HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER PLANT

UNIT 3
Hydroelectric Power Plant: Introduction, Site Selection, Advantages and
Disadvantages of HEPP,
Hydrograph , Flow duration curve ,Mass Curve, Classification of HEPP
with layout.

Power from water

First in India at Darjeeling of 200 KW in 1897 and first major in
shivasamudram in mysore in 1902 of 4.5 MW,
Principal: water is stored in Dam (artificial storage) having
potential energy .
Power = wQH/ 1000 KW

Hydro eclectic power plant:

Advantages
Disadvantage
Hydro eclectic power plant

Advantages:
•Less operational cost
•Reliable, starting and stopping is easy compared to
thermal and other power plant
•No pollutant of any kind
•Life is high..more than 50 years
•Part load efficiency is high
•Can be used as base or peak load, less staff required
•Plant is useful for irrigation , flood control
•No fuel required
Disadvantages:
Power developed depends on water availability.
Plant located always from load
Time required to build such power plant (Dam) is high.
High capital cost
Disturb ecology.
Hydrology:
Hydrology deals with the occurrence and distribution of
water over and above the earth surface.
Based on meteorology, geology, agricultural physics,
chemistry, botany and other data
Mean rainfall data of 20 to 30 years, dry frequency.
Help in estimation of rainfall, water collection , output of
power plant prediction.
Calculation of dam capacity, if more rain fall spill way
estimation.
Hydrological cycle:
Hydrological cycle deals with the rain fall and run off
study.
The cyclic movement of water involves the following
a) Evaporation of water from sea to atmosphere
b) Precipitation of vapour from atmosphere
c) Flow of water from river back to sea
•The water which precipitation from atmosphere may be in
the form of rain fall, snow fall dew and mist.
•Out of the total precipitation , some water is evaporated and
infiltrated into soil to form underground storage.
•The remainder of the rain water flows on the ground surface
of the catchment area to form the stream and it is called run
–off.
•This rain water run –off over the ground surface which
makes its way towards the stream, lakes, rivers and sea.
•The run-off of a catchment area is the total quantity of water
which flows into a stream or into reservoir during specific
period.
•It is measured in terms of centimeter of water over
catchment area. Thus the total volume of water can be
calculate. It helps in designing and planning of power plant
Flow duration curve and power duration curve:
Flow duration curve are plotted by taking the magnitude of
run-off on the ordinate against the percentage of time taken
on abscissa.
power duration curve:
If we take the potential power contained in a stream flow
on ordinate and time on abscissa.
•Good sit have a large catchment area, high average
rain fall, steep gradient in area to get high head
•Dam selection: quantity of water available
•Head , storage
•Distance from power demand
•Soil bearing capacity , rocky foundation condition
•Availability of construction material
•Access to site
•Transport
•Cost of project and period
•Free from earthquake damage, away from zone
•Free from mineral deposits of harmful nature
•Less possibility of sediment collection
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans
the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in Yiling
District, Yichang, Hubei province, China. The Three Gorges Dam is
the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity(22,500 MW).
In 2014 the dam generated 98.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) and had the world
record, but was surpassed by Itaipú Dam that set the new world record in
2016 producing 103.1 TWh.[4]
The Itaipu Dam (Portuguese: Barragem de Itaipu, Spanish: Represa de
Itaipú; Portuguese pronunciation: [itɐjˈpu], locally [ita.iˈpu], Spanish
pronunciation: [itaiˈpu]) is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on
the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The construction of the dam was first
contested by Argentina, but the negotiations and resolution of the dispute ended
up setting the basis for Argentine-Brazilian integration later on.[3]
The name "Itaipu" was taken from an isle that existed near the construction site.
In the Guarani language, Itaipu means "the sounding stone".[4] The Itaipu Dam's
hydroelectric power plant produced the most energy of any in the world as of
2016, setting a new world record of 103,098,366 megawatt hours (MWh),
The Koyna Hydroelectric Project is the largest
completed hydroelectric power plant in India.[1] It is a complex project with
four damsincluding the largest dam on the Koyna River, Maharashtra hence
the name Koyna Hydroelectric Project. The project site is in Satara
districtnear Patan.
The Deshmukhwadi village on which koyna dam is situated is migrated on
hill station near to Koyna Dam.
The total capacity of the project is 1,960 MW.
-It is the highest dam in India & 8th highest dam in the world. -Tehri
Dam is located on the Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand, India.
-It's a multi - purpose rock and earth - fill embankment Dam. -It is the
primary Dam of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd. &
the Tehri Hydroelectric Complex.

The Tehri Dam is the Highest dam in India and one of the highest in the
world. It is a multi-purpose rock and earth-fill embankment damon
the Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand, India. It is the primary
dam of the THDC India Ltd. and the Tehri hydroelectriccomplex. Phase 1
was completed in 2006, the Tehri Dam withholds a reservoir
for irrigation, municipal water supply and the generation of 1,000
megawatts
 Rigid

Embankment dam: non rigid material

Functional classification: storage, diversion, detention

(flood control)
Ad: Small, earth fill, cheaper, suitable for relative previous foundation, Blends
with natural surrounding, most permanent
Dis: Seepage losses
Suitable for spillway so need supplementary spillway, erosion
Fill dam : 2 Rock – Fill dam

•Trapezoidal,
•
Masonry Dam:
1: solid Gravity Dam
Massive , need sound rock foundation
Use spillways section
Can be on sand or gravel foundation if load is less
Water pressure is taken by weight of dam
An arch dam is a concrete dam that's curved upstream in plan. The arch
dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic
pressure, presses against the arch, compressing and strengthening the
structure as it pushes into its foundation or abutments.
Vajont Dam Collapse - Disasters of the Century

2000 died m

265 m high
270 million tonnes of water
30 million m3 of water
On 9 October 1963, during initial filling, a massive landslide caused a man-
made megatsunami in the lake in which 50 million cubic metres of water
overtopped the dam in a wave 250 metres (820 ft) high, leading to 1,910
deaths and the complete destruction of several villages and towns.

The Vajont Dam (or Vaiont Dam)[2] is a disused dam, completed in 1959 in
the valley of the Vajont River under Monte Toc, in the municipality of Erto e
Casso, 100 km (60 miles) north of Venice, Italy. One of the tallest dams in the
world, it is 262 metres (860 ft) high, 27 metres (89 ft) wide and 22.11 metres
(72 ft 6 in) thick at the base and 191 metres (627 ft) wide and 3.4 metres
(11 ft 2 in) thick at the top.[3]
Longarone city before

Longarone city after

 Johnstown, Pennsylvania : dam disaster: 2209 died
The Johnstown Flood (locally, the Great Flood of 1889)
occurred on May 31, 1889, after the catastrophic failure of
the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River 14 miles
(23 km) upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The dam broke after several days of extremely
The Johnstown Flood (locally, the Great Flood of 1889) occurred on May
31, 1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam on the Little
Conemaugh River 14 miles (23 km) upstream of the town of Johnstown,
Pennsylvania. The dam broke after several days of extremely heavy rainfall,
releasing 14.55 million cubic meters of water.[4] With a volumetric flow rate
that temporarily equaled the average flow rate of the Mississippi
River,[5] 2,209 people,[6] according to one account, lost their lives, and the flood
accounted for $17 million of damage (about $474 million in 2018 dollars[3]).
The American Red Cross, led by Clara Barton and with 50 volunteers,
undertook a major disaster relief effort.[7] Support for victims came from all
over the United States and 18 foreign countries. After the flood, survivors
suffered a series of legal defeats in their attempts to recover damages from
the dam's owners. Public indignation at that failure prompted the
development in American law changing a fault-based regime to strict liability.
A contemporary rendition of the scene at the Stone Bridge (1890)
China : Banqiao Dam Disaster: 117 meter : 260000 immediate dead

1975 year
Type : earth filled dam
Capacity 500,000,000 m3

The worst dam disaster in history: Banqiao Dam, Henan Province, China,
1975. Immediate casualties, 26,000. Eventual casualties exceeded 100,000.
This is a physics-based computer simulation of the dam break and flood.
In the world's record of disasters due to human
technical failures, the 1975 collapse of China's Banqiao
reservoir dam in Henan province ranked first, which is
higher than the Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet
In a matter of days, 26
Union.

dams collapsed one after another, which

resulted in massive flooding in nine counties and one
town. More than 100,000 corpses were retrieved when
the flooding receded. Deaths due to the repercussions of
grain shortages and infectious diseases amounted to
140,000; while the total number of deaths recorded was
240,000. This death toll was comparable to the China's
Tangshan earthquake in the following year, and the
damage dealt was worse than the collapse of Egypt's
Aswan reservoir dam.
The St. Francis Dam was a curved concrete gravity dam,
built to create a large regulating and storage reservoir for the city of
Los Angeles, California. The reservoir was an integral part of the city's
Los Angeles Aqueduct water supply infrastructure. It was located in
San Francisquito Canyon

Gravity dam
At 11:57 p.m. on March 12, 1928, the dam catastrophically failed, and the
resulting flood took the lives of what is estimated to be at least431
people.[2][3] The collapse of the St. Francis Dam is considered to be one of the
worst American civil engineering disasters of the 20th century and remains
the second-greatest loss of life in California's history, after the 1906 San
Francisco earthquake and fire. The disaster marked the end of Mulholland's
career
The St. Francis Dam was a curved concrete gravity dam, built to create a
large regulating and storage reservoir for the city of Los Angeles, California.
The reservoir was an integral part of the city's Los Angeles Aqueduct water
supply infrastructure. It was located in San Francisquito Canyon of the Sierra
Pelona Mountains, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles,
and approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of the present day city of Santa
Clarita.
The dam was designed and built between 1924 and 1926 by the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power, then named the Bureau of Water Works and
Supply. The department was under the direction of its General Manager and
Chief Engineer, William Mulholland.
Teton Dam Disaster:us

The Teton Dam was an earthen dam on the Teton River in Idaho, United
States. It was built by the Bureau of Reclamation, one of eight federal
agencies authorized to construct dams.[3] Located in the eastern part of the
state, between Fremont and Madison counties, it suffered a catastrophic
failure on June 5, 1976, as it was filling for the first time.
The collapse of the dam resulted in the deaths of 11 people[4] and 13,000
cattle. The dam cost about $100 million to build and the federal government
paid over $300 million in claims related to its failure. Total damage
estimates have ranged up to $2 billion.[5] The dam has not been rebuilt.
India dam collapse :1000 dead
Tigra Dam (also spelled "Tig Dam") creates a freshwater reservoir on the
Sank River, about 23 km from Gwalior, Madhya
Pradesh, India[1] It plays a crucial role in supplying water to the city.
View from the Dam
right side view
The dam is 24 metres high at its crest, and 1341 m long. The reservoir has a
capacity of 4.8 million cubic metres and the spillway structure can pass up to
1274 cubic metres per second.[2] A dam constructed on this site in 1915 failed
on the afternoon of 19 August 1917, due to infiltration into its sandstone
foundations. About 10,000 people were killed downstream.[3]
1979 Machchhu dam failure
Jump to navigationJump to searchMorbi Dam FailureFailed earthen
embankment of Machchhu II dam
LocationMorbi and villages of Rajkot district, Gujarat, IndiaDeath(s)1800-
25000 (estimated)[1]
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Location of Machhu dam and Morbi
The Machchhu dam failure or Morbi disaster was a dam-related flood
disaster which occurred on 11 August 1979, in India. The Machchu-2 dam,
situated on the Machhu river, burst, sending a wall of water through the town
of Morbi (now in the Morbi district of Gujarat, India.[2] Estimates of the
number of people killed vary greatly ranging from 1800 to 25000
people.[1][3][4] This dam was built near Rajkot in Gujarat, India, on River
Machhu in August, 1972, as a composite structure. It consisted of a masonry
spillway in river section and earthen embankments on both side
The 2018 Laos dam collapse was the collapse of Saddle Dam D, part of a
larger hydroelectric dam system under construction in
southeast Laos's Champasak Province, on 23 July 2018. The dam collapse lead
to widespread destruction and homelessness among the local population in
neighbouring Attapeu Province. As of 25 September, 40 people were confirmed
dead,[3] at least 98 more were missing (maybe as much as 1,100 more people),
and 6,600 others were displaced saddle dam
Brazil dam collapse: 300 missing, 40 confirmed dead: Jan 2019
Second World War: Germany Dam burst by British forces killing 1500
people

The dam (51.489307°N 8.058772°E) was breached

by RAF Lancaster Bombers (“The Dambusters”) during Operation
Chastise on the night of 16–17 May 1943, together with the Edersee dam
in northern Hesse. Bouncing bombs had been constructed which were able
to skip over the protective nets that hung in the water. A huge hole of
77 m by 22 m was blown into the dam. The resulting huge floodwave
killed at least 1,579 people,[1] 1,026 of them foreign forced labourers held
in camps downriver. The small city of Neheim-Hüsten was particularly
hard-hit with over 800 victims, among them at least 526 victims in a camp
for Russian women held for forced labour.
 Arch Dam: Small cross section, depends on availability of such site

•Requires narrow Valley with step slopes

•Few sites are suitable for such dam
•More force in small area
•Necessary to have separate spillways
•Overflow spillways are not used due to
too step
•Has inclined upstream face
•This force is transmitted by row of
buttresses
•Required less 1/3 of concrete
•But extra cost of reinforcing steel and
framework need ,
•skilled workers
Type of spillways
Side channel spill ways
Shaft spillway
Simple or open surge tank Cylindrical/conical
Directly connected,
Accelerating and retarding heads
induced by the change of water
surface so sluggish
Small oscillations, large costly
•Restricted orifice surge tank
•Due to restriction rapidly accelerating
and retarding heads are produced.
•Design of governing mechanism
complicated and costly
•Due to that this type is not used, though
size is less than open type

Deferential Surge tank
•Combination of both,
•Diameter of internals riser connecting
penstock is less
•Riser having port at bottom
•When load decreases water rises in
internal riser and then spill over into tank
•Spilling water from internal riser to tank
creates differential head on the port
•Due to this water forces from turbine to
tank

•When load decreases water from riser decreases rapidly , this create
accelerating head
•Differential surge tank acts rapidly like a throttled surge tank but the
pressure rise is not so rapid as in case of simple surge tank
•Pumped storage 30
•Mini/micro 30 to 100
More than 100
 •Depends on river capacity,
•no control on availably of water
•Power output fluctuates
•Less utility compare to others

Run off river plants without pondage

Run off river without pontage
Run-off river with pondage

•Pond behind river

•Pondage capacity calculated depends on 24 hours load
•Can be base or peak load
•Used where 12 month flow of river, Europe
Storage type of power plant

•Where rainfall in initial few month

•Large amount of water is stored in reservoir
Pumped storage peak load plant With thermal
•Reversible pump
turbine
•Less water as
circulated,
additional due to
evaporation

Tehri Pumped
Storage Power
StationIndia1,000
The Sardar
Sarovar Dam

On June 2014,
Narmada Control
Authority gave the
final clearance to
raise the height
from 121.92 m
(400.0 ft) metres to
138.68 m
(455.0 ft)[17]
Mini and micro power plant
Micro hydro is a type of hydroelectric power that typically produces from 5 kW
to 100 kW of electricity using the natural flow of water. Installations below 5 kW
are called pico hydro.[1] These installations can provide power to an isolated
home or small community, or are sometimes connected to electric power
networks, particularly where net metering is offered

Mini 5 to 20 m
head
20000 kw
estimate india
Bulb type
turbine
Micro less than
5m
Instead of draft
tube straight
tube is used
Name Operator Configuration

Nathpa Jhakri (6 Satluj Jal Vidyut

1500 MW
Turbinesx25 MW) Nigam

Sardar Sarovar
Sardar Sarovar
Narmada Nigam 1450 MW
Dam,
Ltd

Bhakra Nangal Bhakra Beas

Dam (Gobind Management 1325 MW
Sagar) Board

Chamera I NHPC Limited 1071 MW

Comparison of hydro power plant with gas and diesel power plant:
Particular Steam Hydro Gas diesel
Site Near load, cheap Huge water, land, Can be Can be
land , water bearing capacity, anywhere anywhere
supply ,transport away from load
center
Cost Low High Low low
Fuel High Nil Medium Medium
Operating cost High Very less Higher Very high
than
steam
Maintenance Higher Low Medium Low
Space High Very high Low Low
Cooling water Very high Nil Low Medium
Trans, distri Low Very high Very high Very low
Reliability Less reliable Reliable Less Less
reliable reliable
Pollution High Nil Less Medium
Time of High Very high Low Low
installation
Classification and selection of hydraulic turbine:

Head based Head Discharge Type of turbine

turbine
Low head 2 – 15 m High Kaplan

Medium head 16-70 m High or medium Kaplan / Francis

High head 71-500 m Medium or low Francis or Pelton

Very high head Above 500 m Low Pelton

According to specific speed Ns= [N*(P)^(0.5) ] / (H)^(5/4)

Specific Pelton Francis Kaplan

speed
Low 5-15 60-150 300-450
Medium 16-30 151-250 451-700
High 31-70 251-400 701-1100
Size of Hydraulic turbine
Type Maximum Maximum Maximum Specific
head power MW runner m speed Ns
Pelton 300-2000 250 5.5 4-70
Francis 30-500 720 10.0 60-400
Kaplan 2-70 225 10 300-1100

N= 120 f / p
N= specific speed
F = frequency
P= number of poles
Efficiency:
Input power pi = wQH / 1000

Mechanical efficiency = shaft power / input power = Ps / Pi

Generator efficiency = ng = Electrical power output P0 / input shaft

power

Over all efficiency = electrical power Po / Input Power Pi

Over all efficiency = Mechanical efficiency * Generator efficiency

Country China
Location Sandouping, Yiling, Hubei
Construction began December 14, 1994
[1]
Opening date 2003
Construction cost ¥180 billion (US$27.6 billion)

Height 181 m (594 ft)

Length 2,335 m (7,661 ft)
Width (crest) 40 m (131 ft)
Width (base) 115 m (377 ft)
3
Spillway capacity 116,000 m /s (4,100,000 cu ft/s)
2
Catchment area 1,000,000 km (390,000 sq mi)
Hydraulic head Rated: 80.6 m (264 ft)
[2]
Maximum: 113 m (371 ft)
Turbines 32 × 700 MW
2 × 50 MW Francis-type
Installed capacity 22,500 MW
Capacity factor 45%
Annual generation 87 TWh (310 PJ) (2015)
Q. The average rate of inflow during 12 months for a river are as under
Month Inflow q Month Inflow q Month Inflow q
(m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s)
Jan 800 May 600 Sept 1200
Feb 1000 June 1200 Oct 600
Mar 600 July 2400 Nov 600
Apr 400 August 2400 Dec 1000

Plot the hydrograph and determine the following

i) average flow
ii) power developed under a head of 160 m. if overall efficiency is 80 %.
iii) capacity of storage required for one year.
Neglect losses due to evaporation, seepage etc. assume each month 30
days.
Q. Draw the hydrograph if the average inflow rate of a river are as follows

Month Inflow q Month Inflow q Month Inflow q

(m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s)
Jan 1600 May 800 Sept 1600
Feb 1200 June 1200 Oct 800
Mar 800 July 3000 Nov 800
Apr 800 August 3000 Dec 1000

Determine the storage capacity for a constant demand of 1100 m3/s . Also
find the number of additional month , this storage capacity can be utilized if
there is no rain fall.
Q. Draw the flow duration curve and mass curve if the average inflow rate of a
river are as follows
Month Inflow q Month Inflow q Month Inflow q
(m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s)
Jan 1600 May 800 Sept 1600
Feb 1200 June 1200 Oct 800
Mar 800 July 3000 Nov 800
Apr 800 August 3000 Dec 1000

From mass curve determine the storage capacity for a constant demand of
1100 m3/s .
Q. A pelton wheel of 3 m runner works under a head of
800 m. it runs at 60 rpm. The discharge rate in to
runner is 3 m3/s. find i) input power to runner ii) shaft
power from runner having mechanical efficiency of 92
%. Iii) net power output if generated is 96 % efficient
iv) specific speed of turbine v) no of turbines needed to
generate 100 MW.
Thanks