Problems Assumptions and

Statement Schematic Approximations Physical Laws Properties Calculations Reasoning

2-123
The demand for electric power is usually much higher during the day than is at night, and utility companies often sell power at
night at much lower prices to encourage consumers to use the available power generation capacity and to avoid building new
expensive power plants that will be used only a short time during peak periods. Utilities are also willing to purchase power
produced during the day from private parties at a high price.
Suppose a utility company is selling electric power for $0.05/kWh at night and is willing to pay $0.12/kWh for power produced
during the day. To take advantage of this opportunity, an entrepreneur is considering building a large reservoir 40m above the
lake level, pumping water from the lake to the reservoir at night using cheap power, and letting the water flow from the reservoir
back to the lake during the day, producing power as the pump-motor operates as a turbine-generator during reverse flow.
Preliminary analysis shows that a water flow rate of 2m^3/s can be used in cither direction. The combined pump-motor and
turbine-generator efficiencies are expected to be 75 percent each. Disregarding the frictional losses in piping and assuming the
system operates for 10h each in the pump and turbine modes during a typical day, determine the potential revenue this pump-
turbine system can generate per year.
 Problems Assumptions and
Statement Schematic Approximations Physical Laws Properties Calculations Reasoning
The following diagram shows graphically the problem
P1 Z1=40m
P1=P2=Patm
V1=V2
V1 Atmosphere

V2 P2

Z2=0m
 Problems Assumptions and
Statement Schematic Approximations Physical Laws Properties Calculations Reasoning

Frictional losses in piping are negligible.

The flow in each direction is steady and incompressible.

The system operates every day of the year for 10 hours in each mode.

The elevation difference between the lake and the reservoir can be taken to be constant, and the elevation change of reservoir
during charging and discharging is disregarded.
 Problems Assumptions and
Statement Schematic Approximations Physical Laws Properties Calculations Reasoning

It is known that the amount of mass that flows through a cross section per unit time is related to the volumetric flow rate

m̊ = ρ*V̊ (kg/s)

The energy flow associated with a fluid flowing at a mass flow rate is.
  =m̊ ∗Δe (kJ/s o kW)
ΔE̊
The mechanical energy of a fluid in motion per unit mass can be expressed as
  𝑃 2 − 𝑃 1 𝑉 22 −𝑉 12
Δ e= + + 𝑔 ∗(𝑍 2 − 𝑍 1) (kJ/kg)
ρ 2
The maximum power produced is proportional to the change in the elevation of the water surface between the upstream and
downstream reservoirs

  (kJ/s o kW)
 Problems Assumptions and
Statement Schematic Approximations Physical Laws Properties Calculations Reasoning

The total mechanical energy of water in an upper reservoir relative to water in a lower reservoir is equivalent to the potential
energy of water at the free surface of this reservoir relative to free surface of the lower reservoir. There fore, the power potential
of water is its potential energy, which is ep=gz per unit mass

And EP=m̊ gz for a given mass flowrate. This also represents the minimum power required to pump water from the lower
reservoir to the higher reservoir.
Problems Assumptions and
Statement Schematic Approximations Physical Laws Properties Calculations Reasoning
Problems Assumptions and
Statement Schematic Approximations Physical Laws Properties Calculations Reasoning
 Problems Assumptions and
Statement Schematic Approximations Physical Laws Properties Calculations Reasoning
This pump-turbine system has the potential to generate net income of around $143,226 per year.