HYDROPOWER

BASIC EQUATION FOR HYDROPOWER

Power in kW = 9.81 x Flow x Head x Efficiency

Hydropower in India
o 20% of total energy of the world is met by
hydropower stations.
o The present installed capacity as on September 30,
2013 is approximately 39,788.40 MW which is
17.39% of total electricity generation in India
o First HEP was initiated in INDIA in 1897 with a runof-river scheme near Darjeeling.
o Large multiple projects like Tehri, DVC, Bhakara
nangal, Hirakund, Nagarjunsagar, Koyna, Naptha
Jhakri etc.
o NHPC, Northeast Electric Power Company
(NEEPCO), (SJVNL), THDC, NTPC-Hydro

ADVANTAGES
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Renewable source of energy

Clean & non-polluting source of energy
Low generation cost
Longer span of life 50 yrs
Reliable source of energy minimum maintenance
Quick start & stop, picking up and dropping loads in a few
minutes
Peaking operation of hydro projects enables optimum
utilization of thermal capacity
Due to fast response, the hydro plants enhance system stability
Socio-economic benefits
Being simple in design and operation, the hydro plants do not
require highly skilled workers.

DISADVANTAGES
Capital intensive

The gestation period is quite large

Dependent on water availability
Large hydro plants disturb the ecology of the area by
deforestation, destroying vegetation, resettlement and
rehabilitation and water sharing disputes among states. So
the emphasis is now more on small, micro and mini hydro.

Selection of Site
Availability of water
Water storage capacity
Available water head
Accessibility of the site
Distance from the load centre

Type of land of site

Hydrology
Hydrology is the science of the waters of the earth and
its atmosphere.
Deals

Occurrence
Circulation
Distribution and
Movements of these waters over the globe and their
interaction
with
the
physical
and
biological
environments.

Hydrologic Cycle

Continued.

Hydrologic Cycle
Before discussing the two phases of
hydrologic cycle, some of the
related terms are defined below:
Infiltration
Precipitation falling on the ground is, to some extent,
absorbed by the land. This absorption of precipitation water
by land from the surface of earth is called infiltration.

Interception
A part of the precipitation is obstructed by vegetation and
temporarily remains there. This process is called
interception. Later the intercepted water is either
evaporated or infiltrated.

Hydrologic Cycle
Runoff
After the detention storage is built up, as explained above,
the water will start flowing over the ground and is called
runoff.

Inter Flow
The part of infiltrated water which moves laterally through
the upper soil layers above the groundwater level and soon
joins the stream is called inter flow.

Continued.

Hydrologic Cycle
Total Runoff
A part of infiltrated water moves in the form of inter flow
which soon joins the stream, the remaining portion of
infiltrated water percolates to deeper layers of the ground
and is stored as groundwater. This groundwater sometimes
also joins the stream flow through springs and seepage
process.
The stream flow is then called the total runoff i.e. it is sum
of all the components of precipitation water. Direct runoff
plus the losses gives total runoff.
The runoff can be expressed in depth units for a certain area
or it can be expressed in volume units. It can also be
expressed in discharge units for a specified time.

Continued.

Factors Affecting Run-off

Nature of precipitation
Topology of catchment area
Geology of area
Vegetation
Size and Shape of area

Measurement of Run-off or Flow

From Rainfall records (not accurate)

Empirical Formulas
Actual measurement ( By stream gauging for a long
period)-Area velocity method

Hydrographs
Variation of discharge or flow with time. It is plotted with
flow as ordinates and time interval as abscissas.

Flow duration curves

It shows the relation between flows and the length of
time during which they are available. These curves can
be plotted from a hydrograph.

Example:

Hydrograph

Flow duration curve

Mass curve
It indicates the total volume of run off in million m3 or
cumec day during a given period.
The mass curve is obtained by plotting cumulative
volume of flow and time.
This curve is to compute the capacity of the reservoir for
a hydro power site.

Mass curve

Major components

DAMS

Dams

Dam is a solid barrier constructed at

a suitable location across a river
valley to store flowing water.
Storage of water is utilized for following objectives:

Hydropower
Irrigation
Water for domestic consumption
Drought and flood control

For navigational facilities

Other additional
develop fisheries

utilization

is

to

Structure
Dam

of
Crest

Upstream

Down stream
Spillway
(inside dam)

MWL
Max. level
NWL
Normal
water level

Free board

Sluice way

Gallery

Heel

Toe

TYPES
DAMS
Reservoir
Force

OF
Gravity Dams:

These dams are

heavy
and
massive wall-like
structures
of
concrete in which
the whole weight
acts
vertically
downwards

As the entire load is transmitted on the small area of foundation, such

dams are constructed where rocks are competent and stable.

 Bhakra Dam is the

highest
Concrete
Gravity dam in Asia
and Second Highest
in the world.

Bhakra Dam is across

river
Sutlej
in
Himachal Pradesh

The construction of
this
project
was
started in the year
1948
and
was
completed in 1963 .

It is 740 ft. high above the deepest foundation as straight concrete dam being more than
three times the height of Qutab Minar.
Length at top 518.16 m (1700 feet); Width at base 190.5 m (625 feet), and at the top is
9.14 m (30 feet)
Bhakra Dam is the highest Concrete Gravity dam in Asia and Second Highest in the
world.

Buttress
Dam:

Buttress Dam Is a
gravity
dam
reinforced
by
structural supports
Buttress - a support
that
transmits
a
force from a roof or
wall
to
another
supporting structure

This type of structure can be considered even if the foundation

rocks are little weaker

Arch Dams:
These type of dams are
concrete or masonry
dams which are curved
or convex upstream in
plan
This shape helps to
transmit the major part
of the water load to the
abutments
Arch dams are built
across narrow, deep
river gorges, but now
in recent years they
have been considered
even for little wider
valleys.

Earth
Dams:

They are trapezoidal

in shape
Earth
dams
are
constructed
where
the foundation or the
underlying material
or rocks are weak to
support the masonry
dam or where the
suitable
competent
rocks are at greater
depth.
Earthen dams are
relatively smaller in
height and broad at
the base
They are mainly built
with clay, sand and
gravel, hence they
are also known as
Earth fill dam or

NUCLEAR POWER

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Advantages
1 kg of fuel of uranium gives energy equivalent 3,000 tones of high
grade coal
Fossil fuel reserves depleting at higher rate. Therefore the cost of
electricity production through coal and oil reserves increases per
kilowatt hour compared to nuclear power plant, i.e., operational cost
of nuclear plant is cheaper
Nuclear power plants does not emit green house gases in to
atmosphere unlike thermal power plants. Therefore nuclear power is
clean and environmental friendly.

Disadvantages
In Nuclear plants safety is primary concern rather producing
electricity. There is significant risk of leakage of radiation in case of
any accident.
The fission by products released are generally radio active and
pollute the land, water, atmosphere and other natural resources.
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Present Scenario
Nuclear power plants provide about 1314% of the world's
electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for
about 50% of nuclear generated electricity.
In October 2011 the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
report, there are 432 nuclear power reactors in operation in the
world, operating in 31 countries.
India generates 3.2 % energy by nuclear power plants with 27
nuclear reactors ( 7 newly constructed in 2011- 2 X1000 at
Kudankulam, 2 X700 at Kakrapar, 2X700 at Rajasthan and
1X500(PFBR) at Kalpakkam )

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 In recent years a strong public opinion has grown

against the use of nuclear energy for power
generation due to the problems related to nuclear
safety, radioactive waste disposal, and nuclear
weapons proliferation.

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Major Problems of Nuclear Energy:

Cost
Safety
Proliferation
Waste Disposal

Nuclear power plants

Power plants use heat to produce electricity. Nuclear
energy produces electricity from heat through a
process called fission. Nuclear power plants use the
heat produced by fission of certain atoms.
Nuclear fuel:Uranium-235

http://www.ecolo.org/photos/uranium/uranium-black.jpg

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NUCLEAR FISSION

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Nuclear Reactor

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Components
Nuclear Reactor : A device built to sustain a
controlled nuclear fission chain reaction
Main Components of Nuclear Reactor:
Reactor core
Reflector
Control mechanism
Moderator
coolants
Tubes of uranium
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Nuclear fission
Heat water to make stream
Steam turns turbine
Turbine turns generator
electricity

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NON-CONVENTIONAL POWER GENERATION:

DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION

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Magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) power generation

MHD power generation is a new system of electric power generation which
is said to be of high efficiency and low pollution. In advanced countries
MHD generators are widely used but in developing countries like India is
still under construction. This construction work is in progress at
Tiruchirapalli in Tamilnadu under joint efforts of BARC, BHEL,
Associated Cement corporation an Russian technologies.
It is concerned with the flow of conducting fluid in presence of magnetic
and electric field.

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Principle of MHD

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Classification

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Closed cycle

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ADVANTAGES

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NEED OF FURTHER RESEARCH

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APPLICATIONS
Power generation in space craft
Defense applications
Hypersonic wind tunnel experiments

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Thermionic power generation

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Thermionic converters

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Working
A thermionic power converter has two electrodes. One of these is raised to
a sufficiently high temperature to become a thermionic electron emitter, or
hot plate. The other electrode, called a collector because it receives the
emitted electrons, is operated at a significantly lower temperature. The
space between the electrodes is sometimes a vacuum but is normally filled
with a vapour or gas at low pressure. The thermal energy may be supplied
by chemical, solar, or nuclear sources. Thermionic converters are solidstate devices with no moving parts. They can be designed for high
reliability and long service life. Thus, thermionic converters have been used
in many spacecraft

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Thermoelectric power generation

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Principle
Thermoelectric power is the conversion of a temperature differential
directly into electrical power.
Thermoelectric Generators using the Seebeck Effect work on a temperature
differentials. The greater the differential (DT) of the hot side less the cold
side, the greater the amount of power (Watts) will be produced.
Two critical factors dictate power output :
1. The amount of heat flux that can successfully move through the module.
2. The temperature of the hot side less the temperature of the cold side Delta
Temperature (DT).

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Fuel cells

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Fuel cells
A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy,
water, and heat through electrochemical reactions.

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Working
Fuel and air react when they come into contact through a
porous membrane (electrolyte) which separates them.
This reaction results in a transfer of electrons and ions across
the electrolyte from the anode to the cathode.
If an external load is attached to this arrangement a complete
circuit is formed arrangement, a complete circuit is formed and
a voltage is generated from the flow of electrical current.

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Advantages

Conversion efficiency is high

Does not make any noise
A little time is needed to go into operation
Can be installed near the use point

Disadvantages
High initial cost
Low service life

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APPLICATIONS
Domestic use
Automotive vehicles
Generation power stations

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Geothermal energy

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 Geothermal energy is an enormous, underused heat and power

resource that is clean (emits little or no greenhouse
gases), reliable (average system availability of 95%),
and homegrown (making us less dependent on foreign oil).
Geothermal resources range from shallow ground to hot water
and rock several miles below the Earth's surface, and even
farther down to the extremely hot molten rock called magma.
Mile-or-more-deep wells can be drilled into underground
reservoirs to tap steam and very hot water that can be brought
to the surface

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 Geothermal energy supplies more than 10,715 MW to 24 countries

worldwide which is expected to generate 67,246 GWh of electricity in
2010 and produces enough electricity to meet the needs of 60 million
people and another 22 countries will add to the list in 2010 (source:
International Geothermal Association).
The major sites are in Iceland , japan, Indonesia, Italy, Yellowstone in
California.

India has reasonably good potential for geothermal; the potential

geothermal provinces can produce 10,600 MW of power.
At present there are no operational geothermal plants in India.
Thermax, a capital goods manufacturer based in Pune, has entered an
agreement with Icelandic firm Reykjavk Geothermal. Thermax is planning
to set up a 3 MW pilot project in Puga Valley, Ladakh (Jammu & Kashmir).
Reykjavk Geothermal will assist Thermax in exploration and drilling of
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the site.

Potential sites in J&K

i)

Puga Valley (J&K)

ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
vi)
vii)

Tatapani (Chhattisgarh)
Godavari Basin Manikaran (Himachal Pradesh)
Bakreshwar (West Bengal)
Tuwa (Gujarat)
Unai (Maharashtra)
Jalgaon (Maharashtra)

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There are five types of geothermal systems in

commercial use
Dry steam plants
Dry steam power plants use very hot (>455 F, or >235 C) steam and little
water from the geothermal reservoir. The steam goes directly through a pipe to
a turbine to spin a generator that produces electricity. This type of geothermal
power plant is the oldest, first being used at Lardarello, Italy, in 1904

Single flash point

Double flash point
Multiple flash point

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 Binary plants
In reservoirs where temperatures are typically less than 220o C. but greater
than 100o C binary cycle plants are often utilized. The reservoir fluid (either
steam or water or both) is passed through a heat exchanger which heats a
secondary working fluid (organic) which has a boiling point lower than 100o C.
This is typically an organic fluid such as Isopentane, which is vaporised and is
used to drive the turbine

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Thank you

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