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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Hydraulic Characteristic of the GovernorTurbine-Hydraulic System with a Changing

Top-Altitude Tail Tunnel

Jianxu Zhou
May, 2015

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Introduction
Brief presentation on surge tank
How to cancel the downstream surge tank
Special Tail Tunnel in Hydropower Stations
Mathematical Model
Case analysis
Discussion and Conclusion

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

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Introduction
For the governor-turbine-hydraulic system of a
hydropower station, the traditional hydraulic transients
computation and analysis mainly include:
(1) Water hammer and surge analysis
(2) Hydraulic disturb analysis
(3) Stability analysis under small disturbances
which all depend on units parameters, governors
parameters and layout design of hydraulic system etc..

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Brief presentation on surge tank

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Functions of surge tank

(1) The free surface of the surge tank effectively reflect water
hammer waves from the turbine, preventing the waves entering
the tunnel;
(2) The introduction of the surge tank shortens the length of the
penstock, and thereby greatly reduces the intensity of the water
hammer waves;
(3) The surge tank improves the operating condition of the turbine
units during load variation by accommodating surplus water
from the tunnel or supplying additional water to the turbine
quickly to fit the new load demand.

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Criteria for provision of the surge tank

For upstream surge tank:

LV ( 15 ~ 20 )H

LV
Tw
2 ~ 4s
gH
For downstream surge tank:

5Ts
LW
V

Vd
8

H
s

900
2
g

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Requirement to surge tanks

(1) Be as close to the powerhouse as possible;
(2) Reflect the water hammer wave as effectively as possible;
(3) The surge should be stable and be damped rapidly;
(4) Max. surge will not cause overtopping and min. surge
should not allow air to be drawn into the tunnel, and the
range of surges must not be great enough;
(5) Low head loss of flow passing the base of the surge tanks;
(6) Be of structural safety and reliability.

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Fundamental flow equations

dZ
Q fV F
dt
dv
L dv
fL
f ( Z hw ) z hw
g dt
g dt

Q0 ( H 0 hwo hwmo ) (Q0 q )( H 0 hwo x hwm )

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Surge analysis (Upstream surge tank)

Load rejection

Load acceptance

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Combined conditions.

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Stability analysis (Upstream surge tank)

Assumption of the critical stability criteria
(1) The surge oscillation is very small, so the
linearization is used for further derivation.
(2)The units output keeps a constant.
(3) The unit is in isolated operation.
The obtained critical stability area is not a
comprehensive conception, but it ensures the safety
and reliability, and it is conservative.

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Based on the above assumption and the fundamental

equations, the Thoma area for surge tank was derived.

Lf
F
Fk
2gH1
H1 H 0 hw0 3hwm 0

hwo hwmo

1
H0
3

Lf
T 2
gF

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Factors that influence the stability:

(1) Head of the power station;
(2) Roughness coefficient of the tunnel;
(3) Location the surge tank;
(4) Velocity head at the bottom of the surge tank;
(5) Efficiency of the turbine;
(6) Governor;
(7) Power network.

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

How to cancel the downstream surge tank

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

In the underground powerhouse, there are lots of

chambers in different sizes with centralized layout,
mainly including main power house, auxiliary power
house, transformer chamber and downstream surge
tank etc. We must pay more attention on the stability
of surrounding rock and the effect of tanks surge on
units reliable operation.

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

In order to ensure the safe and reliable operation of

the underground power house, if possible, to cancel
the downstream surge tank is a reasonable choice
with other alternatives.
How to cancel the downstream surge tank?
(1) Reduce the length of tail tunnel;
(2) Move the power house towards downstream
reasonably;
(3) Enlarge the area of the tail tunnel; or
(4) Other substitutions.

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Jinping II power
station:

Downstream
surge tank was
cancelled

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A pumped-storage power station: Its original

downstream surge tank was cancelled by the
enlargement of the approximate 800m-long tail tunnel.
A hydropower station: A special tail tunnel is designed
and put into normal operation successfully instead of
its original large scale downstream surge tank. The
special tail tunnel is relatively short, with larger topslope to the tail water, enlarged sectional area and
special flow patterns inside.

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Special Tail Tunnel in Hydropower Stations

Generally, during the daily operation of the
hydropower stations, both in the steady and transient
conditions, the designed hydraulic system are always
(1) Pressurized flow or
(2) Channel flow
Meanwhile, There are some special tail tunnel
designed for some hydropower stations, in which the
flow patterns are relatively complex with possible
unsteady free-surface pressurized flow.

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Hydropower station with flat-ceiling tail tunnel

If tail water level is slightly lower than the top altitude of

tail tunnel, in steady states, a separation point for
pressurized flow and channel flow exists at a specified
section; in transient states, unsteady free-surface
pressurized flow appears along the flat-ceiling tail tunnel
with several separated air masses.

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

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Hydropower station with changing top-altitude tail

tunnel

If tail water level is lower than the top altitude of the

outlet of tail tunnel, both in steady states and transient
states, a separation point for pressurized flow and
channel flow exists. In transient states, this point is
traveling along the tail tunnel and tends to be a steady
state.

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Mathematical Model
Improved slot model
The basic equations of transient flow in open channels
are
h Q
B
0
t x

Q 2Q Q
h Q 2 A

gA 2
gA(i J f )
t
A x
x A x

Because the classical slot model (PCW model) may

result in divergent computation, two coefficients are
introduced
Q
Q

c gA / B
l gA / B
A
A

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The continuity equation multiplies these two

coefficients, and pluses with the momentum equation,
and then at node (m, n),
(1) forward difference for /t items,
(2) different difference methods for /x items based
on n+1 time step,
(3) gravity item, friction item, A/x item calculated at
n+1 time step, and
(4) the others calculated at n time step,

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Finally, two basic difference equations can be gotten

n 1
1 m 1

ah

a2 h

n 1
m

b1Q

n 1
m 1

b2 Q

n 1
m

n 1
1 m

c h

c2 h

n 1
m 1

d 1 Q

n 1
m

d 2Q

e1

n 1
m 1

e2

where ai, bi, ci, di and ei (i=1,2) are coefficients

calculated from relative variables on n time step.
For the flow rate and water depth at all the sections
along the changing top-altitude tail tunnel, an
overall band matrix can originally be formed.

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This is named as the improved slot model, which is

basically a characteristic implicit formats.
The improved slot model is suitable for the
hydraulic transients computation in the changing
top-altitude tail tunnel, but it has less accuracy for
the flat-ceiling tail tunnel with complex unsteady
free-surface pressurized flow inside like other
mathematical models.
This means it is also a key problem how to accurately
analyze the complex hydraulic transients in the flatceiling tail tunnel. Below focuses on the hydraulic
transients computation in the changing top-altitude tail
tunnel.

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Boundary conditions
(1) Separation point

With the known variables at i and i+1 sections, the

variables at f section are easy to be computed out, and
water depth at f section should approximately be equal
to the height of corresponding section of tail tunnel.

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(2) Bifurcation of tail tunnel

The C+ equation for 2#
pressurized tail branch
tunnel is
C : H Pl CP BPQPl
Then, combined with the flow and head balance
conditions at the bifurcation point, we obtain
F2 h j B P Q j B P Q j 1 j C P 0
F3 B P Q j h j 1 B P Q j 1 j 1 C P 0

The elements of rows 2j and 2j+1 and the corresponding

right items in the overall band matrix are modified.

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

(3) Other boundary conditions

Starting point and outlet of changing top-altitude tail
tunnel are exited inevitably.
For the starting point boundary condition, the first
line and corresponding right item in the overall band
matrix are modified.
For the outlet boundary condition, the elements of
row 2n and the corresponding right items in the
overall band matrix are modified.

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Built of the unified model

Combined with the above-mentioned boundary
conditions, the final unified equations are easily
formed. Combined with the method of characteristics
in the pressurized pipelines, mathematical model of
governor and the motion equations of units, the
unified algorithm is further built for hydraulic
transient computation and stability analysis.

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Case analysis
Layout design of two cases for a hydropower station
(1) Tail surge tank case
2

reservoir

2# unit

1# unit

surge tank

5
pressurized
tail tunnel

tail
water

(2) Changing tail-tunnel tail tunnel case

2

2# unit

pipe 5top slope 0.04, bottom slope 0.099

pipe 6top slope 0.04, bottom slope 0.03

5
tail
water

1
reservoir

1# unit

6
tail
water

reservoi

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Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Water hammer control

Some controlling values including max. speed of units
nmax, max. pressure of spiral case Hcmax and min.
pressure of draft tube Hwmin are obtained below.
Optional cases

nmax (r/min)

Hcmax (m)

Hwmin (m)

Changing topaltitude tail tunnel

112.82

151.28

-2.88

Tail surge tank

113.00

151.92

-5.57

It is known that the designed changing top-altitude tail

tunnel are satisfied with the requirement of hydraulic
transient control, and some items are better than that
of tail surge tank case.

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Stability analysis
The stability of operating unit under hydraulic disturb
is analyzed while one unit rejects full load. In the
following figures, the thick line is for the changing
top-altitude tail tunnel case.

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Meanwhile, the stability of operating unit under small

disturb is analyzed while one unit rejects 10% load .

From the viewpoint of operating units stability and

regulation performance, the changing top-altitude tail
tunnel case is superior to the tail surge tank case,
including obvious shorter regulating time, less oscillation
number, larger attenuation degree.

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Discussion and Conclusion

(1) Based on the improved slot model and the method
of characteristics, an unified algorithm can be built for
hydraulic transient computation and stability analysis,
which is suitable for the hydropower stations with the
changing top-altitude tail tunnel.

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(2) The designed changing top-altitude tail tunnel is

easily satisfied with the requirement of hydraulic
transient control, and has better stability and
regulation performance than the tail surge tank case,
(3) The changing top-altitude tail tunnel is a new type
of tail tunnel and it is a reasonable and optional case as
tail tunnel is 150 to 600m length and tailrace water
level has greater variation.

Changing Top-altitude Tail Tunnel

Thank you!

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