Author(s): Hermod Brekke

Linked Author(s): Hermod Brekke

Keywords: Hydropower; Hydraulic machinery; Water turbines; Small Hydro; Microturbines; Environment; Francis turbines; Pelton turbines; Kaplan turbines

Abstract: The paper gives a brief description on the influence from the environmental requirements on the design and research work in the field of waterpower machinery. It seems to be a normal practice that small hydro projects will be accepted in the majority of cases even in developed countries while large projects are accepted only in developing countries. As a result of this the market on small hydro is growing rapidly in the western countries and the marked for large turbines is concentrated on Asia, Africa and South America where the need for increased electricity supply without air pollution often is overruling the negative environmental impact on the rivers. The paper gives a discussion on the design of small hydro machinery and the problems linked to turbines built by small manufacturers with little experience in turbine design. The paper also describes the latest advanced development in the design of large hydraulic machinery used for power production in combination with flood control with large variation in head and flow.

DOI:

Year: 1999