Department of Electrical

and
Computer Engineering

LECTURE NOTES ON:

HYDRPOWER ENGINEERING
CHAPTER ONE:

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 1

 TYPES OF HYDROPOWER PLANTS
1.1. INTRODUCTION
Hydropower is based on a very simple physical concept.

Hydropower plants convert

 the potential or gravitational energy of water first into mechanical

 And then electrical energy:

 the flow of water turns a turbine, which is connected to a generator.

 The electricity generated flows then to a substation,
where the voltage is increased, and then is distributed to the end user or fed into
the power grid.
Hydropower is a renewable energy as it is based on the water cycle, which is an
endless, constantly recharging system.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 2

MAIN COMPONENTS OF HYDROPOWER PLANTS

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 3

GATES
 are barriers that allow to regulate water release.
 They can take different forms, such as
 fixed wheel gates, sliding gates, radial gates, and
caterpillar gates,
 And they are used for power intakes, bottom outlets, or
river diversion works.
 Spillway gates are also used to control flood discharge in
 reservoirs.
 When gates on the dam open, water flows down the
PENSTOCK to the turbine, usually through a shut-off valve.
The penstock is a conduit or pipe that conducts water from
the intake to the powerhouse.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 4

PENSTOCKS
are usually made of steel and
they must bear high pressure on the inside
surface on occasion of sudden increase and
decrease in the load, the so-called water
hammer.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 5

POWERHOUSE
• It is where power is generated, converted and
transferred
• If it is located far from the dam and reservoir,
water is transferred by open channels, tunnels
under pressure, or pressure shafts,
• Sufficient water head should be provided above
the intake entrance to avoid the formation of
waterspouts which may carry air into the
penstock and resulting in problems to turbine
operation.
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 6
SURGE TANK
• A surge tank is often introduced in the system
between the water intake and the powerhouse to
absorb any water surges caused in the penstock
or pressure tunnel due to sudden loading and
unloading of the generator with opening and
closing of INLET VALVE and wicket gates.
 The wicket gates of the turbine allows to
regulate the amount of water that flows into the
turbine.
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 7
THE TURBINE
• is the machine that convert the kinetic/potential energy of water into
mechanical energy.
• It is attached by way of a shaft to the generator, which transforms the
mechanical energy of the turbine into electric energy.
• The turbine and the generator are the heart of the hydroelectric power
plant.
• Electricity is generated by the rotating magnetic field created by the
spinning of the rotor, a series of large electromagnets, inside a tightly
wound coil of copper wire, called stator.
• The alternating current thus produced is transferred to the
TRANSFORMER, which converts it into higher voltage.
• Finally, the high voltage electricity is transmitted to the power line.
• The water that passed the turbine flows through the draft tube into the
tailrace channel and re-enters the river downstream.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 8

 THE STRUCTURE IN HYDROPOWER PLANTS

In this diagram, water is usually carried in open channel from main reservoir to
the forebay and then to the turbines through the PENSTOCK.
The FOREBAY itself serves as the surge tank in this case.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 9

 1.2. CLASSIFICATION OF HYDROPOWER
PLANTS
 The amount of energy that a hydropower plant can
generate is proportional to the product of
hydraulic head and volume of the flow rate.
HPE ~ H( )*Q(m m3/s )
• Hydraulic head is the difference in water levels between
the intake and the discharge point of the installation.
• Water flow (or discharge) is the volume of water,
expressed as cubic meters per second, passing a point in a
given amount of time.
• The greater the hydraulic head and rate of water flow, the
greater the potential energy that can be converted to
electricity.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 10

Classification….continue

• Hydropower plants with low flows require

high head, while plants with low head needs
high flow to generate the same amount of
electric energy.
• Different types of turbines have been
developed, in order to have the highest
efficiency in power generation for different
ranges of head and flow.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 11

Classification….continue
• Hydropower plants are often classified in terms of operation and
type of flow.
• According to this classification we can distinguish two main types
of hydropower plants:
1. INSTALLATIONS EQUIPPED WITH A RESERVOIR, which can be
further divided into:
• Storage power plants;
• pumped-storage power plants;
2. RUN-OF-RIVER POWER PLANTS, which do not have any reservoir.

Additionally, it is also important to consider:

• offshore and tidal power plants based on in-stream technologies;
• hybrid power plants.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 12

Classification….continue
• Hydropower plants can also be classified
according to THEIR SIZE, which varies consistently
and spans from a few kilowatts to several
gigawatts.
• This classification has led to the distinction
between :
‘mini hydro’,
 ‘small hydro’ and
 ‘large hydro’ power plants.
In most of the countries(Europe) ‘mini
hydro’ is considered below 1 MW, ‘small
hydro’ below 10 MW and ‘large hydro’ above
10 MW. Chapter One: Classification of HPP 13
STORAGE POWER PLANT
• Storage power plants are based on impounding water
behind a dam.
• To produce electricity, water is released from the
reservoir and sent to the turbine.
• The generating stations can be located directly at the
dam toe without diversion of water or further
downstream with diversion of water from the river;
 In this case the stations are connected to the
reservoir through channels, tunnels or penstocks.
 Storage plants have the advantage that they are less
dependent on the natural flow of water
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 14
Overview of a storage hydropower plant with main elements starting from reservoir fed
eventually by diversion tunnels from neighboring catchment, arch dam, power intake,
pressure tunnel, surge tank, pressure shaft, underground powerhouse, tailrace channel and
switchyard. Chapter One: Classification of HPP 15
Different Topography
with different storage
capacity and Head
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 16
• Hydropower plants with large reservoirs offer
the best level of services.
• First, they can store energy on a large-scale
during periods of low demand and make it
available in periods of peak demand on an
hourly, weekly, monthly or even seasonal
basis.
• Moreover, their fast response time enable
them to meet sudden fluctuation in demand.
• Hydropower plants with a small reservoir are
mainly designed to modulate generation on a
daily or maximum weekly basis.
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 17
RUN-OF-RIVER (RoR) POWER PLANT
• Run-of-river hydropower plants use the natural flow on
• river of water from upstream and do not involve any
• substantial storage.
• Therefore, these plants are less flexible than (pumped-
)storage hydropower plants;
• in fact, run-of-river power plants operate under the
• constraint of precisely controlling the water level at the
• INTAKE in accordance with incoming river flow.
• The electricity output of run-of-river power plants depends
• on the availability of water in the river and, therefore,
• can vary considerably throughout the year.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 18

run-of-river (ror)…continue

• Run-of-river hydropower plants typically

provide base load power, since the
hydrological forecast is sufficiently good for
the timescales required in the electricity market.

Base load power refers to the minimum amount of electric power needed to be
supplied to the electrical grid at any given time nut NOT at all times
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 19
 a) single stage hydropower development
scheme

b) cascade or multistage hydropower system

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 20
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 21
• The design of run-of-river power plants varies
significantly and can be optimized both for large flow
rate with small head on large river and small flow rate
with high head in mountain areas.
• In some cases, a portion of the river water might be
diverted to a channel, tunnel or penstock to convey the
water to a hydraulic turbine, which is
 connected to an electricity generator.
• Run-of-river plants can also be combined in a
cascading or multistage scheme;
• in this case, two or more plants are located on the
same river in sequence.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 22

• Cascading schemes can produce during a few
hours peak energy according by a simultaneous
increase of production in all powerhouses.
• A storage power plant is often located in the
upper catchment as it allows to regulate water
flow and achieve constant energy output from
the downstream run-of-river plants and to
produce a few hours of peak energy in the whole
cascade.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 23

PUMPED-STORAGE POWER PLANT
• Pumped-storage hydropower plants are similar to storage
hydropower plants,
 but they operate with two reservoirs:
a lower and an upper one.
 The two reservoirs are connected to each other through
tunnels or penstocks.
A pumped-storage plants move waters between the two
reservoirs.
In production mode, the plant operates like a conventional
hydroelectric plant: water is released from the upper
reservoir through the turbines to generate electricity;
In pumping mode, electrical energy from the grid is used to
pump the water from the lower reservoir to the upper one
(usually during off-peak periods using surplus electricity
generated by base-load power plants).
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 24
pumped-storage…Continue
• In this case, a motor–generator is used to work either
as a generator in the production mode or as a motor
in the pumping mode.
• As regard to the hydraulic system the choice is
between reversible pump-turbines able to work in
both directions (usually these turbines are of the
Francis type) or separate pump and turbine.
• Reversible pump-turbine are more common for heads
lower than 600 to 700 m.
• In this configuration, the direction of rotation must be
reversed when the pumping mode is switched to the
production mode and vice versa.

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 25

THE SIMPLE STRUCTURE OF PUMPED
STORAGE

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 26

Figure 2 - Functioning of PSH in in pumping mode

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 27

Figure 3- Functioning of PSH turbining/Operation

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 28

pumped-storage…Continue
• Pumped storage power plants are operated
on daily and weekly cycles (the duration time
for operation at full capacity is determined by
the storage capacity of the upper reservoir)
and
are designed to provide peak electricity during
periods of high electricity demand.
Pumped-storage hydropower facilities are
currently the most efficient and large-scale
energy storage systems, with typical overall
efficiency (cycle efficiency) in the range of 70–
85%. Chapter One: Classification of HPP 29
 IN-STREAM TECHNOLOGIES AND OFFSHORE
HYDROPOWER

• It is important to stress that hydropower generation

does not necessarily imply considerable civil works.
• In-stream technology refers to the use of hydrokinetic
turbines to harvest the energy of naturally flowing
water, such as stream, tidal, or open ocean flows,
without impounding the water.
• This technology can be integrated into existing facilities
like weirs, barrages, canals or falls to generate
electricity.
These facilities basically function like a run-of-river
scheme
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 30
HYBRID HYDROPOWER
• In addition to the four types of hydropower plants mentioned
above, it is worthy to mention the concept of hybrid power plants.
 In this scheme hydropower work with one or more different types
of
• generation as an integrated unit.
• Hybrid power plants can occupy a single site or comprise a micro
grid.
• Hybrid power plants may be connected to the grid or be far from
the grid in remote areas, where they represent the main source of
power.
• In hybrid power plants, hydropower can be combined with solar
• or wind power to increase the stability and reliability of electricity
generation.
• The hybridization allows PV panels or wind turbines to produce
energy when the sun or wind is available, while saving water for
hydroelectricity to complete during intermittent times when the
sun or wind go down.
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 31
Exemplification of a hybrid power plant combining seawater pumped storage, plus wind
and/or solar power generation, with a desalination

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 32

hybrid hydropower. Continued
• When pumped storage is possible, it also allows to
store excess energy and to cover peak demand.
• Another advantage of hybridization is the possibility to
use the same electrical infrastructure for both
generators, thus lowering overall costs.
• Additional benefits derive by the combination of
hydropower with floating photovoltaic, as the installation
of solar panels on dead water spaces allows to maximize
use of resources (although attention should be paid to
the environmental impact of the floating structure and its
anchors).
Moreover, by covering a significant surface area on a
body of water, these systems can reduce evaporation and
algal bloom. Chapter One: Classification of HPP 33
 POWER PLANTS
1. BASELOAD POWER PLANTS.
• Power plants that do not change their power
output quickly, such as large coal or nuclear
plants, are generally called base load power
plants.
• Base load is the minimum level of electricity
demand required over a period of 24 hours.
• It is needed to provide power to components
that keep running at all times (also referred as
continuous load).
Chapter One: Classification of HPP 34
2. PEAK LOAD POWER PLANTS
• It is the power plant for the time of high
demand.
• These peaking demands are often for only
shorter durations. e.g. during holydays

Chapter One: Classification of HPP 35