Main Components of

Hydroelectric Plants
 Main Components of Hydroelectric Plants (Cont…)
• Dam
• Reservoir
• Water Conduit System
• Tailrace
• Surge Tank
• Trash Rack
• Power House
o Consists of generator, prime mover,
switchyards
 Dam or Barrage
 Constructed to provide a head of water to be
utilized in water turbine.
 A dam across the river is very important
component in most of high and medium head
power plants.
 Dams are built on top of hills, in case of pump
storage power plants, where is no inflow.
 Dam or Barrage(Cont…)
 Dams can be classified based on their
 Function
 Shape
 Material of construction
 Hydraulic and structural design.
 The main consideration in the choice of dam
sites are safety and economy.
 Dam or Barrage(Cont…)
 Other important factors are
 Geology of foundation
 Hydrological consideration and river diversion
during construction.
 Construction material availability
 Accessibility of site to the rail/road
 Environmental Degradation
 Human Settlement.
 Reservoir and Forebay
 Main purpose is to store water which may be
used to generate electricity and for irrigation
purposes.
 Water is mainly stored during rainy seasons.
 Capacity of reservoir is decided by the water
requirement for power generation.
 Forebay
 Forebay is a regulating reservoir storing water
temporarily when load on turbine is reduced
and provide water when load is increased.
 It can be considered as the surge reservoir near
the intake.
 This may be a pond behind diversion dam or
canal spread out.
• ***A diversion dam is a dam that diverts all or
a portion of the flow of a river from its natural
course
 Tailrace
 Water is discharged into the tailrace after
passing though turbine, which carries it into
the river.
 A tailrace is an open channel or a tunnel
depending upon power house location.
 The discharge from all turbines is collected in
the tailrace at its beginning by means of
branch channels.
 The tailrace may discharge into the original
river itself or some other river.
 Water Conduit System
 Water conduit system carries water from
reservoir to the turbine of power house
through pressure tunnels or pipes called
penstocks those may be laid above ground or
underground.
Surge Tank
 It is provided to act as pressure release valve
of the water-conduit system from effect of
water hammer.
 Surge Tank(Cont…)
 When an additional storage space(distance
b/w water source & turbine) called surge tank,
near turbine is provided which stores water
during turbine load reduction and release
water when sudden increase in load is
required.
 It controls the pressure variation of penstock
and prevents water hammer effect.
 It is analogous to the fly wheel of internal
combustion engine.
 Surge Tank(Cont…)
 Different types of surge tank are being used
namely
 Simple type
 Restricted orifice type
 Differential type
 Expansion chamber type
 Over flow type
Water hammer is a pressure surge or wave caused when a
fluid in motion is forced to stop or change direction suddenly
(momentum change).
 Trash Rack
 It is provided to stop the entry of debris,
which might damage the gates and turbine
runners or choking of nozzles of the impulse
turbines. It is placed across the intake.
(Debris = scattered pieces of rubbish, garbage or
remains)
 Prime Movers

 Head of water is converted into K.E in prime

mover, which rotates the shaft of electric
power generator.
 Prime mover, also called turbine converts the
K.E and P.E of water into mechanical energy.
 Commonly used water turbines are
 Francis, Propeller, Kaplan and Pelton.
 Normally water turbine rotate on the vertical
axis.
 Power House
 Normally located near foot of dam.
 May be under ground or open type.
 Water is brought to power house with help of
penstocks and passed to turbines those rotate
alternators.
 Location of power house is decided based on
maximum possible head at turbine.
 In power house there are several in-house
auxiliaries and controls.
 Spillway
 Discharges the excess water of reservoir beyond
full permission level and acts as a safety valve of
reservoir.
 If excess water is not discharged, water level of
reservoir will be raised and water may start
flowing over the dam, a phenomenon known as
overtopping.
 Spillway may be classified as
 Overflow spillway, side channel spillway,
emergency spillway, trough spillway and shaft
spillway.