x from Renewable Energy POWER FROM RENEWABLE ENERGY HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS Hydropower ot water power is one of the most established and widely used forms of yable sources for electricity generation from stored water at a ‘given height. Kinetic in falling water from a height is converted into mechanical energy by a turbine and electrical energy-by a generator to meet the energy needs for a variety of tasks. Thus, the is known as hydroelectric power. It is a flexible source of electricity and also the cost icity generation is relatively low. : The purposes of developing hydro projects are mentioned below: (i) To meet the power need during peak and off-peak requirements. (ii) Torun of the river. (ii) To obtain a clean process of power generation. (iv) To avoid suffering from the limitation of inflation on account of fuel consumption in the long run, idea of utilising. hydraulic energy to develop mechanical energy has prevailed for than 2000 years. In water turbine, blades are attached to the shaft and when flowing passes against the blades of a turbine, the shaft rotates. The coupling of a generator turbine shaft finally produces electrical energy.Power Plant Engineering The amount of electrical energy generated from a water source depends on two aspects: (i) the water to fall from a height, and (ii) the quantity of water flowing. Height or head of water fall may be natural due to the topographical situation or may be created artificially by means of dams. Once developed, it remains fairly constant. Water fl on the other hand is a direct result of the intensity, distribution and duration of rainfall Hence, one of the essential components of the hydraulic power generation is the availabilt of a continuous source of water with a large amount of hydraulic energy. 4.1.1. Hydro Electric Energy Resources in India India is blessed with immense amount of hydro-electric potential and ranks 5" in te of exploitable hydro-potential on global scenario. As per assessment made by CEA, India i endowed with economically exploitable hydro-power potential to the tune of 1,48,700 Mi’ installed capacity. The basin wise assessed potential is as under: Sto, | Basin/Rivers Probable Installed Capacity (MW) 1, | Indus Basin 33,832 2. | Ganga Basin 20,711 3. | Central Indian River system 4,152 4. | Western Flowing Rivers of southern India 9,430 5. _ | Eastern Flowing Rivers of southern India 14,511 6. | Brahmaputra Basin 66,065 Total 1,48,701 In addition, 56 number of pumped storage projects have also been identified probable installed capacity of 94,000 MI. In addition to this, hydro-potential from mini & micro schemes has been estimated as 6,782 MW from 1,512 sites. Thus, in totali India is endowed with hydro-potential of about 2,50,000 MW. Hydroelectric power was initiated in India in 1897 near Darjeeling. The first hy. electric power station in India was established in Kamataka at "shivana samudra”, present installed capacity as on February, 2016 is 42,663 MW which is 15.22% of electricity generation in India. The public sector has a predominant share of 93% infrom Renewable Energy | - National Hydroclectric Power Corporation (NHPC), Northeast Electric Power y (NEEPCO), Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL), THDC and NTPC-Hydro are few ic sector companies developing hydro projects in India, In north India, Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has an installed capacity of W and it generates 12,000-14,000 million units per year. BBMB is a major source of ing power and black start to the northern grid in India. India became the world's third largest producer of electricity in the year 2013 by ing Japan and Russia. India generates 27.25% of total installed capacity power from wable power plants and 72.75% from non-renewable power plants. 84,000 MIF hydroelectric power at 60% load factor and 6,780MW in terms of installed ity from small, mini and Micro Hydel scheme have been evaluated, Also, 56 sites for storage schemes with the total installed capacity of 94,000MW have been identified. lectrie energy is mainly used in the form of renewable cnergy. India stands in 5* for hydro-electric potential in the world on global scenario, Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydro Power fages of hydro power: (i) The electricity can be produced at constant rate from hydro power. (ii) If the electricity does not require, the sluice gates can be shut and stopped electricity generation. (iii) Dams are designed to last many decades and so they can contribute to the generation of electricity for many years. (iv) The lake forms behind the dam using water sports and leisure/pleasure activities. (v) The lake's water can be used for irrigation purposes. (vi) The energy from stored water in the lake can be stored and it can be released to produce electricity. (vii) Electricity produced by dam systems does not produce greenhouse gases. They do not pollute the atmosphere. mages of hydro power: (i) Constructing the standard dams is highly expensive. Gi) It has the restriction to operate the dam for many decades to become profitable due to high cost involved in building dams.as Power Plant Engineering (iii) The flooding area needs to be large to meet the destruction caused by n: calamity. (iv) People living in villages and towns near dams should be moved during fl period. So, the power generation will be affected. (¥) The building of large dams can cause serious geological damage. (vi) Although modern planning and design of dams is good, it may lead to deaths flooding. (vii) Dams built blocking the progress of a river may lead to water scarcity in river the normal use. (wiiiyBuilding a large dam alters the natural water table level 4.1.3, Classification Of Hydro-Electric Power Plants @ Classification according to the availability of head: I, Low head power plant: The operating head of water is less than 10 m of power plant known as ow head pos plant. Kaplan turbine is used as a prime mover in this type of power plant. 2. Medium head power plemt: ‘The operating head of water ranges from 10 m to 50 m, then the power plant is known meditun head power plant, Francis turbine is used as a prime mover in this type of po’ plant. 3. High head power plant: If the operating head of water exceeds 50m, the plant is known as “high head po plant, Pelton turbine is used as a prime mover in this type of power plant. (ii) Classification according to the nature of load: 1. Base load plant: ‘This type of power plant is designed to take the load on the base portion of the I curve. The load on the plant is more or less constant throughout the operation period. L scale hydro plants are used for this purpose. 2, Peak load plant: This type of power plant is designed to take the load on the peak load of the load cu Small scale and Micro-hydro plants are used for this purpose.fram Renewable Energy Gp | Classification according to the quantity of water available: Run-off river plant without pondage: This type of power plant has no storage pond. This type of power plant uses the water as. mes. This type of plant has no control over the river flow, n-off river plant with pondage; This type of power plant has a storage pond. This type of plant stores water during off hours and it is used during peak hours of the same day. The capacity of the pond is on fluctuating load on 24 hours. umped storage plants: In pumped storage plant, a second reservoir is constructed near the water outflow from turbine. When the demand of electricity is low, the water from lower reservoir is pumped the upper (main) reservoir, This is to ensure sufficient amount of water available in the in reservoir to fulfil the peak loads. Almost all hydropower plants in India are of this type. Plant can be used as base load as well as peak load plants as long as water is available. Classification based on the power developed by the plant: Large-hydro | More than 100 MW and usually feeding into a lange elecitisity grid. Medium-hydro | 15 - 100 MIF’- usually feeding a grid. Small-hydro | 1 - 14 M¥’- usually feeding into a grid. . Above 100 &I but below 11/W-cither stand-alone schemes or more Mini-hydro ie ‘ ‘often feeding into the grid. Micro-hydro | From 5 kW up to 100 JV, usually provided power for a small community or rural industry in remote areas away from the grid. From a few hundred watts up to 5 AF. Layout of Hydro-electric Power Plant Figure 4.1 shows the typical layout of a hydroelectric power plant and its basic nents. The detailed descriptions of each component are discussed in next topic. In lectric power plants, the potential energy of water which is stored in the water oir is converted into kinetic energy. The potential energy of water is used to run the turbine to which the electric generator is coupled. The mechanieal energy available at~ of reservoir. The dam also helps to increase the working head of the power plant. The Power Piant Engineering the shaft of the turbine is converted into electrical energy through a generator or alternator ‘The water is first passed through the penstock to the turbine from the dam. “To transmission line Control room Generator room| aichmentarea = PAM I ‘Surge tank SY g >= , Pressure tunnel —— - FSIS] Turbine Penstock Inlet valve To draft tube Figure 4.1 Layout of hydroelectric power plant 4.1.5. Components of Hydro-electric Power Plant 4.1.5.1. Water Reservoir ‘The quantity of water flow is extremely large during rainy season whereas the qu: of water flow is little during summer season of the same year. But, the continuous avail: of water is the basic necessity for a hydroelectric plant. The main purpose of the reservoir to store the water during rainy season and it supplies the same to the turbine continu throughout the year. The capacity of the reservoir on natural sites is determined with the of topographic surveys as its shape is always irregular. Water surface in the storage re: is known as headrace. 4.15.2. Dam A dam is a hydraulic structure of fairly impervious material built across a river to a reservoir on its upstream side for impounding water for various purposes. The dam is in hydro power plants to increase the height of water level and thereby increasing the eaj can be built in several different forms and each form uses different materials to build it. type of dam and its material depends on the various factors such as topography of the geological structure, availability of materials, economical factors and many others. The must be stable, water tight, low in maintenance cost, simple in construction and economicr from Renewable Energy | purpose. Modem dams such as arch, dome and hollow dams are more safe, aesthetic in ign and also economical. sification of dams: Dams can be classified according to different criteria as given below. Based on function served: Depending upon the function served, the dams are of the following types. 1. Storage dams 2. Detention dams 3. Diversion dams 4. Debris dams 5. Coffer dams. Based on hydraulic design: On the basis of hydraulic design, dams may be classified into two types as follows. 1, Overflow dams 2. Non-overflow dams. "Based on materials of construction: Based on the materials used in construction, the dams are classified as follows. 1, Masonry dam 2. Conerete dam 3, Earth dam 4. Rockfill dam 5. Timber dam 6. Steel dam 7. Combined concrete-cum-earth dam, and 8. Composite dam. ed on rigidity: On the basis of the rigidity, the dams are classified into two types as follows. 1. Rigid dams 2. Non-rigid dams.c= Power Plant Engineering) (e) Based on the structural action: It is most commonly used classification of dams. Based on the structural action, dams are classified into the following types. L. Gravity dams 2. Arch dams 3. Buttress dams, and 4, Embankment dams, Selection of type of dam: The following factors are considered for the selection of a particular type of dam. > Topography and valley shape > Geology and foundation conditions > Availability of construction materials > Overall cost ¥ Spillway size and location > Earthquake hazards > Climatic conditions > Diversion problems > Environmental considerations Roadway Length and height of dam Life of dam. vv 4.1.53. Spillway Spillways are structures constructed to provide safe release of flood waters from a to a downstream. It is used to release surplus water from a reservoir to prevent overflow to release pressure on a dam from increasing quantities of water. A spillway acts as a valve for the dam. It must have the capacity to discharge the major flood without the dam. Types of spillways: Generally, two main types of spillways such as controlled spillways and uncont spillways.from Renewable Energy cE Controlled spillway: A controlled spillway has defined mechanical structures or gates to regulate the rate of . This design allows nearly the full height of the dam to be used for water storage year- , and flood waters can be released as required by opening one or more gates. Chute spillways: Chute spillways are commonly used to transfer excess water from the dam into the river - The shape of spillway is in the form of ogee curve. Chute spillways can be embedded a baffle of concrete blocks. Cascade or Stepped spiliways: Stepped channels and spillways have recently been used as altemative to the ntional overflow spillways for small to medium discharges. The steps produce the jerable energy dissipation along the chute and they reduce the size of the required stream energy dissipation basin. Side channel spillway: Side channel spillways are used mainly with embankment dams. They are situated just mm and side of the dam. The water flows over the spillway into a side channel. A dal cross-section is most commonly used along the length of channel Shaft spillway: A shaft spillway, as its name suggests, discharges excess water from a reservoir through that is constructed near the crest of the dam with height less than that of the crest, the shaft is completely submerged, further increase in head will not result in fable increase in discharge. This type of spillway is not suitable for large capacity and reservoirs because of stability problems. Special designs are required to handle jon damage at the transition between shaft and tunnel. controlled spillway: uncontrolled spillway does not have gates. When the water rises above the lip or of the spillway it begins to be released from the reservoir, The rate of discharge is only led by the depth of water within the reservoir. Lmouth spillway; Al-mouth spillways are designed in the shape of an inverted bell in order to allow all around the perimeter. These are normally built with ice-breaking arrangements to the spillway from becoming ice-bound where the surface of the reservoir may freeze.eo Power Plant Engineering (ii)Straight drop spillways: Water flows over a relatively thin spillway crest and falls freely to the downst ‘Usually appropriate for thin dams having almost vertical downstream faces. This type spillways may be economical for low heads as compared with overflow spillways. (iii) Overflow spillways: Overflow spillways are also called ogee-shaped (S-shaped) spillways. This type spillways allows the passage of the flood wave over its crest (which is S-shaped). Wi used on Gravity dams, Arch dams, and Buttress dams. 4.1.5.4. Trash Rack The water is taken from the dam or from the canal is provided with a trash rack prevent the entry of debris which might damage the wicket gates and turbine runners choke-up the nozzles of the impulse turbine, 4.155. Forebay Forebay serves as a temporary regulating reservoir which is used to store water when, Joad on the plant is reduced. Forebay helps to provide a minimum head over the penstock. provides water for the initial increment of an increasing load while water in the dam/canal & being accelerated, It is generally constructed with reinforced concrete of stone masor When forebay is used as a balancing reservoir about 4 to 6 hours storage facility is to provided. But when the forebay is used as transit point storage of about 2 minutes may adequate. 4.1.5.6. Water Tunnel Water tunnel carries water from the reservoir to surge tank. The tunnels may have ei of circular cross section or horse-shoe section. A- concrete or steel liner is necessary prevent the collapse if the tunnel material is weak. The tunnels carried through the rock not lined but it is smoothened to improve the hydraulic efficiency. The tunnels act as 0} channels when flowing partially full and act as a pressure conduit when flowing full. 4.1.5.7. Canals ‘A water channel is required to carry the water to the power house where the additional head is developed over and above which is created by the dam. The water channel may consist of a canal or a penstock or combination of these two. Canal and closed conduits arePower from Renewable Energy ‘sed as non-pressure tunnels. Canals are generally used where the quantity of water carried is too large because the pipe would be too large and too costly. 4.1.5.8. Penstock A pipeline laid between surge tank and prime mover is known as pensiock. It is commonly made of reinforced concrete or steel. A bell mouth entry is preferred to ensure in seduction of head losses and a smooth entry of water from forebay tank into the penstock. ‘The penstock is designed for bearing too high pressure on inside surface during reduced demand on generator and on outside surface during increased load condition. Penstocks are ‘usually equipped with head gates at the inlet which can be closed during the repair of the penstock. The inlet valve downstream from the gate is provided to prevent a collapse of pipe immediately after the head gate is closed. For the regulation of water flow, the penstock is vided with control valves. Steel pipes even up to 7 m in diameter are generally used as penstocks. Larger length stocks are usually built by welding or riveting steel pipes. Welded pipes are much better riveted pipes since it produces much smooth surface and superior in strength also. The of reinforce concrete pipe in hydro-electric plant is limited up to 30 mr head as its strength limited but it has the advantage of long life and free from maintenance. 5.9. Surge Tank When the load on the turbine is reduced as a result of reduction in load on the generator re will be a sudden backflow of water. This ‘increases the pressure in the penstock idenly. This sudden rise of pressure in the penstock above normal due to reduced load on turbine is known as water hammer. Supply Figure 4.2 Surge tankA Power Plant Engineering When the load on the generator increases due to heavy demand of power, the gates are opened suddenly to produce more power. At that time, water has to rush through penstock and there is a tendency to cause vacuum in the water system, ‘The surge tank is introduced between dam and turbine to reduce the sudden rise in pressure in the penstock, When the water flow into the turbine is reduced suddenly due decreased load demand, water rises in the surge tank. It reduces the velocity of water in penstock and thus, avoiding the water hammer in the penstock. When the water flow into turbine increases suddenly due to increased load demand, the additional water is supplied the surge tank. It increases the velocity in the penstock and thus, it avoids vacuum creati ‘Therefore, the surge tank helps in stabilizing the velocity and pressure in the penstock and reduces water hammer effect. In general, surge tauk is a small reservoir in which the water level rises or falls to the pressure variation so that the steady flow of water is supplied to all loads. In general. surge tank is employed to serve the following purposes. > During a sudden closure of valve, the sudden reduction of rate of flow in penstock will occur. It may lead to water hammer in the pipeline. Due to this, pipe may burst. To avoid this situation, surge tanks are provided in the upstream the pipeline, The surge tank acts as a reservoir when the valves are closed and act as a supply temk when the valves are opening. y To reduce the rapid velocity fluctuation in pipeline during starting and shutting of a turbine. ‘The different types of surge tanks in use are as follows. (i) Simple surge tank (ii) Inclined surge tank (iii) Differential surge tank. 4.15.10. Water Turbine Water, through the penstock, enters into the turbine through the inlet valve. The turbine, also known as prime mover, converts the kinetic energy of water into rotati mechanical energy. Prime movers which are commonly used are Pelton turbine, F turbine and Kaplan turbine, The mechanical energy available at the turbine shaft is used run the electric generator. The construction and working principle of various turbines discussed separately in detail at the later stage of this chapter.Power from Renewable Energy Ga 4.5.11, Draft Tube The draft tube is connected at the outlet of the water turbine. it allows the turbine to be placed over tailrace level without any loss of head. Therefore, simply draft tube is a pipe or Passage of gradually imcreasing cross-sectional area which connects the runner exit to the tailrace. The pressure at the exit of the runner of a reaction turbine is generally less than ospheric pressure. By passing water through the draft tube, the outlet velocity of water is nsiderably reduced and gain in useful pressure head is achieved. Thus, the total working id on the turbine increases and therefore, the output of the turbine also increases. It is used tap the remaining Kinetic energy of water coming out of the turbine. 1.5.12. Tailrace Tail race is a water channel or cut and cover conduit. The water passes from the turbine let ie,, draft tube to the river through tail race. In the tail race, generally, the allowed imum water velocity is considered to be Imis. The shape of the channel is usually zoidal or rectangular. It is constructed by stone masonry or brick masonry depending on availability of the material locally with minimum cost. 5.13. Power house dn power house, turbine, generator, control panels, transformers, auxiliary equipments, =, are kept. Therefore, its building should accommodate them and it is usually constructed & RCC or stone masonry. The height of the power house is generally kept about 3 to 5 m. transformer is to raise the voltage generated at the generator terminal before transmitting power to consumers and workstation. .8. Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydro-electric Power Plant fages of hydroelectric power plant: 1. Water is the cheapest source of energy. The fuels needed for the thermal, diesel and nuclear plants are exhaustive and expansive. 2. Water is the renewable source of energy. It is neither consumed nor converted into something else. 3. The fuel cost is totally absent.Power Plant Engineering 4, There is no problem of handling the fuel and ash. No nuisances of smoker exhaust gases and soot’s and no health hazards are due to air pollution. 5. The running cost of hydropower installation is low when compared to thermal or nuclear power stations. 6. The hydraulic power plant is relatively simple in concept and self-contained in ‘operation. 7. Variable load does not affect the efficiency in the case of a hydro-plant. 8, Modern hydropower equipment has greater life expectancy and it can easily last for 50 years or more. 9, Hydro-plants provide auxiliary benefits such as irrigation and flood control. 10. The efficiency does not change with age. 11. Maintenance cost is low. 12. It requires less supervising staff for the operation of the plant. Disadvantages of krydroelectric power plant: 1. Hydropower projects are capital-intensive with a low rate of return. 2. Power generation is dependent on the quantity of water available which may vary season-to-season and year-to-year. 3. Initial cost of the plant is high. 4. The hydel power plants are often far away from the load center and they require Jong transmission lines to deliver power. 5. Large hydro-plants disturb the ecology of the area by way of deforestation, destroying vegetarian and uprooting people. 6. It takes considerably longer time for its installation when compared to thermal power plants. 4.1.7, Selection of a Site for Hydroelectric Power Plant 1. Water availability: Availability of water is through rainfall. It is accounted by using rainfall data. The rounded value of these data should be available.from Renewable Energy Water storage: The storage capacity of the plant is always necessary for continuous generation of power there is wide variation in rainfall during the year. Water head: Topography of the area decides the availability of water head. An every increase in head the given output reduces the quantity of water to be stored and therefore, the capital cost es. Various geological investigations: (i) The tight basin of ample size. (ii) A narrow outlet requiring a dam of less volume. Gii) A strong foundation able to support the dam structure. (iv) Availability of materials for constructing a dam. Environmental aspects: @ To ensure safe operation, healthful, productive and culturally pleasing surrounding, ii) To eliminate health hazards or other undesirable and unintended consequences. ii) To preserve important historic, cultural and natural aspect of the site. Consideration of water pollution effects: It is the main consideration in selecting the site. 1.8. Water Turbines. Hydraulic turbines are the machines which convert the flowing ‘energy of water into hanical energy. The mechanical energy developed by a turbine is used to run an electric erator which is directly coupled to the shaft of the turbine. Thus, the mechanical energy is verted into electrical energy. Hydraulic turbines may be classified according to several considerations as follows. () According to the action of the water flowing: a) Impulse turbine. ©. Pelton wheel b) Reaction turbine. ©.g. Fraticis turbine, Kaplan turbine. (ii) According to the main direction of flow of water: a) Tangential flow turbine. e.g. Pelton wheelCa Power Plant Engineering b) Radial flow turbine. eg. Old Francis turbine ¢) Axial flow turbine. e.g, Kaplan turbine d) Mixed flow turbine. e.g. Modern Francis turbine. (iii) According to the head and quantity of water required: a) High head turbine (above 2507). e.g. Pelton wheel b) Medium head turbine (60m to 250m). e.g. Modern Francis turbine. c) Low head turbine (less than 60m). e.g. Kaplan turbine. (iv) According to the specific speed: a) Low specific speed (10 to 35). e.g. Pelton wheel b) Medium specific speed (60 to 400), ¢.g. Fransis turbine c) High specific speed (300 to 10( c.g. Kaplan turbine. (@ Impulse turbine: In an impulse turbine, the energy available by water is converted into kinetic energy passing it through a nozzle. The high velocity jet coming out of the nozzle impinges om series of buckets fixed around the rim of a wheel as shown in Figure 4.3. Thus, the ru revolves freely in air. Example: Pelton wheel. Figure 4.3 Impulse turbine (ii) Reaction turbine: In a reaction turbine, the runner utilizes both potential and kinetic energies. Here, o1 portion of potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy before the fluid entersPower from Renewable Energy 417 turbine runner. As the water flows through the runner, the remaining part of potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. Example: Francis turbine and Kaplan turbine. Difference between impulse and reaction turbines: Bearing Figure 4.4 Reaction turbine S.No. Impulse turbine Reaction turbine 1, All potential energies are converted | Only a portion of the fluid energy is into kinetic energy by nozzle | transferred into kinetic energy before before entering the turbine runner. _| the fluid enters the turbine. 2. Flow regulation is possible without | Flow regulation is possible with loss. loss. 3. | Flow is regulated by means of a| Flow is regulated by means of a needle valve fitted into the nozzle. | guide-vane assembly. 4. Water may be allowed to enter a | Water is admitted over the part or whole of the wheel | circumference of the wheel. circumference. 3. Wheel does not run full and air has | Water completely fills the vane free access to buckets. passages throughout the operation of the turbine.6.18 Power Plant Engineering 6. Unit is installed above the tailrace. | Unit is entirely submerged in water below tailrace. ‘ 7. | Blades are only in action when they | Blades are in action at all times: are in front of nozzle. (iii) Tangential flow turbine: In tangential flow turbines, water flows along the tangent to the path of the runner. E.g. Pelton wheel. (iv) Radial flow turbine: In radial flow turbines, water flows in the radial direction and mainly in the plane normal to the axis of rotation as it passes through the runner. It may be either inward radial flow type or outward radial flow type. (») Axial flow turbine: In an axial flow turbine, water flows parallel to the axis of the turbine shaft. E.g. Kaplan turbine and propeller turbine.- (vi) Mixed flow turbine: ; In mixed flow turbines, the water enters the blades radially and it comes out axially or parallel to the turbine shaft. E.g. Modern Francis turbine. 4.1.9. Pelton wheel or Pelton turbine Pelton wheel is a tangential flow impulse turbine and now in common use. Leston A Pelion, an American engineer during 1880, developed this turbine. Figure 4.5 shows a schematic arrangement of Pelton wheel. A Pelton wheel consists of the following main parts. 1, Spear and nozzle Runner with buckets Brake nozzle Outer casing we wh Governing mechanism. I. Spear and nozzle: At the downstream end of the penstock, it is fitted with an efficient nozzle which converts the whole hydraulic energy into kinetic energy. Thus, the nozzle delivers the high-| Power from Renewable Energy Spced jet. To regulate the water flow through the nozzle and to obtain a good jet of water, a spear is arranged shown in Figure 4.6. The spear can move forward or backward thereby decreasing or increasing the annular area of the nozzle flow passage. Jet of water =o Figure 4.6 Spear and nozzle Runner with buckets: The runner consists of a cireular disc with a number of buckets evenly spaced around its iphery. The runner is mounted on a horizontal shaft supported in small thrust bearings, ie buckets have a shape of double semi-elliptical ridge known as splitter. The buckets are ther cast internally with the disc or fastened separately. The buckets are so shaped that the le at the outlet tip varies from 10° to 20° so that the jet of water gets deflected through 60° to 170°. The jet of water impinges on the splitter which divides the jet into two equalen Power Plant Engineering portions. After flowing around the smooth inner sarface of the bucket, water leaves at its outer edge. The advantage of a hemispherical double cup bucket is that the bearings supporting the wheel shaft are not subjected to any axial or end thrust. 3. Outer casing: ‘A casing is made of cast iron or fabricated steel plates. It has no hydraulic functions to perform. It is used to prevent the splashing of water and discharge water to tailrace. It also acts as a safeguard against accidents. 4, Brake nozdle: When the nozzle is closed by moving the spear in the forward direction, the amount of water striking on buckets reduces to zero. But, the runner will revolve for long time due to inertia. To stop the runner in a short time, a small nozzle is provided which directs a jet of water on the back of buckets. This jet of water is called breaking jet. 5. Governing mechanism: Governing mechanism is used to regulate the water flow to the turbine at constant level so that the speed of the turbine is kept constant. It automatically regulates the quantity of water flowing through the runner in accordance with any variation on load. 4.4.10_Francis Turbine Francis turbine is an inward flow reaction turbine. It is developed by the American engineer James B. Francis. In earlier stages, Francis turbine had a purely radial flow runner. But, the modern Francis turbine is a mixed flow reaction turbine in which the water radially enters the runner st its outer periphery and it leaves axially at its centre. This arrangement provides a large discharge area with the prescribed diameter of the runner. Figure 4.7 shows a schematic diagram of a Francis turbine. The main parts of the turbine are as follows. d. Penstack: It is a large sized conduit which conveys water from the upstream of the dam to the turbine runner. The penstock required for a Francis turbine is larger than Pelton wheel. 2. Scroll or spiral casing: The water from penstock enters a scroll casing which completely surrounds the runner. ‘The cross-sectional area of the scroll casing decreases along the flow direction and the area is maximum at inlet and nearly zero at exit. The purpose of casing is to provide an even distribution of water around the circumference of the turbine runner maintaining I)from Renewable Enorgy ] roximately constant velocity for the water distribution. The casing is made of cast steel, steel and concrete depending on the pressure to which it is subjected. From Seroll casing = cue Figure 4.7 Francis turbine Speed ring or stay ring: From scroll casing, the water passes through a speed ring or stay ring. It consists of =pper and lower rings held together by series of fixed vanes, called stay vanes. The number ‘of stay vanes is usually taken as half the number of guide vanes. The function of stay vane is ‘& direct the water from a scroll casing to the guide vanes and it also resists the load imposed ‘on it. It may be made of cast iron or cast steel. 4. Guide vanes or Wicket gates: From the speed ring, the water passes through a series of guide vanes or wicket gates. Thus, gates are provided all around the periphery ‘of the turbine runner. The guide vanes direct the water onto the runner at an appropriate angle as per the design. Also, it is used to regulate the quantity of water supplicd to the runner, The guide vanes are airfoil shaped and. they may be made of cast steel, stainless steel or plate steel. The guide vanes are operated either by means of'a wheel or automatically by a governor. 5. Runner and runner blades: Itis a circular wheel on which a series of radial curved vanes are fixed. The vanes are so. shaped that the water radially enters the runner at outer periphery and it leaves axially at the inner periphery. The runners are made of cast steel, cast iron or stainless steel. They are keyed to the shaft. The driving force on the runner is due to both impulse (deviation in the direction of flow) and reaction (change in pressure and velocity energy) effects. The number of runner blades usually varies from 16 to 24.6. Draft tube: The water after passing through the runner is discharged to the tailrace through a gradually expanding tube called draft tbe. Therefore, simply draft tube is a pipe or passage of gradually increasing cross-sectional area which connects the runner exit to the tailrace. It is an integral part of low head turbines with large amount of flow. Mainly, Francis and Kaplan turbines need draft tubes. The cross sectional area of the draft tube increases lengthwise such as a diverging system. The diverged end of draft tube is connected to the runner exit and the other end is kept below the tail race. Power Plant Engineering | Functions of draft tube: ‘The following factors will increase the power of the turbine to get maxinaum efficiency. 1. To decrease the pressure at the runner exit less than the atmospheric pressure in order to increase the working head, 2. To recover some of kinetic energy going to tail race as waste. Difference between Pelton and Francis turbines: S.No, Pelton turbine Francis turbine It is @ tangential flow impulse ig It is a mixed flow reaction turbine. turbine. The runner consists of a circular dise with a number of buckets e Bs ~* | Runner vanes are not adjustable. evenly spaced around its periphery. The number of buckets is usually more than 15. Large number of vanes (16 to 24). High head turbine (more than 250m). Medium head turbine (60m to 250m). ‘Medium specific speed (50 to 5. | Low specific speed (10 to 70). 25) 6. Pressure is constant throughout which is equal to atmospheric pressure, Pressure at inlet is much higher than at outlet.Power from Renewable Energy 4.4.11. Kaplan Turbine 7. | Water is admitted only in the form | Water is admitted over the entire of jets. circumference of the runner. 8. Water completely fills at the : passages between the blades and full and Tbe ashe, does not ze while flowing between inlet and air has a free access to the bucket. d outlet sections does work on the blades. 9. Reaction turbine i all The turbine is always installed Bee ee Bete . . connected to the tail race through above the tail race and there is no ee ee Bae ae {8 draft tube which 5 a gradually dest abe used. ‘expanding passage. 10. | Impulse Turbine have more | Reaction Turbine have relatively hydraulic efficiency. less efficiency. 1. Des of reaction is more than Degree of reaction is zero. a zero and less than or equal to one. 12. | Impulse turbine involves less | Reaction turbine involves more maintenance work. maintenance work. Figure 4.8 Kaplan turbineGz Power Plant B | A Kaplan turbine is an inward flow axial reaction turbine which was developed by Austrian engineer V, Kaplan. It is suitable for relatively low heads. Hence, it requires a large quantity of water to develop more power. Figure 4.8 shows the runner of a Kaplan turbine which consists of a hub fixed to the shaft. On the hub, the adjustable vanes are fixed. Figure 4.9 shows all main components of a Kaplan turbine, they are as follows. i) Scroll casing ii) Guide vanes iii) Runner iv) Draft tube. ‘Water inlet from penstock Guide vanes: Figure 4.9 Main coniponents of a Kaplan turbine The arrangements of above components are similar to a Francis turbine. In a Kaplan turbine, the runner blades are adjustable and they can be rotated about pivots fixed to the hub of the runner. It usually has 4 to 6 blades having no outside rim. The shape of the runner blade is different from Francis turbine. The blades are made of stainless steel. The blades attached to the hub are so shaped that water axially flows through the runner. Between guide vanes and runner, the water in the turbine turns through a right angle into the axial direction and then it passes through the runner. Figure 4.9 shows the inlet and outlet velocity triangles for a Kaplan turbine. It is drawn similar to Francis turbine.wer from Renewable Energy ference between Francis and Kaplan turbines: No. Francis erbine Kaplan turbine 1 | itis a mixed flow reaction turbine. | tt is an axial flow reaction turbine. 2. | Runner vanes are not adjustable. | Runner vanes are adjustable. 3. | Large number of vanes(16 to 24). | Less number of vanes (3 to 8 blades). 4. ne head tirbine (60m 10 | ow head turbine (ap to 30m). 5. | Medium specific speed (50 to 250). | High specific speed (250 to 850). 6. | Efficiency is high. Efficiency is low. : 7. [it is more compact in eross- | Itis less compact in size. section. It has higher rotational speed when Rotational speed is lower than Kaplan compared to Francis turbine. turbine. 9. Water flow is axial. Water flow is radial. 10. | It has less number of runner | It has more number of runner blades. blades. Specific speed is 2 to 3 times of a Francis turbine. Specific speed is less. Frictional loss is less. Frictional loss is more. Itrequires low head. Itrequires medium head. .12. Cavitation in Reaction Turbines When the pressure of a liquid becomes equal to its vapour pressure at the existing erature, then the liquid is started to boil and the pockets of vapour are formed. The kets act as a resistance to flow and finally, the flow is stopped, It is called cavitation, Cavitation is defined as the phenomenon of formation of vapour bubbles of a flowing iid in a region where the pressure of the liquid falls below its vapour pressure and the len collapsing of these vapour bubbles in a region of higher pressure. It usually occursGs Power Plant Engineering —_ | when the liquid has a rapid change in pressure thereby causing the formation of cavities where the pressure is relatively low. To avoid cavitation, the minimum pressure in the passage should always be maintained more than the vapour pressure of the liquid: In a reaction turbine, the point of minimum pressure occurs at the outlet end of runner blades. So, Bernoulli's equation can be applied between inlet end and outlet end of the runner blade and the final discharge is into the trail race. The tail race is left to atmosphere. Therefore, the velocity at the discharge from the draft tube is too small. 4.1.13. Pumped Storage Plant During high-wind period, the hydraulic energy is stored in a pumped storage. The stored) energy can be transferred during peak demand period. The pumped storage power pl: essentially consists of an upper basin and a tail water basin. During off-peak period, surplus energy available is stored by lifting the water from tail to upper basin. ‘During the peak load period, the same stored hydraulic energy is used by flowing w from the upper basin to the lower basin through water turbine. 1. Operating modes of a pumped storage hiydel plant: S.No. Duration Mode Conversion 1. | Off-peak hours Motor-pump | Electrical to Hydro 2. | Peak-load hours | Turbine- Hydro to electrical generator 2, Types of pumped storage plant: The pumped storage plants are classified into the following types. 1. Over ground - High head/Medium head/Low head 2. Underground - High head / Medium head/Low head. () Over ground pumped storage plant: Figure 4.10 shows the over ground pumped storage hydro plant. The components of system are as follows. 1, Upper basin 2. Damr from Renewable Energy 3. Penstock 4. Power house with pumps and turbines 5. Lower basin. : The pumped storage plant is installed inthe power house and it is near the low level oir (lower basin). The high level tank (upper basin) is located at high level and away During off-peak hours of the day, the synchronous machine in the plant operates as a and the hydro machine as a pump. Electrical energy from the network is taken and the is operated in “motoring mode”. The purpose of motoring mode is to drive the motor and hydro-pump for pumping water low level main reservoir to the high level storage reservoir. During peak load hours, the synchronous machine is operated as a generator and the machine as a turbine. The unit is operated in “generating mode”. The stored hydro is converted to electrical energy and fed into the electrical network. Upper bi Power house with pumps & turbines Figure 4.10 Over ground pumped storage plant Underground pumped storage plants: The underground pumped hydro plant site does not require the topology with high and level reservoirs. The operating principle is similar to over ground pumped hydro systems t the following changes.(2) The upper reservoir is at ground level, and (ii) The lower reservoir and the power plant are at underground. Such a scheme is preferred for sites having large underground caverns or salt soluti mines which can store the water of lower reservoir. Advantages of puniped storage system: 1. The pumped storage plants can be constructed near the load centers more easily ti a conventional hydro or thermal plant. 2. Its capacity is not controlled or limited by river flow and seasonal variations in # flow. 3. By seasonal storage through pumping, the Stream flow in other rivers could be us which would otherwise run as waste. 4. Since the storage is done usually on a daily or at the most weekly basis, the size ¢ the reservoirs required is only a fraction of the required for conventional hydre plants where the seasonal storage has to be provided. 5. The cost of electricity during high demand period is much more than during off peak periods. Thus, the potential for high cost energy is increased for pumping the: water back at the cost of low value energy. 6. By adopting the pumped storage plant in conjunction with thermal plant, the storage capacity is reduced and the therma! plant is allowed to operate at almost 100% load factor. There is also no need to start-stop of thermal plants. Disadvantages of pumped storage system: 1. Every pumped storage scheme suffers from the requirement of dual cnergy conversion system. 2. Itrequires minimum 200 »m of water head. 3. Initial cost of the storage system is high. 4.1.14.Selection of Turbines The selection of turbines is a main problem in engineering applications because they should give maximum efficiency but at the same time, they should be more economical. To compromise these two conditions, the turbines are selected based on various considerations.Power from Renewable Energy 4.29 Factors to be considered to select the right type of turbine: 1. Rotational speed of the turbine . Specific speed v Maximum efficiency |. Part load efficiency Head Type of water Runaway speed Cavitation ere Aa we Number of turbine units 10. Overall cost. Rotational speed of the turbine: Turbines are used to produce mechanical energy which is again converted into electrical by coupling the generator through the shaft. Here the speed of the generator 1s ed to be the same speed of turbine speed by considering negligible transmission losses. lly, generators are run at its synchronous speed (V,). It is given by the formula 60f 7 where f= frequency P= Number of pairs of poles. These generators are always preferred to use high synchronous speed because the ber of poles required is less. Thus, the generator size is reduced. Therefore, the structional cost of the power house is also reduced. Specific speed: Specific speea is the speed of a geometrically similar turbine, (i.¢., a turbine identical in dimensions, blade angles and gate openings etc.) which will develop unit power when king under a unit head. The specific speed is used in comparing with the different types turbines as every type of turbine has different specific speed. In S.1. units, unit power is nas one kW and unit head as one metre.Power Plant Engineering ‘Specific speed plays an important role in the selection of turbines. By knowing specific speed of the turbine, the performance of the turbine can also be predicted. The of turbine for different specific speed is given below. S.No. | Specific Speed | Type of turbine lL 10 to 30 Pelton turbine with single jet 2 17050 Pelton turbine with two jets z 24 to 70 Pelton turbine with four jets 4. 70 to 257 Francis turbine a 257 to 858 Kaplan turbine The following points are worthwhile for noting the following. > Specific speed is proportional to the speed of rotation. Evidently, the high 1 Kaplan turbine is expected to have high specific speed than Pelton wheel. > Specific speed is inversely proportional to head. Obviously, the high head Pel wheel has a low value of specific speed than Kaplan turbine which operates at head. Specific speed is related to the turbine speed. High specific speed is always sugg because the turbine speed will be too low for low head and more power output. It will fin: increase the cost of turbo-generator thereby increasing the cost of power house installation. 3. Maximum efficiency: The efficiency of any turbine is calculated on the basis of the power output develo} The turbine which can give the maximum power output for the given input will give maximum efficiency. The maximum output the turbine depends on the type of turbine used. ‘The maximum specific speed of impulse turbine for the highest efficiency is 20 due low specific speed, large diameter of the wheel which causes more bearing friction windage losses. ‘The low specific speed of reaction turbine causes more friction losses, leakage I and friction losses. These factors will reduce the efficiency of the turbine by reducing specific speed.from Renewable Energy ‘The high specific speed of reaction turbine causes more discharge losses but friction and losses are reduced. Because of more discharge losses, the specific speed of the reduces by pulling down its efficiency. So, these types of turbines are suggested to at medium specific speed and constant load conditions. High efficiency can be achieved by a reaction turbine than impulse turbine. The imum possible efficiency of reaction turbine is 90% but it is 82% for impulse turbine. At the same time, Pelton wheel is suggested for less power than reaction turbines the efficiency of Pelton wheel is irrespective of its size. Full load is defined as the load at which the turbine can produce maximum efficiency. If Joad increases above the full load, it is known as overload but i load, it is known as. under load or part load. decreases below the The part load efficiency is constant for all type of turbines. It depends on the specific and type of turbine used. The flow of water through jet diameter in Pelton turbine is by a governing mechanism when the turbine is operated at part load. So, the absolute ity at inlet does not change due to this change in flow of water through jet. Therefore, efficiency curve is more flat. No (present) Figure 4.11 Effect load on the efficiency of the turbine In reaction turbines, the bucket is completely filled by water, When the turbine is at part loads, the absolute velocity drastically changes due to inevitable discharge . So, the efficiency is decreased with part load.(zen ‘Power Plant Engineering The discharge losses are more when the specific speed will be high. Therefore, Peltom wheel is suggested for high head power plants and Francis turbine for low head power plants. At the same time, the efficiency curve remains constant for Kaplan turbine even when the load changes. So, this type of turbine is more suitable for all types of loads even when the load changes from minimum to maximum, 5. Head: Head plays an important role in the selection of the type of turbine. For the head of the turbine, the type of turbine can also be predicted. The type of turbine for different head & given below. S.No. Head Type of turbine Fe High head turbine (above 250m) 17 to 50. Pelton turbine. 2, | Medium head turbing (60m to 250m) turbine. | Moder Francis turbine. Kaplan turbine. a: Low head turbine (less than 60). 6, Runaway speed: The speed of turbine increases with increase in head. All generators are designed for runaway speed. At the same time, higher is the runaway speed, greater will be the cost machines. 7, Type of water available: Reaction turbines are not suitable for dirt and sand water because it will cause erosion runner blades. Because of the erosion, more friction losses will be produced. So, the purity ‘water is important to achieve the maximum efficiency. Impulse turbines are more suitable any kind of water which carries even grit or slit. 8. Number of turbine untts: ‘The efficiency any turbine depends on the number of units installed. Two similar will give a better average efficiency than double the size of single unit. If three or four are combined, the average efficiency will be still improved than the last one. So, multi plants can meet a large variation of load and it will be economic. The running cost and cost expenses will be quiet less for operating double the size of single unit than two simi units, Therefore, the selection of turbines based on number of units is a management pr dependent of economic conditions but not a design problem.Power from Renewable Eneroy 9. Overall cost of the plant: All turbines are designed for minimum cost. So, the good design should be in such a way give maximum efficiency with minimum cost. The total cost includes capital and running 4.15, Comparison of Steam, Hydro and Nuclear Power Plants Steam power plant Hydroelectric power plant Nuclear power plant 1. | It is located at the place where the sources of Tt is located where the Sources of reservoirs or Tt is located where the population is almost nil both hydroelectric and nuclear power plants. high“due to construction of dams. water and coal are | dams could be created. | due to hazards of radiation available. of nuclear fuels. 2, |The initial cost of |The initial cost of| The initial cost of installation is less than | installation is slightly | installation is the high when compared to steam and hydro-electric power maximum due to high demand for coal. plants. 3. |The cost of fuel] The cost of fuel|The cost of fuel transportation is | transportation is nil. transportation is minimum. due to the need of less amount of fuel used to run the power plant. It is the — least environment friendly, It is the environment friendly. most It is better environment friendly than steam power plant. Overall 25%. efficiency is Overall 85%. efficiency is Tt is more efficient than steam power plants. The maintenance cost is The maintenance cost is The maintenance cost is more. almost negligible. high. low. higher than steam and hydro power plants. Stand-by losses are | Stand-by losses are | Stand-by losses are less when compared to steam power plant.Power Plant Engineering 4.2. WIND ENERGY RESOURCES: Wind energy is an indirect form of solar energy. In the world, it is around 1% of | energy in converted to wind energy. Wind is a kind of solar power that owes its origin various environmental factors. The uneven Earth’s terrains get unequally heated by the rays. It makes some region of the earth warmer than others. The hot air in the warmer regions becomes less dense and light and thus it rises up. This upwardly movement of the hot air creates a vacuum which is immediately filled up by cold air from the adjacent cooler realms. Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping or drainage or sails to propel ships. The total amount of economically extractable power available from the wind is considerably more than present human power use from all sources. Wind power as an alternative to fossil fuels is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean and it produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation and the cost per unit of energy produced is similar to the cost for coal and natural gas power production. A largest wind generator was built in the past for 80 KW unit operated in France from 1958-1960. The maximum power developed was 12 MW. The flexible 3 blades propeller was about 35m in diameter and produced the rated power in a 60 km/hour wind with a rotation speed of 47 rpm. It is only in last 10-15 years the development work is going on in many institutions. In these areas, it could be a possibility of using medium and large sized wind mills for the generation of electricity. These low and seasonal winds imply a high cost of exploitation of wind energy. In our country, high wind speed is available in coastal area of Sourashtra, Western Rajasthan and some parts of Central India. 4.2.4. Origin of Wind Wind is produced by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by energy from the Sun. The poles of the earth receive less energy from the sun than the equator. Among these two, the dry land heats up (and cools down) more quickly than sea. The differential heating drives a global atmospheric convection system reaching from earth's surface to the stratosphere which acts as a virtual ceiling. Since the Earth’s surface is made of different types of land and water, it absorbs sun’s radiant energy at different rates. Much of this energy is converted into heat as it is absorbed by land areas, bodies of water and air over these formations. On a global scale, the non- uniform thermal effects combine with the dynamic effects from the Earth’s rotation to produce prevailing wind patterns. There are minor changes in the flow of the air as a result of[ Power from Renewable Energy cs | the differential heating of sea and land. The nature of terrain ranging from mountain and valleys to more local obstacles such as buildings and trees also has an important effect on the origin of wind. Generally, during day time, the air above the land mass tends to heat up more rapidly than the air above water. In coastal regions, it manifests itself in a strong onshore wind. In night time, the process is reversed because of the air cools down more rapidly over the land and the breeze therefore blows off-shore similar process occurred in mountains and valleys. Thus, it creates local wind. The speed of wind is affected by the surface over which it blows. Rough surfaces such as areas with trees and buildings produce more friction and turbulence than smooth surface such as lakes or open cropland. The greater friction means that the wind speed near the ground is reduced. Most of the energy stored in wind movements can be found at high altitude where the continuous wind speed of over 160 km/h (99 mpli) occur. Eventually, the wind energy is converted into diffuse heat through friction throughout earth's surface and atmosphere. 422. Characteristics of Wind Energy 1. Wind-power systems do not pollute the atmosphere. 2. Fuel provision and transport are not required in wind-power systems. 3. Wind energy is a renewable source of energy. 4. Wind energy when produced on small scale is cheap but it is competitive with conventional power generating system when produced on a large scale. 4.2.3. Advantages and Disadvantages Of Wind Power Advantages: 4. Clean: Aside from manufacturing process, wind power emits absolutely no greenhouse gases. 2. Free: Since there is no fuel concern, wind is obtained at free of cost. As long as the wind Blows, the electricity is generated. There are no worries about sourcing the fuel from elsewhere to make it work. 2. Place-ability: Due to their nature, wind turbines can be placed in a variety of inhospitable locations.Power Plant Engineering | 4. Decentralised: Only one big power plant is not able to produce sufficient power to meet the power demand in the world. So, the huge amount of electricity is not produced from one power plant but it can be produced from lot of small power plants. It means, there is less chance of a large failure and it is also less susceptible to some sort of interference. In fact, wind power is ideal for micro-generation. 5. Domestic: Wind power lends itself well to domestic applications as wind turbines can be virtually im any size. They can be fixed at rooftops or smaller versions can be placed in back gardens. 6. Remote area supply: Wind is helpful in supplying electric power to remote areas. Disadvantages: 1. Reliability: Wind power needs wind but the wind is not always available. It is fluctuating in nature. ‘The turbines need minimum winds speed to get them spinning and it can only operate up to a maximum wind speed after which they have to be locked. 2. Expense: Wind turbines are quite expensive especially to match with the output of a regular power station. Due to its irregularity nature of wind energy, it needs storage devices. It also increases the cost of wind power. 3. National security: There was a recent discovery that wind power can even affect the national security. It seems that wind farms cause holes in RADAR coverage as the blades on turbines confuse the system. 4. Noise: Wind power generating systems produce ample noise. 5. Wildlife: There have long been arguments that wind turbines affect the migratory of birds but more recently, it is discovered that they can make bats lungs explode. iPower irom Renewable Energy rE 6. Aesthetics: It is one really down to personal taste but it should be included because farms have often been banned for exactly this reason. 4.2.4. Principle of Wind Energy Conversion The wind cnergy can be extracted from lift force alone or drag force alone or combination of lift and drag forces. It is known that the lift force acts perpendicular to the air flow direction and drag force acts parallel to the wind direction. The lift is produced by the change in velocity of air stream which speeds up the air flow thereby creating a pressure drop. So, the pressure drop forces the lift surface from high pressure side to low pressure side of an aerofoil. If the air pressure increases on the low pressure side, enormous turbulence is produced which reduces the lift force and it leads to increase the drag significantly called stalling. Be ee Figure 4.12 Lift and drag forces on an aerofoil The basic features which characterize lift and drag are as follows. (Drag is in the direction of airflow. Gi)_Lift is perpendicular to the direction of airflow. (iii) Generation of lift always causes a certain amount of drag to be developed. (iv) With a good aerofoil as shown in Figure 4.12, the lift produced can be thirty times greater than the drag. () Lift devices are generally more efficieht than drag devices. 5. Wind Electric Power Plant A wind energy conversion system is simple in construction which is operated and intained by the local population.PowerPlant Engineering | Transmission [7 (Speed increaser, drive shan, clutch, coupling etc.,) Figure 4.13 Components of wind turbine The main components of a wind energy conversion system are as follows. > Wind turbine © Nacelle * Rotor i.e. the assembly of blades © Hub and shaft. > Transmission system > Electric generator > Yaw control systemfrom Renewable Energy » Storage > Energy. converters > Tower to support the rotor system. Figure 4.13 shows the various parts of a wind energy conversion system. ind turbine or wintimili: A wind turbine is a rotating machine which converts the kinetic energy of wind into ical energy. If the mechanical energy is directly used by the machinery such as a or grinding stones, the machine is usually called a windmill, If the mechanical energy is rted into electricity, the machine is called a wind generator, wind turbine, Wind Power (WPU), Wind Energy Converter (WEC) or aero-generator. The wind turbine may be located either unwind or downwind of the power. In the location, the wind encounters the turbine before reaching the tower. Downwind rotors nerally preferred especially for the large aero generators. Various components of the wind turbine are as follows. Nacelle: It includes gearbox, low- and high-speed shafts, generator controller and brake. It is on the top of the tower and it is connected to the rotor. Rotor: The hub and the blades together compose the rotor. Most of the horizontal-axis wind mes usé two of three blades in an upwind design. Blades are manufactured from jlass-Reinforced Polyester (FRP), wood laminates, steel or aluminium. A FRP blade is comparatively lighter and jt exerts less stress on bearing and rotor hubs. , it is used by most of the wind-turbine nianufacturers. Other manufacturers use steel s because of the ease of fabrication, greater strength and lower cost. Sometimes, wood ates blades are also used due to their excellent fatigue resistance properties. Vertical- ‘wind-turbine manufacturers often use extruded aluminium blades. Hub and shaft: Rotors of the wind turbine are attached with the shaft and hub assembly. The hub is front ion of the shaft which faces the wind direction. [t is normally of conical shape. The other of the shaft is attached to the transmission system of the wind turbine.. Power Plant Engineer (iv) Anemometer: This device is used for the measurement of speed. The wind speed is also fed to’ controller as it is one of the variables for controlling pitch angle and yaw. Wind turbines are available in various sizes according to the potential to electricity in ideal wind conditions. It is called “rated capacity.” Wind turbines rating ranges from 250 IF to 1.65 MW. Electricity production and consumption are refers kilowait-hours (kWh). 2) Transmission system: ‘The mechanical power generated by the wind turbine (rotor blades) is transmitted to electric generator by a transmission system located in the nacelle. The transmission syst contains a gearbox, clutch and braking system to stop the rotor in an emergency. The pur of the gearbox is to increase the speed of the rotor typically from 20 to $0 rpm or from © to 1500 rpm which is required for driving the most types of electric generators. transmission system must be designed for high dynamic torque loads due to the fluctu: power output from the rotor. 3) Electric generator: There are two main options for the generator used in constant- speed wind turbi namely asynchronous (induction) or synchronous generators. Most of the grid-connect wind turbines installed so far use induction generators. These turbines have to be connect to the electricity grid before they can generate electricity. The major disadvantage of induction generators is that they draw reactive power from the grid system, Synchro generators do not require reactive power so they are favoured by utilities. Wind turbi driving electrical generators operate at either variable or constant speed. In variable-speed) operations, rotor speed varies with wind speed. In constant speed machines, rotor speed. remains constant despite changes in the wind speed. 4) Yaw control system: It is used to continuously orient the rotor in the direction of the wind. The horizonta axis wind turbine has a yaw control system that turns the nacelle according to the actual win direction, using a rotary actuator attached to the gear ring at the top of the wind tower. The: wind direction must be perpendicular to the swept rotor area during normal operation of the) wind turbine. A slow closed-loop control system is used to control the yaw drives. A win vane mounted on the top of the nacelle senses the relative wind direction and the wind turbine controller then operates the yaw drives.Power from Renewable Eneray 5) Storage: There are different energy storage systems available to store energy. Storage systems are used to store energy when there is excess power developed and to discharge it when there is a lack in power. The most common storage device is the lead-acid battery. If the wind energy conversion system is to pump water and the pumped storage system of water is followed. 6) Energy converters: Usually, the electricity produced from wind energy is direct current (DC). So, it should be converted into alternating current (AC) using an alternator before supplying it to the transmission grid for industrial and household appliances. 7) Towers: Mainly, wind turbines are kept on high towers due to light in weight. In addition, wind turbines use light-weight towers than conventional mechanical windmills. Towers are basically made up of tubular steel or steel lattice. There are two types of towers such as guyed {lattice or pole) towers and free-standing self-supporting towers. If the location of wind mill has good topography, a guyed tower is used because of less cost. The towers are designed to withstand wind loads and gravity loads. The wind tower has to be mounted to a strong foundation in the ground. It is designed so that either its resonant frequencies do not coincide with induced frequencies from the rotor or they can be damped ‘out. o Usually, the range of tower is from 12 m to 37 nt for small wind applications and it is from 30 m to 75 m or higher Por moderate wind turbines, 4.26. Types of Wind Energy system ‘There are two types of wind energy-conversion devices based on the force exerted on blades namely, aerodynamic lift and aerodynamic drag wind turbines (rotors). Lift ype wind turbine: A high-speed turbine depends on lift forces to move the blades of the wind turbine. The ir speed of the blades is usually several times higher than the wind speed. The torque of force is low as compared to the drag type. Drag type wind turbine: Low-speed turbines are slower than the wind, They are mainly driven by the drag force. torque at the rotor shaft is relatively high(4.42 ] Power Plant Engineering © | Based on the axis of rotation of the rotor, wind turbines are further classified as follows. 1, Horizontal-axis wind machines 2. Vertical-axis wind machines. 4.2.6.1. Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine In horizontal axis turbines, the axis of rotation is horizontal with respect to the ground. In this case, the rotating shaft is parallel to the ground and the blades are perpendicular to the ground. Horizontal-axis or propeller-type turbines are more common and highly developed than vertical-axis turbines, Figure 4.14 shows a schematic arrangement of a horizontal axis wind turbine. Although the common wind turbine with a horizontal axis is simple in principle yet the design of a complete system especially a large one that would produce electric power economically is complex. It is of prime importance that the components such as rotor, transmission, generator and tower should not only be as efficient as possible but also they must function effectively in combination, Rotor Wind mill head a Tail vane Supporting structure Figure 4.14 Horizontal axis wind machine Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) have the main rotor shaft and electrical generator at the top of a tower and it must be pointed into the wind. Small turbines are pointed by a simple wind vane while large turbines generally use a wind sensor coupled with a servor from Renewable Energy r. Most of them have a gearbox which turns the blades slowly into a quicker rotation ich is more suitable to drive an electrical generator. Since a tower produces turbulence behind it, the turbine is usually pointed upwind of the t. Turbine blades are made stiff to prevent blades from being pushed into the tower by winds. Additionally, the blades are placed at a considerable distance in front of the tower they are sometimes tilted up a small amount. Downwind machines have been built despite the problem of turbulence because they do need an additional mechanism for keeping them in line with the wind and high winds, blades can be allowed to bend which reduces their swept area and thus, it reduces their resistance, Since cyclic turbulence may lead to fatigue failures, most HAWTS are of ind machines. mages: 1. Variable blade pitch which gives the turbine blades the optimum angle of attack. 2. The tall tower base allows access to stronger wind in sites with wind shear, 3. Efficiency is high in receiving power through the whole rotation since the blades always move perpendicularly to the wind, 4. The face of a horizontal axis blade is struck by the wind at a consistent angle regardless of the position in its rotation. dvantages: 1. HAWTs have difficulty operating in near ground, turbulent winds. Therefore, tall towers are required. 2. The tall towers and blades up to 90 m long are-difficult to transport. 3. Tall HAWTs are difficult to install and it needs very tall and expensive cranes and skilled operators. 4. Massive tower construction is required to support the heavy blades, gearbox and generator. 5. Reflections on tall HAWTs may affect Side lobes of radar installations creating signal clutter, although filtering can suppress it, © 6. Their height makes them obtrusively visible across large areas, disrupting the appearance of the landscape and sometimes, creating local opposition. 7. Downwind variants suffer from fatigue and structural failure caused by turbulence when a blade passes through the tower's wind shadow.[4.43 ] PowerPlant Engineering | 8 HAWTs require an additional yaw control mechanism to turn the blades towards wind. 4.2.6.2. Vertical Axis Wind Turbine In Vertical-axis wind turbines (or VAWTs), the main rotor shaft arranged vertically and the axis of rotation is vertical with respect to the ground. Figure 4.15 shows a vertical axis type wind machine. The key advantage of this arrangement is that the turbine does not need to be pointed into the wind streams to be effective because their operation is independent of wind direction and these vertical axis machines are called panemones. It is an advantage on sites where the wind direction is highly variable. With a vertical axis turbine, the generator and gearbox cam be placed near the ground so the tower does not need to support it and it is more accessible for maintenance. Drawbacks are that some designs produce pulsating torque. It is difficult to mount vertical-axis turbines on towers because they are often installed near the base on which they rest such as the ground or a building rooftop. The wind speed & slow at a lower altitude. So, less wind energy is available for a given size of turbine. Air flow near the ground and other objects can create turbulent flow which can introduce issues vibration including noise and bearing wear which may increase the maintenance or shot the service life. However, when a turbine is mounted on a rooftop, the building general redirects wind over the roof and it can double the wind speed at the turbine. If the height the rooftop mounted turbine tower is approximately 50% of the building height, it is near optimum point for maximum wind energy and minimum wind turbulence. ‘Guys Aerofoil blades (Catenary shape) Figure 4.15 Vertical axis wind machines»r from Renewable Energy Various types of vertical-axis wind turbines areas follows. 1, Darrius rotor Savonius rotor (turbo machine) Multiple blade rotor Musgrove rotor we Se. Evans rotor. Darrieus rotor: This rotator is shaped such as an egg beater and it consists of two or three curved blades such as aero foils. The driving forces are lifting forces. This wind mill needs much surface area. The maximum torque occurs when a blade is moving across the wind of a much high than wind speed. Initial movement may be initiated with the electrical for used as a motor, Savonius rotor: This type of windmill has hollow circular cylinder sliced in half and the halves are ited on a vertical shaft with a gap in between them. There is a complicated motion of through and around the two curved sheet aerofoils rotates by drag force. Torque is iuced by the pressure difference between two sides of the half facing the wind. It is quite ‘ient but it needs a large surface area. It is simple in construction and it is inexpensive. Muttiple blade type: It is the most widely used type of wind mill. It has 15 to 20 blades made from metal . The sail type has three blades made by stitching out triangular pieces of canvas cloth. these types run at low speed of 60 to 80 rpm. Musgrove rotor: In this rotor, the blades are vertical for norma! power generation. This rotor has an tage of fail-safe shut down in strong winds. Evans rotor: Vertical blades twist about a vertical axis speed for control and a fail-safe shut down. types of wind mills available for the power generation are: Four-blade dutch wind mill propeller type. Figure 4.16 shows various types of vertical-axis wind turbines rotors.cs Power Plant Engineering Multibiade type Four-blade dutch wind mill wa Sail type Propeller type Dartieus type Figure 4.16 Types of wind milis Rotors can also be classified on the basis of their movement at variable speed rotor or constant speed rotor, For water pumping and small-battery operation, it is desirable to allow the rotor speed to vary. However, for the large scale generation of electricity, it is common to operate wind turbines at constant speed. It allows the use of simple generators wliose speed is fixed by the frequency of the electrical network. Variable-speed wind turbines are sometimes used for electricity generation but a power electronic frequency converter is then required to connect the variable frequency output of the wind turbine to the fixed frequency of the electrical system.Power from Renewable Energy Advantages: 1. A massive tower structure is less frequently used as VAWTs are more frequently mounted with lower bearing mounted near the ground. 2. Designs without yaw mechanisms are possible with fixed pitch rotor designs. 3. The generator of a VAWT can be located near the ground making it ¢asy to maintain moving parts. 4. VAWTs have lower wind startup speeds than HAWTs. Typically, they start to generate electricity at 6 mph (10 km/h). 5. VAWTs may be duilt.at locations where taller structures are prohibited. 6. VAWTSs situated close to the ground can take the advantage of locations where mesas, hilltops and ridgelines. They pass funnel the wind and increase the wind velocity. 7. VAWTs may have a lower noise signature. Disadvantages: 1. A VAWT which uses guy-wires to hold it in place puts stress at the bottom bearing as the whole weight of the rotor is on the bearing, 2. The stress in each blade due to wind loading changes sign twice during cach revolution as the apparent wind direction moves through 360°. This reversal of the stress increases the chance of failure by fatigue. 3. While VAWTs' parts are located on the ground, they are also located under the weight of the structure above it which can make changing of parts nearly impossible without dismantling the structure if it is not designed properly. 4. Having rotors located close to the ground where wind speed is low due to the ground’s surface drag, VAWTs may not produce as much energy at a given site as a HAWT with the same footprint or height. 7. Site Selection for Wind Mill Power Systems Mainly, four sites are selected to install wind niills for the extract of wind energy. They as follows. (Plane site (ii) Hill top siteap Power Plant Engineering (iii) Sea-shore site (iv) Off-shore shallow water site. Apart from the location selection, some other factors need to be considered such as technical, environmental, social, economic and other factors. The main considerations for selecting a site for wind turbine installation are as follows. 1. Wind farms are located away from main cities to avoid resistance to the air movement created by buildings. So, the flat area is advisable to locate: wind mill. There should not be any high structure to obstruct wind for a distance of 3:4m to the windmill. 1. Wind power is based on the wind velocity.as the wind power is proportional to the cubic power of wind speed. The basic requirement for a successful use of a windmill is an adequate supply of wind speed. 2. The selected site should provide good average of wind velocity throughout the year for continuous generation of energy. 3. The proposed site should be checked for high altitude due to strong winds which will increase the electric power output of wind energy conversion system, 4. A stable ground is selected. 5. Small trees and grass are avoided under wind mill in order to minimise the installation cost because the height of tower needs to be increased in such case. 6. The selected site should be easily accessible to provide a transport facility for the erection of equipment and structures as well as for maintenance, 4 7. The site should be near the consumer for reducing the cost and transmission losses of the generated power. 8. The land cost should be favourable so that the total project cost is minimal. 9. Wind direction is also considered for the site selection. 10. Topography such as mountain gap helps to channelise and speed up winds. IL. The selection of coastal area or lake area for wind mill installation is favourable because differential heating of water and land generates’ wind of sufficient speed. The wind blow from the land to the sea during day time and it is reversed during night time. .