Variable-speed hydro generation: operational aspects and control

Author

Fraile-Ardanuy, Jesús ; Wilhelmi, José Román ; Fraile-Mora, José Jesús ; Pérez, Juan Ignacio

Author_Institution

Dept. de lngenieria Civil: Hidraulica y Energetica, Polytech. Univ. of Madrid, Spain

Volume

21

Issue

2

fYear

2006

fDate

6/1/2006 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

569

Lastpage

574

Abstract

The potential advantages of variable-speed hydroelectric generation are discussed in this article. Some general aspects concerning the efficiency gains in turbines and the improvements in plant operation are analyzed. The main results of measurements on a test loop with an axial-flow turbine are reported. Also, we describe the control scheme implemented, which is based on artificial neural networks. To confirm the practical interest of this technology, the operation of a run-of-the-river small hydro plant has been simulated for several years. Substantial increases in production with respect a fixed-speed plant have been found.

Keywords

hydraulic turbines; hydroelectric power stations; neurocontrollers; power generation control; artificial neural networks; axial-flow turbines; hydroplants; plant operation improvements; test loop; variable-speed hydrogeneration; Artificial neural networks; Costs; Hydraulic turbines; Hydroelectric power generation; Power generation; Production; Propellers; Synchronous generators; Testing; Wind energy generation; Artificial neural network (ANN); operation limits of hydroturbines; regenerative frequency converters; variable-speed hydro generation;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Energy Conversion, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0885-8969

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TEC.2005.858084

Filename

1634606