Evaluation of advanced hydraulic turbomachinery for underground pumped hydroelectric storage. Part 1. Single-stage regulated pump turbines for operating heads of 500 to 1000 m

Abstract

High-head, large-capacity turbomachinery is needed for the concept of underground pumped hydroelectric storage to be technically and economically attractive. Single-stage, reversible, Francis-type pump turbines with adjustable wicket gates appear to offer the most economically attractive option for heads between about 500 and 1000 m. The feasibility of developing these types of machines for capacities up to 500 MW and operating heads up to 1000 m has been evaluated. Preliminary designs have been generated for six single-stage pump turbines. The designs are for capacities of 350 and 500 MW and for operating heads of 500, 750, and 1000 m. The report contains drawings of the machines along with material specifications and hydraulic performance data. Mechanical, hydraulic, and economic analyses indicate that these machines will behave according to the criteria used to design them and that they can be built at a reasonable cost. The stress and deflection responses of the 500-MW, 100-m-head pump turbine, determined by detailed finite element analysis techniques, give solid evidence of the integrity of the conceptual designs of the six units and indicate no unsolvable problems. Results of a life expectancy analysis of the wicket gates indicate that a near infinite life can be expected for thesemore » components when they are subjected to normal design loads. Efficiencies of 90.7 and 91.4% in the generating and pumping modes, respectively, can be expected for the 500-MW, 1000-m-head unit. Performances of the other five machines are comparable. The specific costs of the pump turbines in mid-1978 US dollars per kW vary from 19.2 to 11.8 over a head range of from 500 to 1000 m for the 500-MW machines and from 20.0 to 12.3 for the 350-MW machines.« less