Maximizing Hydroelectric Turbine Performance and Reliability

Introduction
Hydroelectric turbines comprise approximately There are two categories of hydroelectric
17% of the total number of power generating turbines: Impulse and Reaction. Impulse
units in the United States and Canada. turbines are driven by one or more water jets
According to a North American Electric directed tangentially into “buckets” or “paddles”
Reliability Council (NERC) Generating of a wheel-shaped runner turning in air.
Availability Report, failures of the wicket gate Reaction turbines are completely immersed in
mechanism, turbine governor, generator water, and are driven by the difference in water
bearings and lube oil system are among the pressure between the pressure side and the
top 25 causes of forced and scheduled outages discharge side of the runner blade — much like
and deratings of hydroelectric turbines. This a windmill propeller is driven by the wind.
represents a tremendous opportunity to apply
state-of-the-art filtration to improve reliability Hydroelectric turbines can have either a
and availability of hydroelectric turbines. vertical or horizontal shaft orientation. Most
reaction turbines have shafts that are vertically
How They Work oriented. These account for the majority of all
Hydroelectric Turbines hydroelectric turbines in service.
There are a number of different hydroelectric
turbine designs, but they all incorporate the Pumped Storage Hydropower Plants
simple principle of converting the potential Power plants produce electricity more
energy stored in water to mechanical energy by economically by maintaining a constant rather
using a portion of it to rotate a paddle-wheel or than a varying output. However, since the
propeller-type runner on the turbine. This demand for electricity fluctuates, these power
rotating mechanical energy is used to turn an plants have a surplus of electricity during “off
electric generator to produce electrical energy. peak” periods. This surplus “dump” power is

A hydroelectric dam
 Contamination Control
There are a number of hydroelectric
applications that can benefit from Total Fluid
ManagementSM, Pall’s unique equipment &
services integration program designed to yield
the highest efficiency at the lowest cost.
Among these are inlet valve hydraulic power
units (HPUs), turbine bearing lube systems, and
the turbine governor system. Of these three, the
turbine governor system is by far the most
critical application in terms of hydraulic oil
cleanliness because of its importance in
maintaining the proper rotational speed of
the turbine.

Turbine Governor
The governor uses either mechanical or
Figure 1. Schematic drawing of a pumped storage
hydropower plant electronic feedback to sense the speed of the
turbine. Proportional or directional valves
controlled by the governor operate cylinders
that open and close wicket gates or needle
valves to adjust the flow of water to the
turbine in order to maintain a constant
turbine speed. Hydroelectric turbines rotate
at relatively low speeds compared to steam
turbines, with larger hydroelectric turbines
rotating at 35-75 rpm, and smaller ones as
fast as 150 rpm. The large turbine diameter
combined with the massive inertia of the
water flowing through it makes precise
control of rotational speed a critical concern.

If governor proportional or directional valves

do not respond instantly and accurately to
fluctuating generator loads, there is a lagging
behind of the wicket or needle valve position.
Figure 2. Hydraulic turbine governor utilizing mechanical
feedback to sense turbine speed
This results in an oscillating condition
whereby the turbine is constantly speeding
often sold by the facility to pumped storage up and slowing down. This inefficient power
hydropower plants at low cost. The pumped production, although difficult to quantify,
storage plant uses this inexpensive energy to leads to loss in revenue for the utility.
pump water from a lower reservoir to a higher Furthermore, if this oscillation exceeds the
reservoir, where it is stored. During peak maximum allowable frequency, then the
demand periods, the water is released from the turbine must be shut down, resulting in
higher reservoir and flows through a turbine temporary loss of generating production.
to generate electricity that can be sold at a
premium price. Also, in the event of a sudden loss of load,
it is important that the governor act
Some designs use a separate pump and instantly to shut down the turbine to
penstock system for the pumping portion prevent a “runaway” speed condition.
of the operation, and a separate turbine and Runaway speed is the speed at which the
penstock for the generating portion of the turbine exceeds its designed maximum
operation. The more modern designs use a rotational speed. When this occurs it is
reversible turbine and a motor/generator to possible for the turbine to disintegrate due
both pump and generate power. They are to massive centrifugal forces.
similar to standard reaction turbines in their
function and design and typically have a
vertical shaft.

2
Neyrpic and Woodward Governor Company are two Bearing Lube Oil System
major manufacturers of hydroelectric turbine Currently most hydroelectric turbine bearings are
governing systems. The Neyrpic governor uses inspected and, if necessary, reworked/replaced during
proportional valves to control wicket gates or needle regularly scheduled outages. Downtime, reworking or
valves, while the Woodward governor uses directional replacing bearings, and labor can be a significant cost to
valves. Both of these systems operate at relatively low a hydroelectric power producer. The frequency with
pressures (approx. 200 psi). which these bearings are replaced/reworked can be
greatly reduced if proper attention is given to turbine
Silt size particles can cause sluggish response, lube oil contamination levels.
jamming, or wear of valves. This can lead to turbine
oscillation or a potentially dangerous “runaway” speed Particulate contamination is a major cause of wear and
condition. Because of the small clearances in premature failure of bearings. By maintaining
proportional and directional valves (1-8µm) they are cleanliness levels at ISO 16/14/12 or better, journal
inherently sensitive to contamination. For this reason bearing life can be extended. For turbines that use roller
the turbine governor system hydraulic fluid should be bearings, cleanliness levels should be ISO 15/13/12 or
maintained at ISO 16/14/12 or better. To accomplish better. Sometimes there are separate lubrication systems
this the following is suggested: for each bearing in the hydroelectric turbine.
• Install a Pall non-bypass filter assembly with 5µm
(β5(c) ≥1000) Dirt Fuse elements in-line just upstream These reservoirs vary in size from 45 to 100 gallons,
of each proportional or directional valve to provide while large central lubrication systems may have 1000
“last chance” protection. gallon reservoirs. To achieve the required cleanliness
• Install a Pall filter assembly with a 5µm (β5(c) ≥1000) level each lubrication system should have a Pall filter
element on the pressure line of the HPU to protect assembly either inline (preferred) or in a kidney loop.
valves, pumps, and cylinders. Turbines with journal bearings or roller bearings
• Replace the reservoir fill cap with a Pall Reservoir require 7µm (β7(c) ≥1000) filtration. It is also
Vent Filter to eliminate the introduction of airborne recommended that fill caps be replaced with Pall
particles into the HPU reservoir. Reservoir Vent Filters to eliminate the introduction of
airborne particles into the reservoir(s).
Continued on back panel.

Typical horizontally
oriented hydroelectric
turbine

Generator

Runner Thrust
Bearing

Trash Rack Wicket Shaft

Gate
3
System Components
Though there are different
types of hydroelectric turbine and
pumped storage designs,
they almost always incorporate
the following components:

Penstock Needle Valve

The penstock is a conduit used to carry water The needle valve is used to regulate the
from the dam or reservoir to the turbine. flow of water to the runner in impulse-type
hydroelectric turbines, and is regulated by
Runner the governor via mechanical-hydraulic or
There are a number of different kinds of electro-hydraulic controls.
runners. They translate the linear motion of
the water into rotational motion by the use Inlet Valve
of blades or buckets. Many designs look very The inlet valve is located upstream of the
much like large propellers, while others are turbine and is used to cut off the flow of
modern versions of the paddle wheel. Some water in the event of an emergency or for
propeller-type runners have the capability of maintenance. These valves are often spherical
varying their pitch blade for optimum or butterfly valves, and are usually operated
performance in varying flows and head by hydraulic power units.
pressures.
Main Guide Bearing
Governor This bearing is located closest to the turbine
This is the system that automatically monitors runner and radially supports the rotating
and maintains the speed of the hydraulic unit. runner and shaft assembly. Many designs
It is also used to synchronize the generator to incorporate an upper and lower guide bearing.
the system frequency (Hz) for connection to
the power grid, and to shut down the unit in Thrust Bearing
the event of a sudden loss of load. As with The thrust bearing carries the weight of the
steam turbines, malfunctioning of the governor turbine and the generator’s rotating parts for
could result in a dangerous runaway vertical turbine designs. It can be located
(overspeed) condition. directly above or beneath the generator rotor.
Horizontal designs may have two thrust
Wicket Gate bearings, or a double-acting thrust bearing to
These are angularly adjustable, streamlined carry the axial thrust in both directions.
components that direct and control (throttle)
water flow to the runner in reaction-type Lift Pump
hydroelectric turbines. They are regulated by Some large hydroelectric turbines are
the governor via mechanical-hydraulic or equipped with lift pumps (sometimes called
electro-hydraulic controls. jacking oil pumps) that are used to pump low
flow, high pressure oil to the bearings during
the process of increasing the rotor speed from
minimum speed up to maximum design-rated
speed. The turbine bearing journals are
hydrostatically lifted off the bearing race in
order to reduce metal-to-metal contact at
lower rotational velocities.

4

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Trash Rack

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Runner
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Penstock
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Two Types of
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Turbine
Main
Guide
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Lift Pump For these reasons it is recommended that a
Large hydroelectric turbines may use a lift Pall vacuum dehydration purifier be used to
pump prior to start-up or shutdown to prevent reduce the water concentration well below the
metal-to-metal contact of bearings. By forcing saturation level of the oil. A major turbine
pressurized oil into turbine bearings, the manufacturer recommends the use of vacuum
journal is lifted from the race until, in the case dehydration purifiers in continuous operation
of the turbine start-up, sufficient hydrodynamic to remove water contamination. The Pall
forces are generated by the rotation of the purifier’s integral, high-efficiency βx(c) ≥1000
bearing to achieve operating clearances. filtration will remove damaging rust and wear
particles already in the system, while its water
Because the clearances in the turbine bearing removal capabilities will help prevent other
are minimal during start-up and shutdown, it is problems associated with water contamination.
important to maintain lift pump oil cleanliness
at ISO 15/13/12 or better. To achieve this Drinking Water
cleanliness level it is recommended that a Due to the remote location of many hydro
Pall filter assembly with a 7µm (β7(c) ≥1000) plants and the lack of municipal water supply,
element be installed either in the lift pump each location is required to produce their
pressure line (preferred) or in a kidney loop own potable water. Older technology has
off the turbine lube oil reservoir. traditionally been used, but as local regulations
regarding how potable water is produced
Water Removal become more stringent, plants are forced to
Because of their proximity to water, look at equipment upgrades to meet the
hydroelectric turbine lube oils often have tighter requirements.
unacceptably high water content. This can
result in a variety of problems ranging from Pall Aria™ water treatment systems are
bacterial/fungal growth and premature oil specifically designed to produce drinking
degradation to component wear and failure. water that meets today’s stringent standards.
Bearing journal scoring can occur as a result of Pall Aria systems are uniquely designed
insufficient oil film thickness caused by water filtration modules in a hollow fiber
contamination. Water can also cause the configuration to remove the following from
rusting of pipes and other components ground and surface waters and secondary
producing particles that promote wear of wastewater effluent:
bearings and performance degradation in • Turbidity
proportional and directional valves. • Bacteria
• Cysts and Oocysts
• Iron and Manganese

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