State-of-the Art-Powerhouse, Dam Structure, and Turbine Operation and Vibrations

Abstract

Dam and powerhouse operation sustainability is a major concern from the hydraulic engineering perspective. Powerhouse operation is one of the main sources of vibrations in the dam structure and hydropower plant; thus, the evaluation of turbine performance at different water pressures is important for determining the sustainability of the dam body. Draft tube turbines run under high pressure and suffer from connection problems, such as vibrations and pressure fluctuation. Reducing the pressure fluctuation and minimizing the principal stress caused by undesired components of water in the draft tube turbine are ongoing problems that must be resolved. Here, we conducted a comprehensive review of studies performed on dams, powerhouses, and turbine vibration, focusing on the vibration of two turbine units: Kaplan and Francis turbine units. The survey covered several aspects of dam types (e.g., rock and concrete dams), powerhouse analysis, turbine vibrations, and the relationship between dam and hydropower plant sustainability and operation. The current review covers the related research on the fluid mechanism in turbine units of hydropower plants, providing a perspective on better control of vibrations. Thus, the risks and failures can be better managed and reduced, which in turn will reduce hydropower plant operation costs and simultaneously increase the economical sustainability. Several research gaps were found, and the literature was assessed to provide more insightful details on the studies surveyed. Numerous future research directions are recommended.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis for Earth-Fill Dam Seepage

“…Such dams are normally built by placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various soil, rock, sand, or clay compositions [3]. Stability and seepage are important in an earth dam as they were found to be the main reasons of dam failure [4,5]. Earth-fill dams lose water from the dam reservoir through evaporation and from the dam body through seepage [6][7][8].…”

Monitoring of the hydraulic units operation of the Sayano‐Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plant using remote seismic observations

“…The existing systems for monitoring the vibrations of a hydraulic unit are shown, and approaches are proposed for predicting the vibration of hydraulic equipment. The review paper 25 comprehensively reviews studies on determining the stability of dams and power plants, the impact of equipment vibration and fluid pressure vibrations on them. The existing structure of various types of dams and their turbines, modeling methods and approaches to the analysis of vibrations registered in structures are described.…”

Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermoelectric Systems for Round-the-Clock Energy Harvesting

“…Hence, many technologies have emerged to convert various forms of energy in nature into electricity. For example, photovoltaic cells (PVCs) convert solar energy into electricity [ 2 ], Kaplan turbines and generators convert gravitational potential energy into electricity [ 3 ], wind turbines convert wind power to electricity [ 4 ], and thermoelectric generations (TEGs) directly convert thermal gradients into electricity [ 5 ].…”