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DESIGN OF WATER HAMMER CONTROL STRATEGIES IN HYDROPOWER PLANTS

Authors:

Anton Bergant1

, Jernej Mazij1, Uroš Karadžić2

1Litostroj Power d.o.o., Litostrojska 50, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
2Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Džordža Vašingtona bb, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro

Received: 10.01.2018.
Accepted: 26.02.2018.
Available: 15.03.2018.

Abstract:

Hydropower plants play an important role in the growth of the renewable energy sector. The main objective of the paper is to present, discuss and assess critical parameters which may cause unacceptable water hammer loads in hydropower plants. Water hammer is caused by flow disturbances in a conduit from one steady state to another. It induces pressure rise or drop in hydraulic systems, rotational speed variation in hydraulic turbomachinery and level fluctuation in surge tanks and air chambers. Design principles of water hammer control strategies (mitigation of excessive loads) are outlined including operational scenarios (closing and opening laws), surge control devices (flywheel, surge tank, regulating valve, air valve, etc.) or redesign of the pipeline components. Water hammer models and solutions are briefly discussed in the light of their capability. Case studies include hydropower plants with long fluid conveying systems (open channels, tunnels) and water hammer control devices (surge tank, regulating valve).

Keywords:

Hydropower plant, water hammer control, surge tank, regulating valve, numerical analysis, field tests

References:

[1] P. Dörfler, M. Sick, Coutu, Flow-induced pulsation and vibration in hydroelectric machinery: engineer’s guidebook for planning, design and troubleshooting. Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4252-2
[2] M.H. Chaudhry, Applied Hydraulic Transients. Springer, New York, NY, 2014.
[3] E.B. Wylie, V.L. Streeter, L. Suo, Fluid transients in systems. Englewood Cliffs, Vol.1, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993.
[4] A. Zobeiri, C. Nicolet, E. Vuandes. Risk analysis of the transient phenomena in a hydropower plant installation. Hydro 2011, Prague, 2011.
[5] A. Anderson, A. Bergant, “Issues in ‘benchmarking’ fluid transients software models”. In Proc. 10th International conference on pressure surges: surge analysis – system design, simulation, monitoring and control, BHR Group, Edinburgh, UK, 2008, pp.519-537.
[6] A. Bergant, B. Gregorc, J. Gale, Numerical and in-situ investigations of water hammer effects in Drava river Kaplan turbine hydropower plants, In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, IOP Publishing, Vol.15, No.5, p.052001, 2012.
[7] U. Karadžić, A. Bergant, P. Vukoslavčević, A novel pelton turbine model for water hammer analysis. Strojniški vestnik − Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 55 2009: 369-380

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Volume 9
Number 3
September 2024

Last Edition

Volume 9
Number 3
September 2024

How to Cite

A. Bergant, J. Mazij, U. Karadžić, Design of Water Hammer Control Strategies in Hydropower Plants. Applied Engineering Letters, 3(1), 2018: 27–33.
https://doi.org/10.18485/aeletters.2018.3.1.5

More Citation Formats

Bergant, A., Mazij, J., & Karadžić, U. (2018). Design of Water Hammer Control Strategies in Hydropower Plants. Applied Engineering Letters3(1), 27–33. https://doi.org/10.18485/aeletters.2018.3.1.5

Bergant, Anton, et al. “Design of Water Hammer Control Strategies in Hydropower Plants.” Applied Engineering Letters, vol. 3, no. 1, 2018, pp. 27–33, https://doi.org/10.18485/aeletters.2018.3.1.5.

Bergant, Anton, Jernej Mazij, and Uroš Karadžić. 2018. “Design of Water Hammer Control Strategies in Hydropower Plants.” Applied Engineering Letters 3 (1): 27–33. https://doi.org/10.18485/aeletters.2018.3.1.5.

Bergant, A., Mazij, J. and Karadžić, U. (2018). Design of Water Hammer Control Strategies in Hydropower Plants. Applied Engineering Letters, 3(1), pp.27–33. doi: 10.18485/aeletters.2018.3.1.5.

DESIGN OF WATER HAMMER CONTROL STRATEGIES IN HYDROPOWER PLANTS

Authors:

Anton Bergant1

, Jernej Mazij1, Uroš Karadžić2

1Litostroj Power d.o.o., Litostrojska 50, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
2Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Džordža Vašingtona bb, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro

Received: 10.01.2018.
Accepted: 26.02.2018.
Available: 15.03.2018.

Abstract:

Hydropower plants play an important role in the growth of the renewable energy sector. The main objective of the paper is to present, discuss and assess critical parameters which may cause unacceptable water hammer loads in hydropower plants. Water hammer is caused by flow disturbances in a conduit from one steady state to another. It induces pressure rise or drop in hydraulic systems, rotational speed variation in hydraulic turbomachinery and level fluctuation in surge tanks and air chambers. Design principles of water hammer control strategies (mitigation of excessive loads) are outlined including operational scenarios (closing and opening laws), surge control devices (flywheel, surge tank, regulating valve, air valve, etc.) or redesign of the pipeline components. Water hammer models and solutions are briefly discussed in the light of their capability. Case studies include hydropower plants with long fluid conveying systems (open channels, tunnels) and water hammer control devices (surge tank, regulating valve).

Keywords:

Hydropower plant, water hammer control, surge tank, regulating valve, numerical analysis, field tests

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Volume 9
Number 3
September 2024

Last Edition

Volume 9
Number 3
September 2024