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A review on hydro power plants and turbines

Conference Paper  in  AIP Conference Proceedings · May 2022

DOI: 10.1063/5.0081709

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A review on hydro power plants and turbines
Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 2418, 030048 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0081709
Published Online: 24 May 2022

Ravi Kiran Karre, Kasangottu Srinivas, Khaja Mannan, et al.

AIP Conference Proceedings 2418, 030048 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0081709 2418, 030048

© 2022 Author(s).
 A Review on Hydro Power Plants and Turbines
Ravi Kiran Karre1, a), Kasangottu Srinivas1, Khaja Mannan1, B Prashanth1, Ch.
Rajendra Prasad2
1
Sumathi Reddy Institute of Technology for Women, Warangal, Telangana, India.
2
S R University, Warangal, Telangana, India.
a)
Corresponding author: rkiran493@gmail.com

Abstract. Hydroelectricity is electricity produced by the generators that are pushed by the water movement. This is one
of the widely used sustainable power. One of the major advantages of the hydro power after constructing the plant is
wastage is not created.22% of the word power is generated by hydroelectricity, which constitutes around about 78% of
power from inexhaustible natural resources. The yearly hydroelectric creation of India is 115.6 TWh with an introduced
limit is 33.6 GW. Miniature hydro is a word utilized for hydroelectric force establishments that commonly produce a
power up to 300 KW of intensity. These establishments can give capacity to a disconnected home or little network of
sloping territories, or are here and there associated with electric force organizations. There are a considerable lot of these
establishments around the globe, especially in agricultural countries as they can give a prudent wellspring of energy
without acquisition of fuel. In the current paper an endeavor is made to portray the different parts of miniature hydro for
creation of power in uneven regions like site evaluation, development and attributes, job of miniature hydro in
supportable improvement and so forth.

INTRODUCTION

The world is right now confronting an energy emergency. The impact of the energy crisis is especially felt
in agricultural countries where projects have been begun to make substitute energy sources subject to sustainable
assets which are hydropower, geothermal energy, biomass, and wind energy. While water assets are esteemed for
human well-being and for supporting food production, the energy contained in moving water, for example,
waterways or tides can likewise be bridled to make energy using hydro power or mechanical employments. Hydro
power plans can either be restricted scale or huge degree, dependent upon the local conditions and the energy
interest, or address a supportable force source that can be executed any spot there is running water. As running water
is an asset that is universally accessible and inexhaustible, bridling its ability to create power can give a of
sustainable energy source to improve livelihood and increment working profitability. Especially in developing or
rural regions, limited scope hydro power can speak to a locally accessible, dependable wellspring of energy where
no other energy age is attainable.

HYDROPOWER CLASSIFICATION

Hydropower is categorized on facility type and capacity. Furthermore, facility type is again categorized into four
types Storage or Reservoir, Run-of-River (RoR), Pumped storage hydro power plants (HPPs) and In-stream
Hydropower Schemes whereas capacity type is classified into Pico, Micro, Mini, Small, Medium and Large. See
Figure 1.

International Conference on Research in Sciences, Engineering & Technology

AIP Conf. Proc. 2418, 030048-1–030048-12; https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0081709
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-4368-6/$30.00

030048-1
 FIGURE 1. Hydro power Classification

Classification by Capacity

Large hydropower plants are deployed on storage reservoirs and large dams. These are usually grid connected.
High investment is required to construct these kinds of plants. 10MW to hundreds for megawatts of power is
generated in these plants which can power few thousands of homes.
Small hydropower plants are conventionally run-of-the-stream or run-of-river which can generate a power up to
few megawatts of power. They unite the potential gains of hydropower with those of decentralized power
generation. These plants are further classified into pico, micro and mini which can generate powers up to 5kW,
100kW and 1MW respectively. See Table 1.
TABLE 1. Hydro power plants classification

The following table specifies the capacity of small hydropower in various countries
TABLE 2. Hydro power plants capacity

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 Classification by Facility Type

Run-of-River (RoR)
RoR plants generate power with the help of running stream of water or through the normal stature fall of a
stream. This type of plant is best suited for the streams that flow throughout the year at any stream rate. In order to
power the turbine, the water is diverted constantly into penstock, afterward come into the stream. These plants by
and large include no or simply little accumulating, considering a couple of changes to the interest profile. Power age
is coordinated by close by the condition of stream and therefore relies upon rainfall and overflow and should have
liberal step by step, month to month, or intermittent assortments.

FIGURE 2. Typical run-of-river hydropower components [1].

Hydropower Plant with Storage (Reservoir)

The Hydropower plant with storage is generally constructed with the water being stored behind a dam where the
stream is deceased. In this strategy the generated power is moreover steady and also less unstable than that of RoR
plants. Here generator stations be situated next to dam-toe, associated with the storage through passages or else
pipelines. The types along with plan of supplies be chosen through the scene, in numerous allotments are immersed
in stream valleys wherever repository be a counterfeit lake. These hydro plants be able to have key ecological and
societal effects because of the deluging of ground used for the storage.

FIGURE 3. Typical Hydropower plant with storage

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 Pump Storage Hydropower Plant (PSHP)

PSHP is not a source of energy, they are simply storage resources. Water will be pumped from a lower
repository into an upper repository, as a rule during off peak hours, while the stream is turned around to create
power during the day by day top burden time frame or at different critical crossroads. Albeit the misfortunes of
pumping cycle craft this plant as a net energy buyer, which gives immense scope of energy repositing framework
payback. Pumped stockpiling is biggest limit type of framework energy stockpiling at the present promptly
accessible around the world.

FIGURE 4. Typical Pump Storage Hydropower Plant [7]

.

In-stream Hydropower Scheme

Fundamentally, in-stream hydropower capacities similar to that of RoR conspire, however turbine in this plant is
generally worked within dam inside the riverbed. Normally, stream isn't redirected. To upgrade existing weirs,
floods, channels, or else falls, hydrokinetic turbines or little turbines are able to be introduced. The waterways close
to the ocean, the advancements may work the bi-directional (flowing) non-typical establishment of in-stream hydro
power plant.

FIGURE 5. Typical In-stream Hydropower Scheme [7].

MODERN HYDROPOWER PLANTS

Underground Hydropower Plant

These hydropower plants are low head plants which are built underneath the upper level of water. This kind of
establishment comprises of a weir across the river to be saddled and the power plants are housed inside the weir.

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 The head race is associated with the tail race by a straight section in which the bulb or tabular turbines work. The
turbine is associated with the generator by a level or a slanted shaft contingent upon accommodation.

FIGURE 6. Typical Underground Hydropower Plant.

Tidal Power Plants

Energy is generated in these plants by means of changing power from tides to valuable classes of force. Among
the renewable sources tidal energy has reasonably significant expense and constrained convenience with sufficiently
highspeed streams, accordingly constricting its absolute convenience. Notwithstanding, numerous new innovative
turns of events and upgrades, in design and turbine reveals the clear accessibility of tidal energy may be a lot high
than expected and that fiscal and ecological disbursements might befall down to serious levels.

FIGURE 7. Typical tidal power Plant

Gravitational Vortex Energy

The vortex hydro power stations utilize river flow as well as gravitational vortex rotates a turbine as well as
produce energy. Turbines of gravitational water vortex will run at a low heads of around 0.7m - 2 m, that is
regularly seen as excessively low in favor of traditional turbines and also have a comparable yield as that of
traditional hydroelectric turbines. Likewise, there is the positive natural impact upon the river as the water going
through turbine will aerate it.[2]

030048-5
 FIGURE 8. Gravitational vortex energy

CLASSIFICATION OF TURBINES

Turbines can be differentiated based on the principle of their operation

1. An Impulse turbine - driven by a high-speed stream of water.
2. A Reaction turbine, with rotating blades curved and arranged so as to generate torque from steady decrease
of pressure of stream from inlet to exhaust
3. A Gravity turbine is driven essentially by the heaviness of water entering the highest point of turbine and
tumbling to the base, where it is delivered.

Impulse Turbine

Pelton Turbine

Lestor Pelton created this turbine in 1880 which is utilized in general for the sites whose heads are more
prominent than 300 meters.

FIGURE 9. A modern Pelton turbine

Pelton turbine basically operates with high speed stream jets of water that comes out from nozzles that
encompass turbine. The nozzles in this turbine be organized in such a way that water jet strikes the buckets at the
splitters; this gets split into 2 streams at the center of the bucket. These two streams flow down the inner curve of the
bucket and then exits in another way that it came in. The transform in this water momentum makes this an impulse
on the blades of these turbines, producing torque and the rotation in turbine.[3]
In Pelton tube, extreme output will be acquired whenever water stream is redirected precisely inverse to the
course at which it strikes the bucket.

030048-6
 Turgo Turbine

Turgo turbine, is a modified Pelton turbine which was developed in 1920. Turgo turbine uses double cups on the
wheel which are shallower compared to that of the single cups in the pelton turbine. [4] Turgo turbine can deal with
higher stream rates than that of Pelton. This capacity to manage enormous water volumes gives Turgo turbine a
benefit when utilized in hydroelectric plants which have medium pressure driven heads.[4]

FIGURE 10. Turgo turbine

As the runners used in the turbines are smaller and can also turn at faster rate, these can be connected directly to
a generator. Turgo operates similar to that of pelton with water steam hitting the buckets almost at an angle of 20°
on one side.

Crossflow Turbines

Crossflow turbine or Banki-Mitchell or Ossberger turbine is a kind of turbine that will in general be utilized in
more modest sites which can yield a power in between 5-100 kW. These are helpful for huge scope of pressure
driven heads, beginning just 1.75 to 200 meters, albeit as a rule these are also picked for the heads under 40
meters.[4] Cross flow turbine generates energy through water from diminishing the velocity.

FIGURE 11. A Cross of turbine

A crossflow turbine is planned utilizing an enormous round and hollow system made out from a central rotor
encompassed by a cage of sharp blades to raise the efficiency like a water wheel shape. Water is aimed onto the
turbine with the help of a nozzle that makes water look like a flat sheet, and afterward is aimed onto the sharp edges
utilizing a guide vane. Water will hit this turbine thrice first on the edges at an appropriate angle to maximize the
efficiency and later to within the turbine and finally once again hits the blades on the exit path of water from the
turbine [2]. Most of the power is generated due to the first hit of water streams on the blades.

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 REACTION TURBINES
Kaplan and Francis are the two turbines under the category of reaction turbines

Kaplan Turbine

Viktor Kaplan developed this turbine the year 1913, which is a propeller driven hydro turbine with automatic
adjusting blades and can be employed in low head, high flow sites. These turbines can be employed between head
range of 10-70 meters and achieve an produce a power around 5-200 mega watts

FIGURE 12. A modern kaplan turbine

To start with, the water is aimed onto the turbine radially, drawing closer from the side. This is done on the
grounds that the generator is normally set up some place alongside the pivot of the revolution of turbine, so if the
generator be located here it would get wet.[2] Instead, the vanes of the guide rapidly receive the water through a 90o
turn so it hits the sharp edges pivotally. Just as diverting the water, these vanes are adjusted to give the water a
fitting measure of "swirl".[3] and the water will leave the turbine pivotally[3-8].

Francis Turbine

A Francis turbine was named after James B. Francis, which is most widely used hydro-electric plants, which can
be employed normally with a head range in between 100 to 300 meters, but might also be employed to a head of 2
meters too. These turbines can generate power as low as few kilowatts around thousand megawatts Also, these are
advantageous as they function excellently when positioned on a level plane similar to that of when they are
arranged vertically.

FIGURE 13. A francis turbine

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 The Francis turbine is the one in which the water comes into the turbine with enormous pressure, energy is
generated by blades of the from the water. A fraction of energy is given up by the water because of changing of
pressure in the turbine blades, quantified by means of the term of the degree of response, whereas the remaining
fraction of energy is extracted with the volute covering of turbine. During exit, water will acts on the rotating cup
shaped runner features, parting by low velocity along with low swirl amid very small potential or kinetic energy left.
The turbine's exit tube is created to aid decelerate the flow of the water moreover recover pressure [9-12].

Archimedean Screw Turbine

The Archimedean Screw Turbine chips away at a similar standard as the Archimedes screw pump however in
opposite. At the point when water enter the peak point of shaft the heaviness of water pushes on the screw sharp
edges making the shaft pivot permitting the water to tumble to the lower level. The screw rotation would then be
capable to be changed over into power by interfacing a gearbox and generator to the principal shaft of turbine

FIGURE 14. A typical Archimedean screw turbine

Water Wheel

Waterwheel, a class of turbine which exploits streaming water to produce energy by utilizing bunch of paddles
that are built-up around a wheel. Force exerted by stream will push wheel, which creates a revolving movement in
the wheel that is sent to an assortment of motors through the shaft at the focal point of wheel.[1] These wheels are
enormous and made out of wood or metal with numerous buckets/blades along the edge of the wheel to capture the
force exerted by the water flow.
Waterwheels are generally situated vertically over a water source. This entails that the hub is situated on a level
plane. This hub moves the energy from the streaming/falling water to a drive belt or an arrangement of pinion
wheels that at that point works a type of machine. These wheels require some wellspring of streaming/falling water,
and these sources can incorporate streams or waterways. At times extraordinary lakes known as plant lakes were
made by damming a streaming stream. This makes an uncommon channel known as a plant race from the lake to the
waterwheel.[5]

Overshot Wheels

Overshot wheels are also a kind of waterwheel which can be constructed where a huge drop of height in the
waterway or river being utilized to move the wheel. By and large, these are based on a slope of the hill with a
minimum drop of 4.5 meters.[8]

030048-9
 FIGURE 15. Lay out of overshot wheel

In this waterwheel, the water will leave the flume over the actual wheel. The water at that point tumbles onto
edges of the waterwheel, pushing the wheel forward. The way that water is presented at the actual top of wheel
implies the water falls at a greater distance, making the wheel profoundly 80-90% effective. [8]

Undershot Waterwheels

In regions that have practically no inclination, undershot waterwheels are the single kind of waterwheel that
will work. Due to lack of fundamental drop in the water, these wheels are inefficiently diverged from various sorts.
This waterwheel relies upon there being gigantic measures of water moving quickly to move the wheel. Thusly, the
wheels will overall be founded on gigantic, strong rivers.[5]

FIGURE 16. Lay out of undeershot wheel

In light of everything, the water floods lowers some portion of waterwheel, turning it in switch diverged from
the water stream. This spinning motion happens on the grounds which pushes the water along the blades that are in
contact with the water surface[13-18].

Breast Shot Wheels

Breast shot wheels are utilized where a moderate drop in the tallness of the water. By and large, breast shot
wheels are utilized between a drop of 1.8 to 2.4 meters.[5] These waterwheels were especially significant in the
Industrial Revolution, and for the duration of this time span, the wheels would in general be made out of iron. These
wheels were made exceptionally enormous to build their output power. In this type of waterwheel, water streams
onto the wheel mostly up and pushes the wheel’s blades downwards as it falls. The water at that point keeps on
streaming under the wheel, pushing it more as it streams forward.

030048-10
 FIGURE 17. Lay out of breastshot wheel

Pump-as-Turbine (PAT)

This is a whimsical kind of a reaction turbine, that carries on likewise to Francis turbine. Capacity of this turbine
is practically identical any kind of turbine, to change over dynamic and pressure energy of water to mechanical
energy of the runner [6].
Not at all like other ordinary machines which require being made by the specifications of the customer, pumps
are an extremely regular piece of hardware generally accessible in different sizes and usefulness anyplace all
throughout the planet. When utilized as turbine, the rotor moves the other way, or in turn around, with regards to
when it is working as a pump. Thusly, it permits the engine to produce electrical energy.

FIGURE 18. Pump as turbine

CONCLUSION

This major focus in this article is on various hydro power plants and turbines, it exhibited that hydro is an
establishment of the generation of electrical energy which is refined unfathomable significance for the
environmental and commercial concerns. Of course, this article showed different types of hydropower turbines; it
presented a general depiction of hydropower turbines structures and there various parts and execution. From the
above assessment, it will in general be given a standard to reach about the suitable hydropower structure and turbine
which can be used in the different hydropower projects.

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