HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER PLANT
In this article we will study about the HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER PLANT. A generating station which utilises the potential energy of water at a high level for the generation of electrical energy is known as a hydro-electric power station.
SCHEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER PLANT
Figure given below shows the schematic arrangement of Hydroelectric Power plant.
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| SCHEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER PLANT |
(i) Dam – A dam is a barrier which stores water and creates water head. Dams are built of concrete or stone masonary, earth or rock fill. The type and arrangement depends upon the topography of the site. A masonary dam may be built in a narrow canyon. An earth dam may be best suited for a wide valley. The type of dam also depends upon the foundation conditions, local materials and transportation available, occurrence of earthquakes and other hazards.
(ii) Spillways- There are times when the river flow exceeds the storage capacity of the reservoir. Such a situation arises during heavy rainfall in the catchment area. In order to discharge the surplus water from the storage reservoir into the river on the down-stream side of the dam, spillways are used. Spillways are constructed of concrete piers on the top of the dam. Gates are provided between these piers and surplus water is discharged over the crest of the dam by opening these gates.
(iii) Headworks- The headworks consists of the diversion structures at the head of an intake. They generally include booms and racks for diverting floating debris, sluices for by-passing debris and sediments and valves for controlling the flow of water to the turbine. The flow of water into and through headworks should be as smooth as possible to avoid head loss and cavitation. For this purpose, it is necessary to avoid sharp corners and abrupt contractions or enlargements.
(iv) Surge tank- Open conduits (water pipe) leading water to the turbine require no protection. However, when closed conduits are used, protection becomes necessary to limit the abnormal pressure in the conduit. For this reason, closed conduits are always provided with a surge tank. A surge tank is a small reservoir or tank (open at the top) in which water level rises or falls to reduce the pressure swings in the conduit. A surge tank is located near the beginning of the conduit. When the turbine is running at a steady load, there are no surges in the flow of water through the conduit i.e., the quantity of water flowing in the conduit is just sufficient to meet the turbine requirements. However, when the load on the turbine decreases, the governor closes the gates of turbine, reducing water supply to the turbine. The excess water at the lower end of the conduit rushes back to the surge tank and increases its water level. Thus the conduit is prevented from bursting. On the other hand, when load on the turbine increases, additional water is drawn from the surge tank to meet the increased load requirement. Hence, a surge tank overcomes the abnormal pressure in the conduit when load on the turbine falls and acts as a reservoir during increase of load on the turbine.
(v) Penstocks- Penstocks are open or closed conduits which carry water to the turbines. They are generally made of reinforced concrete or steel. Concrete penstocks are suitable for low heads (< 30 m) as greater pressure causes rapid deterioration of concrete. The steel penstocks can be designed for any head; the thickness of the penstock increases with the head or working pressure.
Various devices such as automatic butterfly valve, air valve are provided for the protection of penstocks. Automatic butterfly valve shuts off water flow through the penstock promptly if it ruptures. Air valve maintains the air pressure inside the penstock equal to outside atmospheric pressure.
