Author(s): L. Pitorac; K. Vereide; L. Lia

Linked Author(s): Livia Pitorac, Leif Lia

Keywords: Hydropower; Pump storage; Mass oscillations; Renewable energy; Hydraulic modeling; Tunnel systems

Abstract: Among the energy storage options, pump storage plants historically and currently exceed both in stored energy volumes and in power capacity. However, considering the high costs of developing new large pump storage projects and the environmental and social aspects, an environmentally and socially preferable solution is to redesign existing hydropower plants and upgrade them to pump storage plants. This paper presents a hydraulic scale model designed for evaluating the challenges, limitations and possible solutions for an upgrade. Hydraulic transients are more complex in a pump storage plant compared with a conventional hydropower plant. This applies especially in Norway, where many tunnel systems are long and complex owing to the topography. The hydraulic scale model is in scale 1:70 of the 50 MW Roskrepp hydropower plant in south Norway. This paper presents the design and scaling criteria of the model, and preliminary findings from this ongoing research project.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14264/uql.2020.602

Year: 2020