Basic Of Hydro Power Plant

 Feature of water power Plant:-

The essential features of Power Plant are:

·         Catchment Area

·         Reservoir

·         Dam and Intake House

·         Intel Water Way

·         power House

·         Tail Race Or Outlet water Way

Lets Come and Know Each one:

Catchment Area:-

Its the whole area behind the Dam ,Draining into a stream or River across which tha Dam has been buit at a suitable Place

Reservoir :- Whole of Water Available From The Cathchment Area is collected in a Reservoir behind the Dam .The Purpose of the storing of Water in the reservoir is to get a uniform Powr Output throughtout the Year. A reservior can be either Natural or Artificial. A natural reservior is Lake in high mountains and a artifical reservior is made by constructing a Dam across the river.

Dam and Intake house:-

A dam is buit across a river for two functions:

·         To impound ther river water for storage and

·         To Create the head of Water

Dam may classified according to their Structural materials such as :

·         Timber                            Hight Upto:- 6 m to 12 m

·         Steel                                 Height Upto :- 6 m to 12 m

·         Earth                                Height Upto :- 100m 

·         Rock

·         Filled and masonary

: See here : What is Dam and its Features ?

Dam must be able to  pass the flood water to avoid damage to them . This may be achieved by Spilways  Condueits Piercing the dam and the tunnnel be passing the dam

The intake includes the head works which are strictures at the intake of conduits , tunnels or flumes .

These structure includes

·         Booms ,

·         screens or trash racks ,

·          sluuices for by passing debris ,

·         and gates or valvs for controlling the water flows.

Booms prevent the ice and floating logs from going into intake by fiverting the bypass chute .           Its consist of logs tied end to end and form a floting chain.

Screen and Trash racks:-are fillted directly at the intake to prevent the debris from going into the intake 

Debris:- 

Cleaning device should be also be fitted on the Trash racks

Gate and valve controls :- They control the rate of water flow entering the intake:

Different types of Gate are :

·         Radial Gates

·         Sluice

·         Wheeled

·         Plain Sliding

·         Crest

·         Rolling or Drum

The various types of valves are:

·         Rotary

·         Spherical

·         Butterfly

A filter Gate is also proving to balance the water pressure for opening the gates:

Intel Water Ways:

Its a passage through which water is conveyed to the turbines from the dam.

these may includes :

·         Tunnels

·         canals

·         flumes

·         forebays

·         penstocks

·         surge tanks

It is a enlarge passage for drawing the water from ther reservoir or ther river and giving it to the pipe line or canals.

Tunnels are aslo two types :

·         pressure Types

·         Non Pressure Types

See here : What is Tunnel ? Its Types and Function?

The used fo surge tank is to avoid water hammer in penstock. Water hammer is sudden rise in pressure in the penstock due to the shuntting off  the water to the turbine.

This sudden rise in pressure is rapidly destroyed by the rise of water in the surge tank otherwise it may damage or brust the penstock.

Power House:- 

The Power house is building in which the Turbines , Alternators and the auxiliary plants are housed .

Tail Race and Outlet Water Ways:-

The tail race is a passage for discharging the water leaving the turbines, into the river and in certain cases, The water from the tail race can be pumped back into the original reservior.