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- Conventional Hydro
Hydro Turbine Generator Vibration and Balancing Field Guide
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0392
provides a consistent set of definitions for terms commonly used in the design, operation and maintenance of the components and systems used on hydroelectric generator units.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Generator
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Hydroelectric Turbine-Generator Units Guide for Erection Tolerances and Shaft System Alignment
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0381
This guide is the latest update of the original Alignment Guide published in 1989, and the goal is to present the tolerances for the erection of the principal components of vertical shaft hydroelecric generating units.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Hydrophobicity of Rare-earth Oxide Ceramics and their Application in Promoting Sustained Dropwise Condensation and Corrosion and Fouling Mitigation in Hydropower Systems
Lead Companies
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lead Researcher (s)
- Sami Khan
Hydrophobic surfaces that are robust can have widespread applications in various industries including energy, hydropower, and transportation. In particular, hydrophobic materials promote dropwise condensation, which results in heat transfer coefficients that can be an order of magnitude higher than those seen in conventional filmwise condensation. Existing durable materials such as metals and ceramics are generally hydrophilic and require polymeric modifiers to render them hydrophobic, but these modifiers deteriorate in harsh environments. Therefore, robust hydrophobic surfaces have been difficult to realize and their widespread applicability has been limited. In this project, the class of ceramics comprising the lanthanide series rare-earth oxides (REOs) is studied for their hydrophobic potential. The unique electronic structure of the rare-earth metal atom inhibits hydrogen bonding with interfacial water molecules resulting in a hydrophobic hydration structure where the surface oxygen atoms are the only hydrogen bonding sites. Despite being inherently hydrophobic, the presence of excess surface oxygen on REOs can lead to increased hydrogen bonding and thereby reduce their hydrophobicity. Using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and wetting measurements, surface stoichiometry and surface relaxations have been shown to impact wetting properties of REOs. Specifically, freshly sputtered ceria is shown to be hydrophilic due to excess surface oxygen (shown to have an O/Ce ratio of ~3), which when relaxed in a clean, ultra-high vacuum environment isolated from airborne contaminants reaches close to stoichiometric O/Ce ratio (~2.2) and becomes hydrophobic. Further, airborne hydrocarbon contaminants do not exclusively impact the wetting properties of REOs, and relaxed REOs are intrinsically hydrophobic. This project also demonstrates that thin-film coatings (~300 nm) of relaxed hydrophobic REOs show sustained dropwise condensation behavior for over 100 hours at accelerated saturated steam conditions without compromising structural integrity or hydrophobicity, and produce an almost tenfold enhancement in the heat transfer co-efficient (103 ± 5kW/m2 K) compared to conventional filmwise condensation (usually <10 kW/m2 K). It is envisioned that robust hydrophobic rare-earth oxide ceramics will have far reaching technological applications, especially in dropwise condensation and fouling mitigation in hydropower systems.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
complete
Completion Date
2015
- Conventional Hydro
Hydropower Fleet Intelligence
Lead Companies
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Lead Researcher (s)
- Pradeep Ramuhalli (ramuhallip@ornl.gov)
Hydropower Fleet Intelligence (HFI) provides tools for analysis to identify patterns, trends, and relationships between unit configuration, operations and maintenance (O&M) costs, equipment condition, dispatch history, and other asset data. The project also benchmarks data sets with industry-wide data and provides insights into the impacts of evolving operational contexts on O&M practices and costs. This capability allows hydropower asset managers to use data and predictive models to make better decisions regarding operations and maintenance to increase asset reliability and extend asset lifetimes while minimizing the cost of operations and maintenance.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Asset Management
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Hydropower Operations in the Colorado River Basin: Institutional Analysis of Opportunities and Constraints
Lead Companies
University of Arizona
Lead Researcher (s)
- Surabhi Karambelkar
The Colorado River Basin is facing an unprecedented drought. In ongoing drought management efforts, limited attention has been paid to hydropower generation. While some studies do exist on hydropower, they are quantitative in nature and focus on calculating the reduction in megawatts generated at dams in the Basin with declining water availability. These studies simplify the complex process of hydropower generation; water availability is but one factor that impacts hydropower generation. At a more fundamental level, formal institutional arrangements, that is, laws, policies, and rules create the framework within which dams are operated and hydropower is generated. This paper conducts a comparative institutional analysis of water, environment, and energy laws and policies and changes therein to understand the constraints and opportunities faced by hydropower generation in the Colorado River Basin. To tease out the nuances in how institutional arrangements affect dam operations and hydropower generation, the comparative analysis focuses on the two largest and strategically important dams in the Basin: Hoover and Glen Canyon. This paper uses Elinor Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development Framework to analyze laws and policies at three levels: constitutional-choice, collective-choice, and operational levels. Constitutional-choice level laws and policies apply to the entire Basin, whereas collective-choice level and operational level laws and policies are dam specific. Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams face similar biophysical challenges by the virtue of their location in the same river basin. Yet, despite the similarity in the biophysical setting, the analysis in this study finds that the differences in the applicability of constitutional-choice level laws along with the differences in dam specific collective-choice and operational level institutional arrangements produce a distinct set of constraints for hydropower generation at Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams. Even without a drought, water and environmental laws at both the constitutionalchoice and collective choice levels as well as power contracts constrain hydropower generation and limit the flexibility with which Glen Canyon Dam can be operated. Water and environmental laws also impose specific water release requirements that, at times, require off-peak power generation at Glen Canyon Dam. On the other hand, even with a drought, Hoover Dam faces limited hydropower generation constraints and can operate flexibly. This is because constitutional-choice level laws and dam-specific collective-choice and operational level laws pose limited constraints for flexible daily operations at Hoover. The result is that Hoover Dam can generate hydropower at the same level as it did three decades ago and operate flexibly to provide ancillary services and peaking generation. While water and environmental laws and policies pose constraints for hydropower generation, the analysis in this study further finds that specific historic provisions within energyrelated institutional arrangements and recent changes within power contracts have maintained and even enhanced the value of hydropower to power customers. Historic institutional provisions ensure that hydropower is sold ‘at cost’ making this resource economically competitive with wholesale electricity market rates. Recent power contract modifications have resulted in the amendment of an older resale prohibition clause to expand the flexibility available to power customers in using their capacity and/or energy allocation in RTOs, ISOs, and bulk power markets. This amendment has opened up an opportunity for customers, especially Hoover power customers, to use flexible generation and ancillary services in a market environment. In addition, the extension of power contract duration to the legally maximum term has enhanced the reliability and stability of this resource for customers. In the Colorado River Basin, despite the enduring economic responsibility of power customers—where laws require customers to pay for a large portion of construction and O&M costs whether or not they actually receive hydropower— the persistent threat of a drought-induced water shortage, and constraints imposed by water and environmental laws and policies, power customers continue to invest in this resource as energy-related institutional arrangements and power contract provisions protect the reasons why they value hydropower. Lastly, the analysis in this study finds that the consequences of changes in hydropower generation for energy users, irrigators, and environmental programs in the Basin depend on how specific institutional arrangements tie electricity revenues to irrigation aid and environmental programs, and how the power contracts themselves are set up. Collective-choice level institutional arrangements create a higher level of financial dependency of irrigation aid and environmental programs on electricity revenues in the Upper Basin—the legal subdivision of Colorado River where Glen Canyon Dam is located—compared to the Lower Basin—the legal subdivision of Colorado River where Hoover Dam is located. Therefore, changes in hydropower generation or the way its revenue is collected and used will have far reacting detrimental consequences for the Upper Basin. Likewise, differences in the nature of power contracts for Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams also creates differences in the financial impact incurred by energy users when there is a reduction in hydropower generation. While this study identifies the types of impacts on resource users as a result of specific institutional arrangements, the calculation of extent of impact warrants further attention. Hydropower in the United States is in a unique position today. The strategic importance of this resource for the nation’s electricity sector is rapidly growing even as its contribution to overall electricity generation remains fairly small. This strategic importance, however, is built hydropower’s ability to operate flexibly in order to support the integration of intermittent renewable generating sources and the expansion of electricity markets. As this study shows, such flexibility may not be available at certain plants not due to the lack of water availability but because of institutional constraints. Institutional arrangements may also require dam operators to first consider high priority water uses (such as irrigation or environmental needs), which in turn may limit the ability to generate hydropower when it is most valuable or useful. Engineering and quantitative models, such as production cost models, recognize policy constraints for hydropower operations but often inadequately capture or assume away such constraints in the models. A failure to account for policy constraints in these models runs the risk of inaccurate representation of the operational flexibility and capacity available at specific hydropower plants, which can result in over/underestimation of hydropower’s ability to support the integration of variable renewable resources and address grid reliability concerns. Against this background, this paper and the analysis herein serves as an example of how we can systematically identify institutional constraints (and opportunities) that influence the flexibility in not only generating electricity at specific dams but also using this hydropower once it is generated.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Asset Management
Status
complete
Completion Date
2018
- Conventional Hydro
Increasing Operational Flexibility of Francis Turbines at Low Head Sites, Through Analytical and Empirical Solutions [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
GE Global Research
Lead Researcher (s)
- Miaolei Shao, Miaolei.shao@ge.com
As operation of turbines outside the operational range recommended by the original manufacturer is more demanding for the machine, significant operational ranges are not included in typical operations planning. Enabling a broader operational range (even temporarily, for a few minutes or hours) offers an opportunity to upgrade dispatch strategy, increase flexibility, and increase support for the grid reliability and resilience. The overall goal of this project is to demonstrate the potential to increase the operational flexibility of installed low head Francis turbine driven hydropower-plants. Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Investigation of the performance and cost benefits of using a magnetically geared generator (MGG) for a hydropower generation.
Lead Companies
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kang Li
In this project, a MSMG with a gear ratio of 59:1 has been designed which can achieve a high torque and a high torque density. The magnetic gearbox also has the potential to achieve the MW size after conducting the scaling analysis. the overall performance is competitive with the conventional mechanical gearbox.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Generator
Status
complete
Completion Date
2018
- Conventional Hydro
- Conventional Hydro
Leveraging Aggregated Data Sets
Lead Companies
Hydropower Research Institute
Lead Researcher (s)
- HRI Technical Steering Committee
This project proposes to focus on developing a paper discussing methods used to allow data from differing units and hydropower plants to be normalized and comparted to support development of predictive analytics and benchmarking.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Maturation of Nontoxic, Durable, Economical Coatings for Control of Invasive Mussels at Hydropower Facilities
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Shane Addleman
The objective of this project is to mature and demonstrate durable, economical, and nontoxic coatings that will prevent invasive mussels (zebra and quagga) and other organisms from growing on hydropower structures.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Water Systems
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
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Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org