A Seminar Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the

Degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in

Electrical Engineering
By
ANUJ KUMAR
(Roll No. 1684020011)

Department of Electrical Engineering

Rajkiya Engineering College, Mainpuri

RAJKIYA ENGINEERING COLLEGE, MAINPURI

 CERTIFICATE

This is Certified that Mr. ANUJ KUMAR (Roll No. 16840200II) has carried out
the research work presented in this thesis entitled, “Hydroelectric power plant”
for the award of Bachelor of Technology from Abdul Kalam TechnicalUniversity,
Lucknow, under my supervision. The seminar embodies results of original work,
and studies are carried out by the student himself and the contents of these
seminar do not form the basis for the award of any other degree to the candidate
or to anybody else from this or any other University/Institution.

(Mr. GAURAV VERMA)

Assistant Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering
REC, Mainpuri
Date:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Gaurav Verma, Assistant

Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Rajkiya Engineering College
Mainpuri, for providing me kind guidance, continuous encouragement, extend
help and support during my thesis work.

I would also like to offer thanks to Prof. Baikunth Nath Rai, Director, REC
Mainpuri, for allowing me to do this work.

I am also thankful to all the faculty members of REC Mainpuri, for providing
me various kind of support and help directly or in directly, during my present
work.

Finally, I am extending my thanks to my family and my friends for their

blessings, strong support, encouragement and love that helped me to complete
this work.

(ANUJ KUMAR)

Date:Roll No.-1684020011
 CONTENT

Title Page no.

1. Introduction 1
2. Selection of site 2
3. Elements of HEPP 3-6
4. Classification of HEPP 7-8
5. Classification of turbine 9-13
6. Advantages and Disadvantages 14-15
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY 16

1
INTRODUCTION
In hydroelectric power plants the energy of water is utilized to drive the turbine which, in turn,
runs the generator to produce electricity. Rain falling upon the earth’s surface has potential
energy relative to the oceans towards which it flows. This energy is converted to shaft work
where the water falls through and appreciable vertical distance. The hydraulic power is thus a
naturally available renewable energy source given by

P = gpQH

Here P is the hydraulic power in Watts, g is 9.81m/s2, p is the water density(1000kg/m3),Q is

the flow or discharge, m3/s and H is the height of fall of water or head, m. The electrical energy
produced in kWh can then be written in the form of

W =9.81*1000*Q*H*n*t

Where t is the operating time in hours(8760 h/year) and n is the efficiency of the turbine-
generator assembly, which varies between 0.5 and 0.9. The power developed thus depends on
quantity(Q) and head(H) of water.

Hydro or water power is important only next to thermal power. Nearly 20 per cent of the total
power of the world is met by hydropower stations. There are some countries like Norway and
Switzerland where the hydropower forms almost the total installed capacity.

Hydroelectric power was initiated in India in 1897 with a run-of-river unit near Darjeeling.
However, the first mafor plant was the Sivasamudram Scheme in Mysore of 4.5 MW capacity
commissioned in 1902. Khopoli project of 50 MW in Maharashtra was put into operation in
1914 to supply power to Mumbai city. Since independence a substantial growth in hydropower
has occurred with the commissioning of large multipurpose projects like Damodar Valley
Corporation(DVC), Bhakra Nangal, Hirakud, Nagarjunsagar, Mettur, Koyna, Rihand and so on.

SELECTION OF SITE FOR A HYDROELECTRIC PLANT

The following factors shoud be considered while selecting the site for hydroelectric power plant.

1. Availability of water: - The design and capacity of the hydro-plant greatly depends
on the amount of water available at the site. The run-off data along with precipitation at
the proposed site with maximum and minimum quantity of water available in a year
should be made available to
(a) Decide the capacity of the plant.
(b) Set up the peak load plant such as steam, diesel or gas turbine plant.
(c) Provide adequate spillways or gate relief during flood period.
2. Water storage capacity: - Since there is a wide variation in rainfall all round the year,
it is always necessary to store the water for continuous generation of power. The storage
capacity can be estimated with the help of mass curve.
3. Available water head:– In order to generate the desired quantity of power it is
necessary that a large quantity of water at a sufficient head should be available. An
increase in effective head, for a given output, reduces the quantity of water required to
be supplied to the turbines.
4. Accessibility of the site: – The site should be easily accessible by rail and road. An
inaccessible terrain will jeopardize the movement of men and material.
5. Distance from the load centre: – If the site is close to the load ventre, the cost of
transmission lines and the transmission losses will be reduced.
6. Type of the land of the site: – The land of the site should be sheap and rocky. The
dam constructed at the site should have large catchment area to store water at high
head. The foundation rocks of the masonry dam shoud be strong enough to withstand
the stresses in the structure and the thrust of water when the reservoir is full.

LAYOUT OF HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS:-

Hydroelectric power plants convert the hydraulic potential energy from water into electric
energy. Such plants are suitable were water with suitable head are available. The layout
convered in this artivle is just a simple one and only cover the important parts of hydroelectric
plant. The different parts of the gydroelectric power plant are

1) Dam

Dams are strucures built over rivers to stop the water flow and form a reservoir. The reservoir
stores te water flowing down the river. This water is diverted to turvines in power stations. The
dams collect water during the rainy season and stores it, thus allowing for a steady flow through
the turbines throughort the year. Dams are also used for controlling floods and irrigation. The
dams should be water-tight and should be able to withstand thepressure exterted by the water
on it. Ther are different types of dams such as arch dams, gravity dams and buttress dams. The
height of water in the dam is called head race.

2) Spillway
A spillway as the name suggests could be called as a way for spilling of water from dams. It is
used to provide for the release of flood water from a dam. It is used to prevent over toping of
the dams which could result in damage or failure of dams. Spilways could be controlled type or
uncontrolled type. The uncontrolled types start releasing water upon water rising above a
particular level. But in case of the controlled type, regulation of flow is possible.
 5
2) Penstock and Tunnel

Penstocks are pipes which carry water from the reservoir to the turbines inside power station.
They are usually made of steel and are equipped with gate systems. Water under high pressure
flows through the penstock. A tunnel serves the same purpose as a penstock. It is used when an
obstruction is present between the dam and power station such as a mountain.
 6

4) Surge Tank

Surge tanks are tanks connected to the water conductor system. It serves the purpose of
reducing water jammering in pipes which can cause damage to pipes. The sudden suges of
water in penstock is taken by the surge tank, and when the water requirements increase, it
supplies the collected water therby regulating water flow and pressure inside the penstock.

5) Power Station
Power station contains a tubine coupled to a henerator. The water brought to the power
station rotates the vanes of the turbine producing torque and rotation of turbine shaft. This
rotational torque is transferred to the generator and is converted into electricity. The used
water is released through the tail race. The difference between head race and tail race is called
gross head and by suctracting the frictional losses we get the net head available to the turbine
for heneration of electricity.
 7

CLASSIFICATION OF HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT

1) ON THE BASIS OF HIGHT:-

(a) High head hydroelectric power plants:-

In the high head hydroelectric power plants the head of water available for
producing electricity is more than 300 meters and it can extend even up to 1000
meters. These are the most commonly constructed hydroelectric power plants. In
the high head hydroelectric power plants huge dams are constructed across the
rivers. There is large reservoir of water in the dams that can store water at very
high heads. Water is mainly stored during the rainy seasons and it can be used
throughout the year. Thus the high head hydroelectric power plants can generate
electricity throughout the year. The high head hydroelectric power plants are
very important in the national grid because they can be adjusted easily to
produce the power as per the required loads.

(b) Medium head hydroelectric power plants:-

The hydroelectric power plants in which the working head of water is more than
30 meters but less than 300 meters are called medium head hydroelectric power
plants. These hydroelectric power plant are usually located in the mountainous
regions where the rivers flows at high heights, thus obtaining the high head of
the water in dam becomes possible. In medium head hydroelectric plants dams
are constructed behind which there can be large reservoir of water. Water from
the reservoir can be taken to the power generation system where electricity is
generate.

(c) Low head hydroelectric power plants:-

The low head hydroelectric power plants are the ones in which the available
water head is less than 30 meters. The dam in this type of power plants is of very
small head may be even of few meters only. In certain cases weir is used and in
other cases there is no dam at all and merely flowing water in the river is used for
generation of electricity. The low head types of hydroelectric power plants cannot
store water and electricity is produced only when sufficient flow of water is
available in the river. Thus they produce electricity only during particular seasons
 when abundant flow of water is available. Since the head of water is very small in
these hydroelectric power plants, they have lesser power producing capacity.

2) ON THE BASIS OF LOAD:-

(a) Base Load Power plants

Plants that are running continuously over extended periods of time are said to be base load power
plant.

The power from these plants is used to cater the base demand of the grid. A power plant may run
as a base load power plant due to various factors (long starting time requirement, fuel
requirements, etc.

Examples of base load power plants are:

1. Nuclear power plant

2. Coal power plant

3. Hydroelectric plant

4. Geothermal plant

5. Biogas plant

6. Biomass plant

7. Solar thermal with storage

8. Ocean thermal energy conversion

(b) Peak Load Power plants

To cater the demand peaks, peak load power plants are used. They are started up whenever there
is a spike in demand and stopped when the demand recedes.

Examples of gas load power plants are:

 1. Gas plant

2. Solar power plants

3. Wind turbines

4. Diesel generator

TYPES OF TURBINE

(a) PROPELLER AND KAPLAN TURBINES

The Kaplan turbine is a propeller-type water turbine which has adjustable blades. It was
developed in 1913 by Austrian professor Viktor Kaplan,[1] who combined automatically adjusted
propeller blades with automatically adjusted wicket gates to achieve efficiency over a wide range
of flow and water level.

The Kaplan turbine was an evolution of the Francis turbine. Its invention allowed efficient power
production in low-head applications which was not possible with Francis turbines. The head
ranges from 10–70 metres and the output ranges from 5 to 200 MW. Runner diameters are
between 2 and 11 metres. Turbines rotate at a constant rate, which varies from facility to facility.
That rate ranges from as low as 54.5 rpm (Albeni Falls Dam) to 429 rpm. The Kaplan turbine
installation believed to generate the most power from its nominal head of 34.65 m is as of 2013
the Tocoma Dam Power Plant (Venezuela) Kaplan turbine generating 230 MW (Turbine capacity,
257 MVA for generator) with each of ten 8.6 m diameter runners.

Kaplan turbines are now widely used throughout the world in high-flow, low-head power
production.

10

Theory of operation

The Kaplan turbine is an inward flow reaction turbine, which means that the working fluid
changes pressure as it moves through the turbine and gives up its energy. Power is recovered
from both the hydrostatic head and from the kinetic energy of the flowing water. The design
combines features of radial and axial turbines.

The inlet is a scroll-shaped tube that wraps around the turbine's wicket gate. Water is directed
tangentially through the wicket gate and spirals on to a propeller shaped runner, causing it to
spin.

The outlet is a specially shaped draft tube that helps decelerate the water and recover kinetic
energy.

The turbine does not need to be at the lowest point of water flow as long as the draft tube
remains full of water. A higher turbine location, however, increases the suction that is imparted
on the turbine blades by the draft tube. The resulting pressure drop may lead to cavitation.

Variable geometry of the wicket gate and turbine blades allow efficient operation for a range of
flow conditions. Kaplan turbine efficiencies are typically over 90%, but may be lower in very
low head applications.

Current areas of research include CFD driven efficiency improvements and new designs that
raise survival rates of fish passing through.

Because the propeller blades are rotated on high-pressure hydraulic oil bearings, a critical
element of Kaplan design is to maintain a positive seal to prevent emission of oil into the
waterway. Discharge of oil into rivers is not desirable because of the waste of resources and
resulting ecological damage.

Applications

Kaplan turbines are widely used throughout the world for electrical power production. They
cover the lowest head hydro sites and are especially suited for high flow conditions.

Inexpensive micro turbines on the Kaplan turbine model are manufactured for individual power
production designed for 3 m of head which can work with as little as 0.3 m of head at a highly
reduced performance provided sufficient water flow.

Large Kaplan turbines are individually designed for each site to operate at the highest possible
efficiency, typically over 90%. They are very expensive to design, manufacture and install, but
operate for decades.

11

(b) PELTON WHEEL

The Pelton wheel is an impulse-type water turbine. It was invented by Lester Allan Pelton in the
1870s.[1][2] The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse of moving water, as opposed to
water's dead weight like the traditional overshot water wheel. Many variations of impulse
turbines existed prior to Pelton's design, but they were less efficient than Pelton's design. Water
leaving those wheels typically still had high speed, carrying away much of the dynamic energy
brought to the wheels. Pelton's paddle geometry was designed so that when the rim ran at half
the speed of the water jet, the water left the wheel with very little speed; thus his design extracted
almost all of the water's impulse energy—which allowed for a very efficient turbine.

12

Function

Nozzles direct forceful, high-speed streams of water against a series of spoon-shaped buckets,
also known as impulse blades, which are mounted around the outer rim of a drive wheel—also
called a runner (see photo, 'Old Pelton wheel..'). As the water jet hits the blades, the direction of
water velocity is changed to follow the contours of the blades. The impulse energy of the water
jet exerts torque on the bucket-and-wheel system, spinning the wheel; the water jet does a "u-
turn" and exits at the outer sides of the bucket, decelerated to a low velocity. In the process, the
water jet's momentum is transferred to the wheel and hence to a turbine. Thus, "impulse" energy
does work on the turbine. Maximum power and efficiency are achieved when the velocity of the
water jet is twice the velocity of the rotating buckets. A very small percentage of the water jet's
original kinetic energy will remain in the water, which causes the bucket to be emptied at the
same rate it is filled, and thereby allows the high-pressure input flow to continue uninterrupted
and without waste of energy. Typically two buckets are mounted side-by-side on the wheel, with
the water jet split into two equal streams; this balances the side-load forces on the wheel and
helps to ensure smooth, efficient transfer of momentum from the water jet to the turbine wheel.

Because water is nearly incompressible, almost all of the available energy is extracted in the first
stage of the hydraulic turbine. Therefore, Pelton wheels have only one turbine stage, unlike gas
turbines that operate with compressible fluid.

Applications

Pelton wheels are the preferred turbine for hydro-power where the available water source
has relatively high hydraulic head at low flow rates. Pelton wheels are made in all sizes.
There exist multi-ton Pelton wheels mounted on vertical oil pad bearings in hydroelectric
plants. The largest units - the Bieudron Hydroelectric Power Station at the Grande
Dixence Dam complex in Switzerland - are over 400 megawatts. The smallest Pelton
wheels are only a few inches across, and can be used to tap power from mountain streams
having flows of a few gallons per minute. Some of these systems use household
plumbing fixtures for water delivery. These small units are recommended for use with 30
metres (100 ft) or more of head, in order to generate significant power levels. Depending
on water flow and design, Pelton wheels operate best with heads from 15–1,800 metres
(50–5,910 ft), although there is no theoretical limit.
 13
(c) FRANCIS TURBINE

The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine that was developed by James B. Francis in
Lowell, Massachusetts. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow
concepts.

Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today. They operate in a water head
from 40 to 600 m (130 to 2,000 ft) and are primarily used for electrical power production. The
electric generators that most often use this type of turbine have a power output that generally
ranges from just a few kilowatts up to 800 MW, though mini-hydro installations may be lower.
Penstock (input pipes) diameters are between 3 and 33 ft (0.91 and 10 m). The speed range of the
turbine is from 75 to 1000 rpm. A wicket gate around the outside of the turbine's rotating runner
controls the rate of water flow through the turbine for different power production rates. Francis
turbines are almost always mounted with the shaft vertical to isolate water from the generator.
This also facilitates installation and maintenance.

14
Advantages of Hydroelectric Energy

1. Renewable
Hydroelectric energy is renewable. This means that we cannot use up. However, there’s only a
limited number of suitable reservoirs where hydroelectric power plants can be built and even less
places where such projects are profitable.

2. Green
Generating electricity with hydro energy is not polluting itself. The only pollution occurs during
the construction of these massive power plants.

3. Reliable
Hydroelectricity is very reliable energy. There are very little fluctuations in terms of the electric
power that is being by the plants, unless a different output is desired. Countries that have large
resources of hydropower use hydroelectricity as a base load energy source. As long as there is
water in the magazines electricity can be generated.

4. Flexible
As previously mentioned, adjusting water flow and output of electricity is easy. At times where
power consumption is low, water flow is reduced and the magazine levels are being conserved
for times when the power consumption is high.

5. Safe
Compared to among others fossil fuels and nuclear energy, hydroelectricity is much safer. There
is no fuel involved (other than water that is).

Disadvantages of Hydroelectric Energy

1. Environmental Consequences
The environmental consequences of hydropower are related to interventions in nature due to
damming of water, changed water flow and the construction of roads and power lines.

Hydroelectric power plants may affect fish is a complex interaction between numerous physical
and biological factors. More user interests related to exploitation of fish species, which helps that
this is a field that many have strong opinions on.

Fish habitats are shaped by physical factors such as water level, water velocity and shelter
opportunities and access to food. Draining would be completely devastating to the fish. Beyond
this, the amount of water may have different effects on the fish in a river, depending on the type
and stage of the lifecycle. Not all unregulated river systems are optimal in terms of fish
production, because of large fluctuations in flow.

15
2. Expensive
Building power plants in general is expensive. Hydroelectric power plants are not an exception
to this. On the other hand, these plants do not require a lot of workers and maintenance costs are
usually low.

3. Droughts
Electricity generation and energy prices are directly related to how much water is available. A
drought could potentially affect this.

4. Limited Reservoirs
We have already started using up suitable reservoirs for hydroelectric power plants. There are
currently about 30 major power plants that are expected to generate more than 2.000 MW under
construction. Only one of these projects was started in the last two years.

16
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) POWER PLANT ENGINEERING By P K Nag

2) WIKIPEDIA
3) https://www.google.com/search?q=kaplan+turbine&client=firefox-b-
ab&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXyvPJtdHfAhVGWysKHfKIAMoQ_AUID
igB&biw=1366&bih=654
4) https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b&q=advantages+and+disadvantages