Development of a computational Procedure for Optimum Sediment Removal: Application to case of Roseires Hydropower Intakes

Abstract

Hydropower generation is one of the key purposes that dams were built for. World-wide the sustainability of hydropower operation is deprived and threatened by the alarming rate of reservoir sedimentation. The situation is even worst for the cases where the sediment delta has propagated and reached the dam site. Various sediment management practices have been employed to cope with the problem at a huge amount of cost. This paper analyses the sedimentation problem and the impact on hydropower generation in Roseires reservoir, in Sudan. An economical reservoir sediment management plan such as Hydro-suction dredging technique is suggested. The deposited sediment should be agitated before being bypassed to the downstream via a pipeline that makes use of the natural hydraulic head of water. A detailed design procedure is outlined and guidelines for the optimization are presented. The procedure is theoretically illustrated by applying it to remove the annual deposited sediment ahead of Roseires Hydropower intakes in Sudan. It was concluded that such system is cost effective when compared to costs incurred in tackling the effect of siltation in front of hydropower intakes.