Theoretical and Practical Investigation of Stability Performance for Power Regulation in Hydroelectric Power Plants

Abstract

Hydroelectric power plants are the insurance of the interconnected system in order to provide fast energy to the system compared to other fossil fueled power plants. Hydroelectric power plants control the balance between the energy it supplies to the interconnected system and the pressurized water it uses with a system based on the fully automatic control principle. The quality of the energy supplied to the interconnected system depends entirely on this automatic control mechanism. In this study, mathematical models of the mechanisms that affect the automatic control system during the generation of energy in hydroelectric power plants are formed. Transfer functions of the obtained mathematical models are calculated by laplace transform. With the calculated transfer functions, the responses of the units of a hydroelectric power plant to the change of the amount of energy produced under different operating conditions are determined. The obtained data are compared with the actual conditions in a 1330 MW hydroelectric power plant with 8 Francis turbines. It is seen that the mathematical model and the turbine responses in real conditions are similar. In the calculations made at 115, 125, 135, 145 m. net head, the best stability conditions were obtained at 135 m. In addition, as a result of the calculations obtained under different operating conditions, ideal operating conditions are determined to minimize the fluctuations in energy production.