MODULE -1

HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER PLANT

Syllabus:
Hydroelectric Power Plants: Hydrology, run off and stream flow, hydrograph,
flow duration curve, Mass curve, reservoir capacity, dam storage. Hydrological
cycle, merits and demerits of hydroelectric power plants, Selection of site.
General arrangement of hydel plant, elements of the plant, Classification of the
plants based on water flow regulation, water head and type of load the plant has
to supply. Water turbines – Pelton wheel, Francis, Kaplan and propeller turbines.
Characteristic of water turbines Governing of turbines, selection of water
turbines. Underground, small hydro and pumped storage plants. Choice of size
and number of units, plant layout and auxiliaries.

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

S.G.Balekundri Institute of Technology, Belagavi
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 Hydro electric power is the power obtained from the energy of falling water.
 Hydro electric power plant is the power plant utilizing the PE of water at a high
level for generation of Electrical energy.
 Solar energy in the form of heat is absorbed by oceans, rivers resulting
information of clouds eventual precipitation on land.
 Most of this energy is not harnessed dissipates itself into heat before reaching
ocean. If harnessed this can be converted into K.E & this K.E is converted to
M.E by allowing the water to flow through the turbine.
 This mechanical energy is utilized to run an electric generator which is coupled
to the turbine shaft.
 P = w Q H դ x 9.81 x 𝟏𝟎∧−𝟑 kw
W = Specific weight of water in kg/m^𝟑
Q = Rate of flow of water in m^𝟑/s
H = Height of head in meters
դ =Efficiency
 In power stations water head is created by constructing a dam across a river or
lake.
 Hydro electric power plants is usually located in hilly areas where the dam can
be build easily & large reservoirs can be obtained.
 Most of the High head power sites naturally lie in hilly areas. Medium & Low
head site developments, usually occupy the steep plateaus & the plains
Hydrology:
 Hydrology is defined as the science that is concerned with all the aspects of
water available on Earth.
 It deals with the study of the occurrence of water, its distribution, its
properties, and circulation of water on Earth and other Planets including
water resources, water cycle, and watershed sustainability.
 A professional of hydrology is known as a hydrologist.
 Using different scientific techniques and analytical methods, hydrologists
collect and analyze data to resolve water-related problems such as natural
disasters, environmental preservation, and water management.
 The field of hydrology consists not only of studying the natural distribution
and circulation of water, but it is also concerned with the impact of human
activities on water quality and with problems in water management.
 Water is used by humans for different purposes.
 In homes, water is used for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing. Many
industries require large amounts of water. In agriculture, water is required
for the irrigation of farmland and livestock.
 Water available in dams is used to produce hydroelectric power. The human
uses of water are endless.
 The hydrologic cycle or water cycle is the continuous process through which water
gets purified by evaporation and transported from the Earth's surface (including the
oceans) to the atmosphere and return to the land and the oceans.
 This happens through different concepts at different rates but the core concepts
remain the same.
 Water vaporizes or evaporates from the ocean, liquidizes as clouds, moves over
land, and precipitates.
 From there it can reach the groundwater, vaporize again, or enter a stream or lake.
It will ultimately find its way to return to the ocean either by falling as
precipitation, flowing with a river or by moving slowly with groundwater.
Precipitation is water that falls from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface.
The total condensation of moisture that reach the earth in any form i.e. Rains,
Ice, Hails, Dew & Frost.
Infiltration is precipitation that soaks into the soil.
Runoff is precipitation that does not soak into the soil but instead moves on
the Earth’s surface toward streams.
Streamflow is water moving across the Earth's surface in streams.
Evaporation refers to water that changes from a liquid to a gas and moves
from the Earth's surface back into the atmosphere.
Transpiration refers to water that is pulled out of the soil and released into
the atmosphere by plants.
Run off:
 Run off is the portion of precipitation which makes its way towards streams,
lakes or oceans.
 Run-off can be possible only when the rate of precipitation exceeds the rate
at which water infiltrates into the soil after small and large depressions on
the soil surface get filled with water.
 Also losses due to evaporation have to be deducted. In general , the run off is
given by R=P-E where, R= Run off, P=Precipitation, E= Evaporation.
 Part of precipitation is absorbed by soil & percolated into the ground & will
reach the catchment area through the underground channels.
Total run off = Direct run off through land surface + Run off through seepage.
The unit of run off are m^3/s or day-second meter
Stream Flow:
 It is the volume of water that moves through a specific point in a stream
during a given period of time.
 It is also the flow of water in streams , rivers and other channels and it is the
major element of the water cycle.
 The Hydrological Cycle
The hydrological cycle is the system
which describes the distribution and
movement of water between the
earth and its atmosphere. The model
involves the continual circulation of
water between the oceans, the
atmosphere, vegetation and land.
or
Hydrological cycle is also known as
“water cycle” and there is a
continuous exchange of water
between the atmosphere, the oceans
and the continents through the
processes of evaporation,
transpiration, condensation and
precipitation.
 As the moisture which is present in the atmosphere is taken from water bodies
through a process called evaporation and from plants through a process called
transpiration (evapotranspiration).
 Further this evaporation undergoes condensation for the formation of clouds and
once after the formation of clouds they fall down in the form of raindrops
through precipitation process.
 As the total amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere is constant, to
maintain this there should be a proper balance between evapotranspiration and
precipitation.
 And the cycle which maintains this stability is the Hydrological cycle.
 This cycle does not have any starting and ending point, as it leads to continuous
circulation of water present on the Earth which causes evolution of the Earth.
 The factor that assists hydrological cycle or water cycle is the sun, air currents
Mass Curve:
 Mass curve is a plot of cumulative volume of water
that can be stored from a stream flow versus time in
days, weeks or months.
 Figure shows a mass curve. Maximum intercept
between line AB and mass curve is known as
reservoir capacity.
 The unit used for storage is either cubic metre or
day-second-metre.
 A daysecond-metre is the flow at the rate of 1
m3/second for one day and equal to 60 ´ 60 ´ 24 =
86400 m3.
 The capacity of plant is based on the storage capacity, which can be modified by storage
for the same mass curve.
 The water stored in dams is called pondage and water stored in upstream reservoirs is
called storage.
 A small storage is used to meet the fluctuating demand for small period (one day).
When powerhouse is away from the main storage, a small pondage is provided near the
powerhouse.
 Sometimes surge tank is used. The capacity of reservoir, made for a period of deficiency
to make available the flow of water at a required rate, is studied by mass curve.
Flow Duration Curve:
 Flow duration curve is a plot of discharge versus percentage of time for which the
discharge is available.
 It is obtained from hydrograph data.
 The flow or discharge can be expressed as cubic metres per second, per week or
other unit of time.
 If the head at which the flow is available is known, the discharge can be calculated
in terms of the kilowatts power (P) using following equation.

 The flow duration curve becomes the load duration curve for hydroelectric
plant and thus it is possible to know the total power available at the site.
 The maximum and minimum conditions of flow can also be obtained by the flow
duration curve where minimum flow condition decides the maximum capacity of plant
that can be improved by increasing the storage capacity.
Figure shows a flow duration curve.
 Flow duration curves are of no use where the time sequence of the flow is of
importance such as in the study of floods.
CLASSIFICATION OF HYDROELECTRIC PLANTS
Hydroelectric plants exhibit a great deal of variety. They can be classified on
the basis of location and topographical features, the presence or absence of
storage, the range of operating head, the hydraulic features of the plant, the
operation features, etc. In some project, the main objective is not only the
power production but also for different purposes such as water supply,
irrigation, flood control, etc.
1. Classification Based on the Hydraulic Features
Based on the hydraulic principle in the basic design, hydroelectric
plants can
be categorized into the four types:
1. Conventional hydroelectric plants: These plants utilize the
normal available hydraulic energy of the flowing water of rivers.
Dams are constructed to collect the water and used for electricity
production.
2. Pumped storage plants: Pumped storage power plants are used
for meeting the peak demand. Such plants utilize the concept of
recycling the same water by pumping the water back during off
peak hours.
3. Tidal power plants: Tidal power plants utilize the tidal energy
of seawaters.
4. Depression power plants: It is a rare type of hydroelectric plant
where hydropower is generated by diverting an ample amount of
water such as seawater into a natural topographical depression that
provides operating head for the plant. This type of plant exists in
Egypt. The natural evaporation process controls the water level in
the depression.
2.Classification on the Basis of Operation (Base or Peak)
 A hydroelectric plant can be classified according to its operation
in meeting the demand such as base load plant or peak load plant.
 A hydroelectric plant works as a base load plant if there is
continuous power generation.
 If the conditions prevailing at the power station permit regulated
release of water, plant can be used to generate peak power.
 Hydropower is quite suitable for peak load operation due to its
quick starting and relative ease in picking up load.
 Pumped storage plants are necessarily peak load plants whereas
run-of-river plants are the base load plants.
3.Classification Based on Storage and Pondage
 Hydroelectric power plants can also be classified on the
consideration of whether they have a storage reservoir or
not.
 Storage becomes necessary when the flow is uneven over
the year.
 Without storage, the plants use only the natural normal
flow.
 In such cases, there may be a mini-reservoir or pondage
that takes care of day-to-day fluctuations.
 Some of the run-of-river plants have also mini-reservoir or
pondage.
 4.Classification Based on Location and
Topography
 A hydroelectric plant can be located in hilly areas or in plains.
 Plants in hilly areas are always associated with dams whereas
plants in plain areas may have only weirs for the main
structure.
 In plains the rivers are usually wide with large flood plains
and may need ancillary river training works.
5. Classification Based on Plant Capacity
Based on the capacity, hydroelectric plants are classified as
1. Very low-capacity (midget) plantsup to 0.1MW
2. Low-capacity plants up to 1.0MW
3. Medium-capacity plants up to 10MW
4. High-capacity plants more than10 MW
Based on the capacity, hydroelectric power plants are also
classified as
1. Micro-hydro plants <100 kW
2. Mini-hydro plants 100 kW to 1MW
3. Small-hydro plants 1 MW to a few MW
4. Hydro plants More than a few MW
5. Super-hydro plants More than 1000 MW
6.Classification Based on Head
It is difficult to give the exact range to classify hydroelectric
plants based on the available head. Normally, it is classified as
follows:
1. Low-head plants <15 m
2. Medium-head plants 15–70 m
3. High-head plants 71–250 m
4. Very-high head plants More than 250 m
High-head plants.
 Due to high head, small amount of water can produce a
large amount of power.
 Therefore, these types of plants are very economical.
 Normally, the reservoirs are high up in the mountains and the powerhouse is
 at the foot, taking advantage of large level difference.
 The catchment area is small and if water from one stream is not sufficient,
then water from neighboring streams can be diverted to the lake through the
pipelines or tunnels.
.
 The water is carried from main reservoir by tunnel to powerhouse via
the surge tank. The length of conduit system may be 15 km or more.
For heads above 500 m, Pelton turbines are used and Francis turbines are
common for low head
Medium-head plants.
 Larger volume of water is needed in such plants compared to high-head
plants.
 Therefore, a reservoir of large capacity with large catchment area is
required. In these plants, water is generally carried from main reservoir to
the forebay and then to powerhouse through the short penstocks. There is
no need of surge tank as forebay itself acts as surge tank.
 Generally there is one penstock per turbine. Francis, Kaplan and Propeller
 type of turbines are common for the medium head power plants.
Low-head plants.
 To generate same amount of power in such plants, water
required is much larger than the high-head power plants.
 Generally run-off river, tidal plants and midget plants fall
into this category.
 The catchment area and the magnitude of peak flood are
very large, the spillway length being considerable. Francis,
Kaplan or Propeller turbines are used for lowhead plants.
The sizes of turbine and the powerhouse are large.
7.Classification Based on Constructional Features
Constructional feature is another way to classify the hydroelectric plants.
They can be classified as follows:
Run-of-river plants.
 The dominant features of run-of-river plants are that these plants
generate power on the rivers with a continuous flow throughout the year
with small seasonal variations.
 Such plants neither have a large reservoir nor do they have a diversion
of water away from the main channel.
 A typical run-of-river plant has a powerhouse located with a weir
spanning the river that also serves as the river flow regulator.
 The site chosen should be on a stable reach of the river with stable bed
and banks.
 The maximum flood anticipated should have low value and water should
not carry much sediment.
Based on the constructional arrangement of the powerhouse and weir, run-
of river plants can be further divided into four groups: block power plant,
twin power plant, pier-head power plant and submersible power plant.
These plants may or may not have the pondage. Run-of-river plants with
pondage are more reliable and its generating capacity is less dependent
on available rate of flow of water.
Valley dam plants.
 In valley dam plants, a dam is constructed for storing the
water. Powerhouse is located at the toe of the dam.
 No diversion of the water from main river is involved.
 These are of medium- to high-head plants. The artificial head
created will depend on the height of the dam.
 There are different arrangements of powerhouse location and
spillway of the dam.
Diversion canal plants.
 A diversion canal with a flat slope in which the flow from the
river is diverted through the canal to powerhouse.
 The water from powerhouse is drained back into the original
river at downstream point.
 A weir is constructed at the end of the canal to create a small
pool of water, called the forebay.
 The water from forebay is fed by means of penstocks to the
powerhouse situated in the lower reach of the river
High-head diversion plants.
 In these type of plants, water is diverted through a system of
channels and tunnels. There are two ways to achieve it.
(i) Water is diverted to another neighbouring river or basin which is
at a much lower level than parent river.
(ii) Water from river could be diverted along the tunnels from an
upper stream point of river to a downstream point of same river.
High-head diversion plants are more or less similar to low-head
diversion canal plants. The main point of difference is, however, the
elaborate conveyance system for the high-head plants.
 CL ASSIFICATION OF TURBINES

• Based on hydraulic action of water

According to hydraulic action of water, turbines can
be classified into
a) Impulse turbines
b) Reaction turbines

a) Impulse turbines
If the runner of a turbine rotates by the impact or
impulse action of water, it is an impulse turbine.
b) Reaction turbines
These turbines work due to reaction of the
pressure difference between the inlet and the
outlet of the runner.
Franscis Turbine:
 It is a reaction type turbine.
 The Francis Turbine is a hybrid of an impulse and reaction
turbine.
 It is a inward radial flow turbine in which water at inlet possesses
both kinetic and pressure energies.
 As the water flow through runner ,a part of pressure energy goes
on converting into kinetic energy .
 Thus the water through the runner is under pressure. It consists of
casing ,guide mechanism, runner and draft tube.
 The water from casing enters the stationary guiding mechanism.
 The guiding mechanism consists of guide vanes or blades which
the water to enter runner which consists of moving vanes. The
water flows over the moving vanes in the inward radial direction
and is discharged at the inner diameter of the runner.
 Outer diameter of the runner is inlet and the inner diameter of the
runner is the outlet.
 For regulating the quantity of water entering the turbine , the guide blades
are provided about an axis .
 The exit of the franscis turbine is connected with draft tube which allow
water to enter the tailrace.
 The turbine shaft is connected to alternator which rotates along with
turbine to generate the electric power.
KAPLAN TURBINE:
 Kaplan Turbine works on the principle of axial flow reaction. In axial flow
turbines, the water flows through the runner along the direction parallel to the
axis of rotation of the runner.
 The water at the inlet of the turbine possesses both kinetic energy as well as
pressure energy
 It is capable of working at low head and high flow rates very efficiently.
The main parts of Kaplan Turbine are,
1. Scroll Casing
 It is a spiral type of casing that has decreasing cross section area.
 The water from the penstocks enters the scroll casing and then moves to the
guide vanes where the water turns through 90° and flows axially through the
runner.
 It protects the runner, runner blades guide vanes and other internal parts of the
turbine from an external damage.
2. Guide Vane Mechanism
 It is the only controlling part of the whole turbine, which opens and
closes depending upon the demand of power requirement.
 In case of more power output requirements, it opens wider to allow more
water to hit the blades of the rotor and when low power output requires it
closes itself to cease the flow of water.
 If guide vanes is absent than the turbine can not work efficiently and its
efficiency decreases.
3. Draft Tube
 The pressure at the exit of the runner of Reaction Turbine is generally less
than atmospheric pressure.
 The water at exit cannot be directly discharged to the tail race. A tube or
pipe of gradually increasing area is used for discharging water from the
exit of turbine to the tail race.
 This tube of increasing area is called Draft Tube.
 One end of the tube is connected to the outlet of runner while the other
end is sub-merged below the level of water in the tail-race.
4. Runner Blades
 The heart of the component in Kaplan turbine are its runner blades, as it
the rotating part which helps in production of electricity.
 Its shaft is connected to the shaft of the generator.
 The runner of the this turbine has a large boss on which its blades are
attached and the the blades of the runner is adjustable to an optimum
angle of attack for maximum power output.
 The blades of the Kaplan turbine has twist along its length.
Propeller Turbine:
 The propeller turbine is a reaction turbine used for low heads
(4m -80m) and high specific speeds (300-1000)m. It is an
axial flow device providing large flow area utilizing a large
volume flow of water with flow velocity.
 It consists of an axial flow runner usually with four to six
blades of airfoil shape.
 The spiral casing and guide blades are similar to those in
Franscis turbines. In propeller turbines as in Franscis
turbines the runner blades are fixed and nonadjustable.
Governing of Turbines:
 The hydraulic machines, which convert the hydraulic energy
into mechanical energy, are called turbines while the hydraulic
machines which convert the mechanical energy into hydraulic
energy are called pumps.
 The governing of a turbine is defined as the operation by which the speed
of the turbine is kept constant under all conditions of working.
 It is done automatically by means of a governor, which regulates the rate of
flow through the turbines according to the changing load conditions on the
turbine.
 Governing of turbines is necessary as a turbine is directly coupled to an electric
generator, which is required to run at a constant speed under all fluctuating
load conditions.
 The frequency of power generation by a generator of a constant number of
pairs of poles under all varying conditions should be constant.
 This is only possible when the speed of the generator, under all changing load
conditions, is constant.
 The speed of the generator will be constant when the speed of the turbine
(which is coupled to the generator) is constant.
 When the load on the generator decreases, the speed of the generator
increases beyond the normal speed (constant speed).
 Then the speed of the turbine also increases beyond the normal speed. If the
turbine or the generator is to run at a constant (normal) speed, the rate of
flow of water to the turbine should be decreased till the speed becomes
normal.
 This process by which the speed of the turbine (and hence of the generator)
is kept constant under the varying condition of the load is called governing.
 Governing of the Modern turbine is done by means of an oil pressure
governor, which consists of the following parts:
1. Oil sump.
2. Gear pump also called oil pump, which is driven by the power obtained from
the turbine shaft.
3.The Servomotor is also called the relay cylinder.
4.The control valve or the distribution valve or the relay valve.
5.The centrifugal governor or pendulum is driven by a belt or gear from the
turbine shaft.
6.Pipes connecting the oil sump with the control valve and the control valve
with the servomotor.
7.The spear rod or needle.
 The above schematic diagram shows the position of the piston in the relay cylinder, the
position of the control or relay valve and the fly-balls of the centrifugal governor, when
the turbine is running at the normal speed.
 When the load on the generator decreases, the speed of the generator increases. This
increases the speed of the turbine beyond the normal speed.
 The centrifugal governor, which is connected to the turbine’s main shaft, will be
rotating at an increased speed.
 Due to the increase in the speed of the centrifugal governor, the fly-balls move upward
due to the increased centrifugal force on them.
 Due to the upward movement of the fly-balls, the sleeve will also move upward.
 A horizontal lever, supported over a fulcrum, connects the sleeve and the piston rod of
the control valve.
 As the sleeve moves up, the lever turns about the fulcrum and the piston rod of the
control valve moves downward.
 This closes the valve V1 and opens valve V2 as shown in the above schematic diagram.
 The oil, pumped from the oil pump to the control valve or relay valve, under pressure
will flow through valve V2 to the servomotor (or relay cylinder) and will exert force on
face A of the piston of the relay cylinder.
 The piston along with the piston rod and spear will move towards the right.
 This will decrease the area of flow of water at the outlet of the nozzle.
 This decrease in the area of flow will reduce the rate of flow of water to the turbine
which consequently reduces the speed of the turbine.
 When the speed of the turbine becomes normal, the fly-balls, sleeve, lever and
piston rod of the control valve come to their normal position as shown in the
above schematic diagram.
 When the load on the generator increases, the speed of the generator and hence
of the turbine decreases.
 The speed of the centrifugal governor also decreases and hence centrifugal
force acting on the fly-balls also reduces.
 This brings the fly-balls in the downward direction.
 Due to this, the sleeve moves downward and the lever turns about the fulcrum,
moving the piston rod of the control valve in the upward direction.
 This closes valve V2 and opens valve V1. The oil under pressure from the
control valve will move through valve V1 to the servomotor and will exert a
force on the face B of the piston.
 This will move the piston along with the piston rod and spear towards the left,
increasing the area of flow of water at the outlet of the nozzle.
 This will increase the rate of flow of water to the turbine and consequently, the
speed of the turbine will also increase, till the speed of the turbine becomes
normal.
Selection of Water Turbines:
 The hydraulic turbines are selected according to specific conditions under
which it has to operate and attain the maximum possible efficiency.
 The choice depends on the head available, power to be developed and the
speed at which it has to run.
 The following factors are considered for the selection of suitable t
Underground Hydro Power Plant:
 An underground hydro power plant is one in which whole of the generating
equipment is placed in an underground chamber.
 An underground layout of hydro power plant may be favoured due to
technical and economic considerations.
Advantages:
 better rocking bearing properties,
 greater security in war time,
 lower maintenance costs,
 shorter conduit lengths and therefore smaller surge tanks,
 minimum problem of land acquisition,
 easier design of tailrace tunnel in comparison to design of headrace pressure
tunnel,
 no interference of surface topography in planning,
 design and location of the principal works,
 lower initial cost in some cases, no risk of avalanches and land slips, that
may cause difficulties in site selection in steep and rugged countryside,
 no risk of forest fire hazard, protection to the staff as well as to plant against
severe winter climate,
 no effect of bad weather on the progress of construction work, and
maintenance of temperature control inside the plant with adequate control of
ventilation irrespective of outside weather conditions.
Disadvantages:
 increased cost of construction of power house and accessories,
 excessive cost of lighting,
 special ventilation and air-conditioning,
 additional cost of underground location of transformers and switchgears,
 costly tailrace tunnels and additional surge chambers.
There are two types of layouts for underground power plants viz.,
1. head development and
2. tail development.
In first case, the plant is situated near the intake and has a long tailrace
tunnel. So the advantages of lower cost of intake structure and possibility of
quicker control of turbines are available in the former case.
In the second case, the plant is located at the end of a long pressure tunnel
and has a short tailrace. The decision is influenced by the topography and
character of the rock.
Small Hydroelectric Power Plants:
 Mini hydro plants of capacity around 101-2,000 kW and micro hydro plants of capacity
up to 100 kW fall under this category.
 Such plants operate under heads of a few metres.
 Such plants are becoming more and more popular due to rising fuel cost of thermal
plants on one side and long construction period and heavy cost of civil works for large
hydroelectric power plants on the other side.
 Small hydro power plants are simple in operation, reliable, need minimal maintenance
and more effective than large plants in saving fuel.
 In mini hydro and micro hydro schemes, the civil works are simple, and can be built
with the local labour in a very short period.
 High equipment cost was the only hindrance in the development of small hydro power
plants.
 But now due to newly developed ranges of hydroelectric units and their availability in
market in standardized packaged units easily adoptable to different site conditions this
problem has also been solved.
 Global installed capacity of small hydro is about 47,000 MW against the estimated
potential of 200,000 MW.
 India has a history of more than 100 years in small hydro.
 An estimated potential of 15,000 MW of small hydro exists in India.
 However, nearly 5,000 MW have been actually identified through more than 2,000 sites
in 13 states of India and most of the sites are located in Himalayan region.
Pumped Storage Plants for the Peak Load:
 This is a unique design of peak load plant in which the plant pumps
back all or a portion of its water supply during low load period.
 The usual construction is a tail water pond and a head water pond
connected through a penstock.
 The generating pumping plant is at the lower end.
 The plant utilizes some of the surplus energy generated by the base load
plant to pump the water from the tail water pond into the head water
pond during off-peak hours.
 During peak load period this water is used to generate power by
allowing it to flow from the head water pond through the water turbine
of this plant to the tail water pond.
 Thus the same water is used again and again and extra water is required
only to take care of evaporation and seepage.
 The capacity of the pond should be such that the plant can supply peak
load for 4 to 10 hours. In the older plants, there used to be separate
motor driven pumps and turbine driven generators.
 The improvement was the pump and turbine on the same shaft with
electrical element acting as either generator or motor.
 During peak hours the turbine drives the generator and the plant generates
electrical energy while during off-peak hours the generator operates as a
motor and drives the turbine which now works as a pump raising the water
from the tail water pond to the head water pond.
 The power for driving the generator as a motor is taken from the system.
 This arrangement reduces the capital cost of the plant and improves the
operating efficiency and thus results in economical operation.
Choice of Size and Number of Generating Units.
 The load of the power station is never constant and it varies at
different timings of the day.
 The generating plant should have the capacity to meet the
maximum demand.
 For example, one unit is taken of certain size to meet the maximum
demand of power station ,then the plant will be operating on full
load , only for short duration and it will be operating on no load
condition for rest of the day.
 In isolating stations, in order to maintain reliability and continuity
of power supply at all the times, another unit of equal capacity is
required .
 Therefore capital cost is considered for both the units.
 However the capital cost includes the cost of both the units, the
capacity of each unit is corresponding to the maximum load on
power station.
Layout of Hydro Power Plant:
 The general layout of the hydro power plant is determined by
its type.
 For plants employing vertical turbines, the most convenient
and economical layout will be with turbines installed in a
line parallel to the length of the turbine house, as shown in
Fig.
 The spacing between the machines will depend upon the size
of scroll case, width of flume, or by the overall diameters of
the alternators.
 In case of turbines with horizontal shaft arrangement, the
most suitable layout will be placement of turbines at right
angles to the length of turbine house.
 The horizontal machines can also be placed parallel to the
longitudinal axis of the turbine house.
 A repair bay should be provided at one end of the turbine
house near the workshop with ample space for dismantling
and re- erection of machines.
Plant Auxiliaries:
 The auxiliaries essentially required for hydroelectric plant are
governor, cranes, lubricating oil pumps, air compressors, high
pressure oil pumps for generator rotor jacking system, fans,
cooling water pumps, drainage and dewatering pumps, gate
hoists, valves, battery charging units, CO2 cylinders etc.
 These auxiliaries are generally electrically driven.
 Water may be used to cool the bearings of the turbines and
generators and the transformers and is circulated through water
pumps.
 Air compressors maintain a supply of air under pressure for
operation of generator brakes and other uses in the power
station.
 Fans are required for ventilation of the turbine and switchgear
room or for cooling of transformers.
 Oil pumps handle transformer oil through the cleaning and
cooling system. Cranes are required to lift heavy parts or place
them in position during repairs.
 Water pumps are required for unwatering of turbine pits during
repairs or inspection.
 Storage batteries are required to supply low voltage dc power
for switchgear control.
 These batteries are constantly charged through a battery
charging equipment using a rectifier or motor-generator set.
 Carbon dioxide cylinders and other fire extinguishing
equipment are required in case the fire breaks out.
 The supply for the above auxiliaries is usually obtained from
the station transformer which is installed solely for this
purpose.