How Hydropower Plant Work?

How Hydropower Plant Work?

Introduction

This paper will analyze on the of hydropower plant. The major focus of this paper will be based on the working of hydropower plant.

Working

Hydropower plant dams built in river courses, with the goal of obtaining electricity. After compression in the water reservoir, it is directed through pipes which pass through turbines that rotate around the generator, producing electrical energy, which is conducted through special high-voltage networks up stations medium voltage transformation. From there it is distributed to consumers through low-voltage networks. Countries that have a good network and a rugged basin are major users of this technology considered clean because it does not burn any fossil fuel (coal or oil) or nuclear (uranium) in obtaining electricity. The main problem for the environment is linked to the formation of the lake reservoir, which can cause damage to the flooded area, especially if it is covered by forests (Currie, 2011).

Turbine

Turbine is rotary engine that converts mechanical energy into the energy of running water, water vapor or gas. Turbine is attached with blades along its circumference, which are moved by the fluid to produce tangible energy. Currently, most of the world's electricity is produced using generators driven by turbines. The windmills that produce electricity are called wind turbines.

The oldest and simplest type of hydraulic turbine is waterwheel, first used in Greece and used during Antiquity and the middle Ages to grind grain. It consisted of a vertical shaft with a set of radial palettes or quotation located in a fast stream of water (Currie, 2011).

In the early twentieth century, the increase in demand for electricity made clear the need for improvements in the turbines. In 1913, the Austrian engineer Viktor Kaplan presented for the first time, the turbine propeller, which acts in the ...