Abstract
Dam operation and management have become more complex recently because of the need for considering hydraulic structure sustainability and environmental protect on. An Earthfill dam that includes a powerhouse system is considered as a significant multipurpose hydraulic structure. Understanding the effects of running hydropower plant turbines on the dam body is one of the major safety concerns for earthfill dams. In this research, dynamic analysis of earthfill dam, integrated with a hydropower plant system containing six vertical Kaplan turbines (i.e., Haditha dam), is investigated. In the first stage of the study, ANSYS-CFX was used to represent one vertical Kaplan turbine unit by designing a three-dimensional (3-D) finite element (FE) model. This model was used to differentiate between the effect of turbine units’ operation on dam stability in accordance to maximum and minimum reservoir upstream water levels, and the varying flowrates in a fully open gate condition. In the second stage of the analysis, an ANSYS-static modeling approach was used to develop a 3-D FE earthfill dam model. The water pressure pattern determined on the boundary of the running turbine model is transformed into the pressure at the common area of the dam body with turbines. The model is inspected for maximum and minimum upstream water levels. Findings indicate that the water stress fluctuations on the dam body are proportional to the inverse distance from the turbine region. Also, it was found that the cone and outlet of the hydropower turbine system are the most affected regions when turbine is running. Based on the attained results, a systematic operation program was proposed in order to control the running hydropower plant with minimized principal stress at selected nodes on the dam model and the six turbines.
Highlights
One of the major concerns of the dam and hydropower system operation is the post-design stage process [1]
We focus on the effects of a hydropower plant on dam operation safety and sustainability
Kaplan turbine unit in the powerhouse of the Haditha dam that in different levels and turbine unit in the powerhouse of the Haditha dam that runs in different water levels and discharge ranges
Summary
One of the major concerns of the dam and hydropower system operation is the post-design stage process [1]. As a matter of fact, large hydraulic infrastructures, such as earthfill dams, behave differently during the actual operation, because of the diverse load performances and the nature of in situ conditions. Studying the physical effects like vibration, stress, and mechanical properties degradation are extremely vital for understanding the consequences of operation strategies on the. Power stations coupled with a large dam represent an important multipurpose hydraulic structure that are used mainly to store water for many water resources engineering requirements, in addition to hydroelectric power generation at low cost [3,4]. The seismic effect on dam bodies was studied by the civil engineering researchers in order to assess their dynamic behaviors. The vibrational effect produced by the hydraulic turbines was studied by mechanical engineering researchers to assess their hydraulic performance, due to powerhouse operation. Most of the studies were focused on the modeling and analysis of pressure distribution on turbine draft tube
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