site and can not be relied upon for general use.
Actual Measurement. Direct measurement by stream gauging at a given site for a long
period is the only precise method of evaluation of stream flow. The flow is measured by
selecting a channel of fixed cross-section and measuring the water velocity at regular
intervals, at enough points in the cross-section for different water levels. The velocity of
flow can be measured with the help of current meter or float method. By integrating the
velocities over the cross-section for each stage, the total flow for each stage can be
calculated.

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Catchment area: The catchment area of a hydro plant is the whole area behind the dam,
draining into a stream or river across which the dam has been built at a suitable place.

Reservoir : Whole of the water avail-able from the catchment area is collected in a reservoir
behind the dam. The purpose of the storing of water in the reservoir is to get a uniform power
output throughout the year. A reservoir can be either natural or artificial. A natural reservoir is
a lake in high mountains and an artificial reservoir is made by constructing a dam across the
river.
Dam and Intake House: A dam is a barrier which stores water and creates water head.
Dams are built of concrete or stone masonary, earth or rock fill. The type and arrangement
depends upon the topography of the site. A masonary dam may be built in a narrow
canyon. An earth dam may be best suited for a wide valley. The type of dam also depends
upon the foundation conditions, local materials and transportation available, occurrence of
earthquakes and other hazards. At most of sites, more than one type of dam may be
suitable and the one which is most economical is chosen.

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Earth and Rockfill Dam Arc Dam

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Arc Gravity Dam
Surge Tank

The load on a generator keeps on fluctuating.

Therefore the water intake to the turbine has to
be regulated according to the load. A reduction
in load on the alternator causes the governor to
close the turbine gates. Sudden closure of
turbine gates creates an increased pressure,
known as water hammer, in the penstock. When
the governor opens the turbine gates suddenly
to admit more water, there is a tendency to
cause a vacuum in the penstock. The function
of the surge tank is to absorb these sudden
changes in water requirements so as to prevent
water hammer and vacuum.

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Penstock

A penstock carries water from the water storage

system to the turbine. It may be a low pressure
type or high pressure type. A low pressure
penstock may be a canal, flume or a steel pipe.
The high pressure penstock consists of thick
steel pipes. The diameter may be up to a few
meters for large units. Each turbine has a
separate penstock. Small size plants have
penstocks of concrete. A penstock may be
buried below earth surface or exposed.

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Spillway: Every dam is provided with an arrangement to discharge excess water during
floods. This arrangement may be a spillway or a by-pass tunnel or conduit. The
spillway should be so designed as to discharge the major flood waters without damage
to the dam but at the same time maintain a predetermined head. Spillways are classified
as overflow spillway, chute spillway, side channel spillway, shaft spillway and siphon
spillway.

Headworks. The headworks consists of the diversion structures at the head of an intake.
They generally include booms and racks for diverting floating debris, sluices for by-
passing debris and sediments and valves for controlling the flow of water to the turbine.
The flow of water into and through headworks should be as smooth as possible to avoid
head loss and cavitation. For this purpose, it is necessary to avoid sharp corners and abrupt
contractions or enlargements.

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HYDRAULIC TURBINE
➢ Hydraulic turbines convert the energy of water into mechanical energy which drives
the alternators.
➢ They are highly efficient (efficiency exceeding 90% at full load), simple in
construction, can be controlled easily and pick up load in a very short time.
➢ They are built in all sizes upto about 1,000,000 h.p. with speeds varying from 100
rpm in large turbine to 1000 rpm in small turbines.

CLASSIFICATION
➢ Hydraulic turbines can be classified into impulse and reaction turbines.
➢ Pelton wheel is an impulse turbine and suits high heads and low flows.
➢ The reaction turbine can be either Francis or Propeller. Francis turbine suits medium
heads and medium flows whereas Propeller turbines are meant for low heads and high
volume of water.
➢ Kaplan turbine is a special type of Propeller turbine having adjustable blades.

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Specific Speed
Specific speed of a turbine is the speed of a scale model of turbine which develops
1 metric h.p. under a head of 1 metre.

Where, Ns is specific speed in metric units

N is speed of turbine in rpm
Pt is output in metric h.p.
H is effective head in metres

A classification of turbine according to range of head and specific speed is an under

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Impulse turbines

➢ Such turbines are used for high heads. In an impulse turbine, the entire pressure of
water is converted into kinetic energy in a nozzle and the velocity of the jet drives the
wheel.

➢ Pelton Turbine Comes under this Category

➢ A Pelton turbine works under large head and
low quantity of water. The potential energy
of water in the penstock is converted into
kinetic energy in jet of water issuing from a
nozzle.
➢ The pressure inside is atmospheric pressure.
The water jet impinges on buckets fixed on
the periphery of rotor and causes the motion
of the rotor. After performing work, water
discharges into the tail race.

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➢ It consists of a wheel fitted with elliptical
buckets along its periphery.
➢ The force of water jet striking the buckets on
the wheel drives the turbine.
➢ The quantity of water jet falling on the turbine
is controlled by means of a needle or spear
placed in the tip of the nozzle.
➢ Each bucket is divided into two hemispherical
cups with a ridge in the centre.
➢ The rotor or runner is made of cast steel.
Buckets are made of cast iron, bronze or
stainless steel.
➢ The movement of the needle is controlled by
the governor. If the load on the turbine
decreases, the governor pushes the needle into
the nozzle, thereby reducing the quantity of
water striking the buckets. Reverse action takes
place if the load on the turbine increases.

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 Reaction turbines
➢ Reaction turbines are used for low and medium heads. In a reaction turbine, water
enters the runner partly with pressure energy and partly with velocity head.

➢ Reaction turbines are classified into 1. Francis Turbine 2. Propeller Type or

Kaplan Turbine
Francis Turbine
➢ It built in large sizes and are generally of vertical type to effect economy in space.
➢ The alternator is mounted above the turbine and is thus free from flooding.
➢ A modern Francis turbine is an inward mixed flow reaction turbine. The water, under
pressure, enters the runner from guide vanes radially and discharge out of the runner
axially.
➢ The motion of water is controlled by movable inlet wicket gates, fixed around the
runner,

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➢ It consists of an outer ring of stationary guide blades fixed to the turbine casing and
an inner ring of rotating blades forming the runner. The guide blades control the
flow of water to the turbine.
➢ Water flows radially inwards and changes to a downward direction while passing
through the runner. As the water passes over the “rotating blades” of the runner,
both pressure and velocity of water are reduced. This causes a reaction force which
drives the turbine.

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➢ A modern Francis turbine is an inward mixed flow reaction turbine. The water,
under pressure, enters the runner from guide vanes radially and discharge out of
the runner axially.
➢ The motion of water is controlled by movable inlet wicket gates, fixed around the
runner, through which the water passes on its way from spiral casing to the
runner.
➢ Since the pressure at inlet is more than that at outlet, the water flows in a closed
circuit and the runner is always full of water. After doing work, water is
discharged to the tailrace through a closed tube known as draft tube which has a
gradually enlarging section.
➢ Francis runners for low heads may be of cast iron but for heads above 100m, cast
steel or bronze is preferred.
Draft tube

The draft tube serves the following two purposes:

➢ It allows the turbine to be set above tail-water level, without loss of head, to
facilitate inspection and maintenance.
➢ It regains, by diffuser action, the major portion of the kinetic energy delivered to it
from the runner.
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Propeller and Kaplan Turbines

➢ All parts of a Kaplan turbine such as

spiral casing, guide mechanism and
draft tube except runner are similar to
those of a Francis turbine.
➢ A Kaplan runner has only 3 to 6
blades as compared to 16-24 for a
Francis runner.
➢ The smaller number of blades causes
a reduction in contact surface and
hence in frictional resistance.
➢ Further, in a Kaplan turbine water
strikes the blades axially.

The speed of Kaplan turbines is more than that of Francis turbines and lies in the
range of 400-1500 rpm, the high speed resulting in lower cost of runner and
alternator and cheaper power house structure.

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GOVERNING OF HYDRAULIC TURBINES

Governing of a hydraulic turbine means speed regulation. Under normal conditions the
turbine should run at a constant speed irrespective of changes in load. This is achieved by
means of a governor called oil pressure governor.

Governing of impulse turbine. The quantity of water rejected from the turbine nozzle and
from striking the buckets may be regulated in one of the following ways :
➢ Spear regulation.
➢ Deflector regulation.
➢ Combined spear and deflector regulation.
The spear and deflector in all cases are operated by the servomotor mechanism.

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Spear regulation
➢ To and fro movement of the spear inside the nozzle alters the cross-sectional area of
stream, thus, making it possible to regulate the rate of flow according to the load.
➢ Spear regulation is satisfactory when a relatively large penstock feeds a small turbine
and the fluctuation of toad is small.
➢ With the sudden fall in load, the turbine nozzle has to be closed suddenly which may
create water hammer in the penstock.

Deflector regulation
➢ The deflector is generally a plate connected to the oil pressure governor by means of
levers.
➢ When it is required to deflect the jet, the plate can be brought in between the nozzle and
buckets, thereby diverting the water away from the runner and directing into the
tailrace.
➢ Deflector control is adopted when supply of water is constant but the load fluctuates.
➢ The spear position can be adjusted by hand. As the nozzle has always a constant
opening, it involves considerable wastage of water and can be used only when supply of
water is abundant.

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Combined spear and deflector regulation
➢ Since both the above methods have some disadvantages, the modern turbines are
provided with double regulation which is the combined spear and deflector control.
Double regulation means regulation of speed and pressure.
➢ The speed is regulated by spear and the pressure is regulated by deflector
arrangement.
For reaction turbines, the governor controls the guide vanes and wicket gates.

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SELECTION OF TURBINES
Specific speed
➢ High specific speed is essential where head is low and output is large, because
otherwise the rotational speed will be low which means cost of turbogenerator and
power house will be high.
➢ On the other hand there is practically no need of choosing a high value of specific
speed for high head installations, because even with low specific speed, high
rotational speed can be attained with medium capacity plants.

Rotational speed
➢ Rotational speed depends on specific speed. Also the rotational speed of an electrical
generator with which the turbine is to be directly coupled, depends on the frequency
and number of pair of poles.
➢ The value of specific speed adopted should be such that it will give the synchronous
speed of the generator.

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Efficiency
The turbine selected should be such that it gives the highest overall efficiency for various
operating conditions.
Part load operation
➢ In general the efficiency at part-loads and overloads is less than normal. For the sake of
economy the turbine should always run with maximum possible efficiency to get more
revenue.
➢ When the turbine has to run at part or overload conditions Deriaz turbine is employed.
Similarly, for low heads, Kaplan turbine will be useful for such purposes in place of
propeller turbine.

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Hydrology

Hydrology is the science which is concerned with all waters on Earth, its occurrence,
distribution and circulation, its physical and chemical properties, its effects on the
environment and on life of all forms.
Objectives of Hydrology

• To obtain data regarding the stream flow of water that would be available,
• To predict the yearly possible flow
• To calculate the mean annual rainfall in the area under consideration from a record of the
annual rainfall for a number of years, say 25 to 30
• To note the frequency of dry years
• To find maximum rainfall and flood frequency

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HYDROGRAPH
➢ 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 /sec and the time
3

may be in hours, days, weeks or months.

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FLOW DURATION CURVE

Flow duration curve is another useful form to represent the run-off data for the given time.
This curve is plotted between flow available during a period versus the fraction of time. If
the magnitude on the ordinate is the potential power contained in the stream How, then the
curve is known as "power duration curve". This curve is a very useful tool in the analysis
for the development of water power.

If the head of discharge is known, the possible

power developed from water in kW can be
determined from the following equation :

Q = Discharge, m3/sec,
H = Head available, m,
w = Weight density of water, N/m3,
and
ƞ0 = Overall efficiency.
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Uses of Flow Duration Curve

➢ A flow duration curve allows the evaluation of low level flows.

➢ It is highly useful in the planning and design of water resources projects. In
particular, for hydropower studies, the flow duration curve serves to determine the
potential for firm power generation. The Firm power is also known as the primary
power.
➢ Secondary power is the power generated at the plant utilizing water other than that
used for the generation of firm power.
➢ If a sediment rating curve is available for the given stream, the flow duration curve
can be converted into cumulative sediment transport curve by multiplying each
flow rate by its rate of sediment transport. The area under this curve represents the
total amount of sediment transported.
➢ The flow duration curve also finds use in the design of drainage systems and in
flood control studies.

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MASS CURVE

➢ The use of the mass curve is to compute the capacity of the reservoir for a hydrosite.
➢ 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)
➢ The monthly flow is only the mean flow and is correct only at the beginning and end
of the months.
➢ The variation of flow during each month is not considered. Cumulative daily flows,
instead of monthly flows, will give a more accurate mass curve, but this involves an
excessive amount of work.
➢ The slope of the curve at any point gives the flow rate in secondmeter.

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➢ 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.
➢ 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.

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