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Sand traps are necessary when the suspended matter content of the river
water is high and when plant components such as pressure pipes, turbine
rotors, slide valves, etc., must be protected from abrasion by hard suspended
matter such as quartz sand.
Wear and tear due to abrasion can in a short time result in serious damage
and in the case of turbines in a considerable reduction in efficiency. The
greater the effective head and, thus, the flow velocity, the greater the danger
to the plant components.
It is the purpose of the sand trap to remove the fine-grained suspended
matter from the water and to protect the components. This is achieved most
simply by allowing the suspended matter to settle in the settling basin or a
long sand trap. This is done by slowing down to a low velocity the amounts
of water distributed as evenly as possible over the cross-section of the basin.
The time of passage through the basin must not be shorter than the settling
time of the suspended matter. These boundary conditions require long
structures suitably shaped from the hydraulic point of view (cf. section 5.3).
The velocity of the water in the inlet canal of the sand trap must not be low,
otherwise suspended matter will be deposited in the inlet canal too soon. The
flow into the basin is therefore turbulent. A well-designed transition section
should be arranged ensuring a steady and even passage; likewise, stilling
screens can be used here and achieve good results (cf. Fig. 44).
The suspended matter content varies from season to season and depends
upon the precipitation in the catchment area and the regime of the river or
stream.
5.2.2 Desanding measure
The desanding measure is expressed by the ratio of the suspended matter
concentration of the desanded water for power generation Cperm. to the
suspended matter concentration C of the river water which has not been
desanded:
degree of desanding = 100 Cperm./C (in %).
There are no regulations or standards for the selection of the degree of
desanding; empirical values which have been derived from the operation of
existing hydroelectric power plants are rather taken as a basis.
Decisive criteria for fixing the degree of desanding are:
- minimization of the damage caused by suspended matter (abrasion, etc.) to
the plant components.
- sensitivity of the turbines to suspended matter depending upon the turbine
type, the diameter of the suspended matter particles, the mineralogical
nature of the particles, the effective head.
Experience has shown that
- cross-flow turbines are relatively insensitive to soft impurities such as silts,
clays and floating matter such as grass, leaves, etc.
- Kaplan turbines, Francis turbines and Pelton turbines are more sensitive
to any kind of suspended matter, the Pelton turbine used in micro. and miniplants being less severely affected by impurities in the water. It is possible,
however, that wear and tear on the buckets sharply increases.
The permissible suspended matter concentration is also determined by the
definition of the grain-size limit of the particle which is only just to be
separated by the sand trap.
5.2.3 Determination of the grain-size limit
Fig. 45: Longitudinal section of sand trap. Schematic path curve of a settling
sand particle "K" under the influence of turbulence. vd flow velocity in the
basin, vs sinking velocity in stagnant water, w dynamic buoyancy due to
turbulent flow; condition: td ts
(in s),
with L = effective basin length in m, vd = mean flow velocity in m/s, and
2
(in s),
with h = effective sand trap depth in m, vs' = mean sinking velocity.
A rectangular cross-section of the sand trap results in the following
relationship:
3 vd = Q/(B h) (in m/s),
with Q = discharge in m/s, B = basin width in m, h = sand trap depth in m.
By transformation and using the limiting relationship td = ts, we have
4
(in m).
As can be seen, the denominator can assume a negative value. If this is the
case, settling is not possible under the conditions assumed. It follows that the
determination of the sinking velocity vs is of the utmost importance.
According to Popel [12], vs is a function of the water movement, the state of
flow in the water, the kinematic viscosity, the shape and size of the
suspended matter, and of the specific weight of the particles.
The sinking velocity heavily depends upon the state of flow around the
particle during sinking, and therefore also on the Reynolds' number.
The following is valid:
Re < 1 Stokes' law (laminar flow)
(in cm/s)
with d = particle diameter, a = coefficient as a function of d, a = 36 at d > 1
mm, a=44 at 1 mm > d > 0.1 mm, a = 51 at d < 0.1 mm.
For d = 0.2 the following results:
Qtd= L x B x h
i.e. the volume of the sand trap must be equal to the amount of water flowing
in in the unit of time of the residence time (time of passage or sinking).
When the flow velocity vd is known, the dimensions of the basin can be
determined. As the length and width construction elements of the sand trap
are less costintensive than the depth (foundation, soil excavation, etc.), the
depth h is selected.
For small hydroelectric power plants, h should be between 0.5 and 2 m.
When h, vs and vd have been inserted in 4, L can be determined.
With Vd, h and Q, B can be determined from 5.