Author(s): Christophe Nicolet
Linked Author(s): Christophe Nicolet
Keywords: SIMSEN software; modelling of hydroelectric power plants
Abstract:
The presentation introduces the SIMSEN software, which enables the modelling of hydroelectric power plants from water intake to electricity generation. It accurately captures the transient behavior of waterways and associated systems by accounting for all types of hydraulic machines, the mechanical inertia of rotating equipment, electrical machines and related installations, as well as the overall control system for turbines and generators. As the software was originally developed for electrical applications, the modeling of pressurized pipe dynamics was naturally incorporated using an electrical equivalent scheme. The advantage of this finite difference based approach is that Kirchhoff's laws are used to automatically generate the sets of differential equations, which are then solved by time-domain integration using the 4th order Runge-Kutta method. The result is a unified differential equation set in matrix form which includes hydraulic, mechanical, electrical, and control systems.
Year: 2025