HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER PLANT

HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER PLANT

 The potential energy of a mass of water, flowing

in a stream with a certain fall to the turbine
(termed the "head"), is converted into electrical
energy

 The power output is proportional to the flow and

head
A
SIMPLE
OVER
VIEW
 Advantages of HEP

 Once the dam is built, the energy is virtually free

 No fuel requirement
 Very low running costs
 No waste or pollution produced
 Electricity can be generated constantly
 Hydro-electric power stations can increase to full
power very quickly
 Greater life expectancy
 Very less man power requirement
 Disadvantages of HEP
 The dams are very expensive to build

 Very large gestation period

 Building a large dam will flood a very large area

upstream, causing problems for relocation

 Power generation is dependent on quantity of

water available

 Water quality and quantity downstream can be

affected, which can have an impact on plant life.
ELEMENTS OF
HYDRO POWER
DAMS
 Spill ways

A dam failure can have sever effects downstream of the dam

During the lifetime of a dam different flow conditions will be

experienced and a dam must be able to safely accommodate
high floods that can exceed normal flow conditions in the river

For this reason, passages called spillways are incorporated in

the dams as part of structure
INTAKE
 INTAKE:-

A water intake must be able to divert the required

amount of water in to a power canal or into a
penstock without producing a negative impact on
the local environment
PENSTOCK
 PENSTOCK

 Conveys water from the intake to the

power house
 Surge Tank

 Small reservoir in which the water level rises or

falls to reduce pressure swing

 Reduces water hammering in pipes which can

cause damage to pipes

 Helps in regulating water flow and pressure

inside the penstock
TRASH RACK
TURBINES
 Converts the K.E of moving water into
mechanical energy

 The water strikes and turns the large blades

of a turbine, which is attached to a generator
above it by way of a shaft.
 WICKETS GATE
 Key component in hydroelectric
turbines that control the flow of
water from the input pipes
(Penstock) to the turbine
propellers/blades.
GENERATOR
 INSIDE THE
GENERATOR:-
1. Shaft

2. Excitor

3. Rotor

4. Stator
TRANSFORMERS
 Transformer

Its function is to step up the voltage

and pass it out to the electrical grid
or power house
 OUTFLOW / TAILRACE:-

After passing through the turbine the water

returns to the river trough a short canal called a tailrace.
 Draft Tube
 The draft tube connects the turbine to the
tail race
Allows the turbine to be set above tail
water level
Regains the major
portion of the kinetic
energy by diffuser action
 TYPES OF DAMS ON PRODUCTION
BASIS
 Pico hydroelectric plant
 Up to 10kW, remote areas away from the grid
 Micro hydroelectric plant
 Capacity 10kW to 300kW, usually provided power
for small community or rural industry in remote
areas away from the grid
 Small hydroelectric plant
 Capacity 300kW to 1MW
 Mini hydroelectric plant
 Capacity above 1MW
 Medium hydroelectric plant
 15 - 100 MW usually feeding a grid
 Large hydroelectric plant
 More than 100 MW feeding into a large electricity
grid
 TYPES OF DAMS ON THE HEAD
LEVEL
Low head hydroelectric power plants
Medium head hydroelectric power plants
High head hydroelectric power plants
 HEAD

The head is the vertical distance from

the surface of the water at the dam
down to the water in the stream
below where the turbine is located
 Low head hydroelectric power plants

Available water head is less than 30

meters
Seasonal dam
Lesser power producing capacity.
 Medium head hydroelectric power plants

Water head is more than 30 meters

but less than 300 meters
Located in the mountainous regions
where the rivers flows at high
heights
Large reservoir of water
 High head hydroelectric power plants

 300 meters and it can extend even up to 1000

meters

 Most commonly constructed hydroelectric power

plants

 Water is mainly stored during the rainy seasons

and it can be used throughout the year

 Total height of the dam depends upon a number

of factors like quantity of available water, power
to be generated, surrounding areas, natural
ecosystem etc.
turbi
 Turbines

 Pelton Turbine

 Francis Turbine

 Kaplan Turbine
 IMPULSE TURBINES

 Uses only the velocity of

the water to move the
runner and discharges to
atmospheric pressure.
 The water stream hits
each bucket on the
runner.
 High head, low flow
applications.
 Types : Pelton turbine
Pelton Turbine
 Reaction Turbines

 Combined action of pressure and moving water

 Runner placed directly in the water stream
flowing over the blades rather than striking each
individually
 Lower head and higher flows than compared with
the impulse turbines
 Types: Francis Turbine, Kaplan Turbine
Francis Turbine
 Water flows radially inward and
changes to a downward direction
while passing through the runner.
 As water passes over the rotating
blades of runner both pressure and
velocity reduced.
 This causes a reaction force which
drives the turbine.
Kaplan Turbine
 Receives water axially
 water flows radially inwards through
wicket gates all around the sides
 this causes a reaction force which
drives the turbine
 Kaplan turbine

 The Kaplan turbine is a

propeller-type water
turbine that has
adjustable [pitch]
blades. Its invention
allows efficient power
production in low head
applications