Kaplan Turbine Research Articles

Reconstruction of Nizhne-Svirskaya HPP hydroturbines using propeller blade runners with variable rotation speed

Reconstruction of axial-flow hydroturbines through installation of variable speed propeller blade runners is considered. Using daily information about water head, capacity, and suction height of Nizhne-Svirskaya HPP units, topograms of hydro equipment operating conditions were created. For obtaining a regular pattern of unit capacity usage in power grid, those topograms were redesigned into histograms of relative duration of normalized capacity. Using aforementioned histograms enabled to substantiate the possibility of application of propeller blade runners for HPP reconstruction. The most dangerous unit operating conditions were identified in terms of cavitation. The upper limit for turbine cavitation coefficient was established. Methodologies were presented and a choice was made from several blade angles using analysis of efficiency levels, maximum normalized capacity, and turbine cavitation coefficient. Based on empirical dependencies, approximate losses in water parts induced by differences in geometry of old and reconstructed turbines were considered. With specifics of the propeller blade runner and losses in elements of the turbine water part taken into account, an estimated model hill chart of a hydroturbine with a new blade runner was created. This was used to plot an estimated prototype hill chart of the reconstructed hydroturbine operating with variable rotation speed. Three main operating zones are highlighted on the prototype hill chart. Simultaneously with achieving higher values of capacity compared to those of a Kaplan turbine, the operating range has been widened compared to traditional propeller turbines with a constant speed.

Flow Regulation of Low Head Hydraulic Propeller Turbines by Means of Variable Rotational Speed: Aerodynamic Motivations

To date, hydraulic energy is still, among the renewable ones, the most widespread and most exploited to produce electricity. With the current trend to exploit any renewable source available, the limits for the economic convenience of hydroelectric power plants have significantly changed, making it interesting and convenient to use even small heads and low flow rates. In the specific applications of hydraulic turbines operating with low heads, the Kaplan turbine plays the predominant role among the available machines, also given the possibility of carrying out an “on cam” regulation, acting simultaneously on the geometry of the rotor and distributor rows, thus allowing a wide flow rate adjustment range. However, for applications characterized by very low heads and low available powers, it may not be convenient to use complex regulating devices. For this reason, these plants usually use axial machines characterized by a partial regulation (of the distributor or of the rotor), significantly reducing the operating range of the machine compared to the case of double regulation. In the last decade, the development of reliable and less expensive permanent magnet generators and power electronic converters and related new control strategies has paved the way for the concept of regulating hydraulic turbines by means of variable rotational speed. This regulation principle is based on the possibility of acting in the case of using synchronous permanent magnets electric generators and electronic power converters and on the variation of the rotational speed of the machine while keeping the grid frequency constant. The concept can be applied both to pure propellers with fixed a rotor and fixed distributor and to hydraulic axial turbines with regulation based on the modification of the variable guide vane opening angle. Although this new regulation approach, even in the case of the combined guide vane and rotational speed regulation, does not allow to recover most of the energy losses due to the variation of the operating conditions as effectively as the Kaplan double regulation does, the variation of the rotation speed, coupled with the variation of the opening of the distributor row, allows to reduce the tangential kinetic energy losses generated at the turbine exit during the off-design operations of a fixed blade opening angle rotor. At the same time, this type of regulation offers a simple and thus low-cost solution. The present study develops the theory underlying this regulation concept, based on the use of the turbomachinery fundamental equations, and reports the results of the off-design CFD analysis carried out for different combinations of rotation speeds and openings of the distributor, showing the improvement of the hydraulic efficiency over a large range of operating conditions with respect to the single regulation approach.

Classic design of a kaplan turbine runner wheel

The Brazilian electric matrix is based on renewable sources of energy, and most of it comes from hydroelectric power plants, its structure is composed of a dam, a capture system, a spillway, and a powerhouse, in this installation are the water turbines The main types are Francis, Bulbo, Helix, Kaplan, and Pelton each one has particularity for dimensioning. In this context, the objective of the article is to carry out the classic design of a Kaplan turbine runner wheel and the computational design. For this, first, the runner wheel case study was defined considering those installed in Brazil, using as criteria the power energy efficiency. Later, based on the input data: flow, fall height, and runner rotation, the calculation memorial was developed, preliminary calculations to define the specific rotation, complementary calculations to determine the minimum runner flow, number of poles, specific design rotation, an outer diameter of the runner blade, hub diameter, the height of the distributor, solid shaft diameter, fluid flow velocity, profile lengths, and profile thickness. The Hydroelectric Power Plant case study was Luis Eduardo Magalhães, installed on the Tocantins River in the state of Tocantins, has five generator units with Kaplan runners of five blades and power of 180.5 MW each, the flow rate of 700 m³/s, drop height of 29 m and 100 revolutions per minute. The values obtained were organized in electronic spreadsheets and later the computational design of the runner was performed using CAD software. The dimensioned runner wheel has dimensional and power values similar to the case study. Thus, it is concluded that the application of the classic dimensioning allowed the design of the runner wheel containing five blades and power of 183.4 MW, and the computational design allowed us to visualize the similarities with the case study.

Towards an optimum pitch to chord ratio and establishing its scaling effects in low head Kaplan propellers

Notwithstanding the long historic journey of Kaplan turbines for hydropower generation, the inner design details like position of guide vane relative to runner, blade pitch to chord ratio amongst others are yet to be investigated in depth let alone being standardized. This dearth widens in small capacity hydropower plants. The current study chooses the blade pitch to chord as research theme to be investigated both experimentally and numerically on a medium-high specific speed Kaplan turbine. Three levels of study are envisaged for obtaining the optimum ratio. The first is the change of blade number with chord fixed, the second is fixing the blade number and changing the chord length and final level of keeping the ratio constant by varying the pitch and chord by identical proportion attempts to clarify the scaling effects. Optimum efficiency in the range of 78%–82% for ratios 1.2 to 2.2 are observed for smaller pitch, smaller chord condition. The scaling study at optimum ratio revealed that increasing the blade pitch distance causes the exit fluid deflection deteriorating the performance. The paper strongly recommends a wider pitch-chord ratio study in higher specific speed Kaplans to get standardized scaling effects with respect to size and achieve universality.

Performance Comparison of Crossflow Turbine Configuration Upper Blade Convex and Curvature by Computational Method

A pico-hydro-type crossflow turbine (CFT) with an off-grid system configuration is a suitable option to increase the electrification ratio in remote or rural areas because it has a simple shape and can be applied in run-of-river conditions. Yet, a comprehensive study is necessary for the CFT to be applied to run-of-river conditions (low head and extreme fluctuation discharge), since this is categorized as an impulse turbine. One solution to optimize the CFT’s performance in this context is to increase the lift force. Hence, this study investigated the effect of the upper blade of the CFT with convex and curved configurations using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The CFD transient approach uses a moving mesh feature, and the solver is pressure-based in low-head conditions (5 m pressure). The CFD results and analysis of variance (ANOVA) calculation results from this study reveal that the upper CFT affects the performance of the turbine. The relationship of the CFT performance with the rotation and specific speed is parabolic. The express empirical law relation for performance to rotation is a four-order polynomial, and for performance to a specific speed, a three-order polynomial. Based on empirical laws, a CFT with a convex blade is recommended for conditions with low head and extreme fluctuation discharge since it has a wider range of specific speeds than a curved blade, propeller, or Kaplan, Pelton, or Francis turbine. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-01-012 Full Text: PDF

Semi-Markov model for the Kaplan preventive repair system for water turbines

The article presents a semi-Markovian model of a system of preventive repairs according to age, carried out in water power plants with the use of Kaplan turbines. In the case of the analyzed technical objects, the profit per unit of time is considered as a criterion for the considered function. On the basis of the adopted assumptions, formulas describing the criterion function were presented for the developed mathematical model, and then the conditions for the existence of the maximum of this function were formulated. The proposed method makes it possible to determine the optimal time for preventive repair of the water power plant under consideration. Theoretical considerations presented in the article are presented on the basis of a calculation example developed on the basis of estimated data obtained from a real Kaplan water turbine operation system.

Computer modeling of the stress state and reliability assessment of bolted connections of the rotor and runner of Kaplan turbines

Ensuring the trouble-free operation of hydroelectric power stations is an important element of the stability of the power grid. Hydraulic turbines are often used to regulate daily fluctuations in electricity consumption. It is the start/stop modes of the hydraulic unit that are the most dangerous and lead to the highest levels of mechanical stress. Therefore, the work is devoted to the development of detailed three-dimensional models for assessing the stress state of bolted connections of the impeller, and on their basis determining the stress state in different operating modes of the hydraulic unit. The similarity method based on known experimental data is used to determine the load acting on the bolted connection. Determination of the stress state is carried out using the finite element method. The developed three-dimensional detailed finite-element model takes into account the non-linear interaction between the connecting parts: the bolt, the shaft flange, and the impeller body. Determined stresses as a function of time, which occur during the start/stop of the hydraulic unit and are used to estimate the life (including the residual) of the bolted connection.

Low-head high specific speed Kaplan turbine for small hydropower – design, CFD loss analysis and basic, cavitation and runaway investigations: A case study

In an era of growing energy demand, it is necessary to reach for lower water potentials to be used by a hydro unit. Due to low damming, a hydro unit must be designed to allow the flow of as much water as possible with maximum efficiency. This ensures optimal use of hydropower and minimization of turbine size. Therefore, this paper presents the construction of a model Kaplan turbine (runner diameter of 300 mm) with a high specific speed, designed to work under ultra-low and low heads up to 3 m.Adjustable guide vanes and runner blades were designed by means of an inverse problem method using a two-dimensional axisymmetric model. In the case of the adjustable guide vane, two shapes have been designed. The first has a classical shape and the second has a non-classical shape. The influence of both guide vanes on the turbine operation was analysed using the CFD technique. As a result, the turbine with a non-classical shape blade has a higher hydraulic efficiency and the efficiency curve is flatter. As part of these calculations, many variants of turbine settings were analysed (192 cases), namely 4 angles of classical guide vanes, 4 angles of non-classical guide vanes, and 4 angles of runner as well as 2 angles of a conical draft tube and 3 rotational speeds. The energy losses occurring in the flow elements of the turbine and their mutual contribution are presented in this paper.Model experimental tests of the turbine were carried out on the test stand with a wide range of settings of the guide vanes (the tests used a guide vane with a non-classical shape), the runner and its rotational speed. The research is aimed at determining the basic parameters of efficiency, the effect of cavitation and the runaway speed. Cavitation and runaway characteristics as well as the results of the resistance torque (friction losses) and its share in the total moment are presented.As a result of design, analytical, and experimental works the low-head high specific speed model Kaplan turbine was obtained and diagnosed. The realization of large flows, combined with the high efficiency of the machine is always a difficult task. The paper briefly describes the shapes of the designed guide vanes and runner blade obtained by the inverse problem method. However, more emphasis has been focused on the presentation of model tests that are rare for this type of machine. Therefore, the measurement uncertainty, measuring devices and the course of the conducted basic performance, cavitation and runaway tests are described in detail. Additionally, for the selected cases, a visualization of the flow with forced cavitation in the runner during cavitation tests is also presented.

Wasted and excess energy in the hydropower sector: A European assessment of tailrace hydrokinetic potential, degassing-methane capture and waste-heat recovery

Hydropower is the giant of the renewable energy sector, and a well-established source of energy. In order to reduce the impacts of new barriers in rivers, the retrofitting of existing facilities with new technologies is deserving a great attention, especially when hydropower technologies are hybridized with other energy devices. In this study a European-scale assessment is carried out to quantify the potential associated to the exploitation of the excess (and wasted) energy sources in existing hydropower facilities. Three sources of energy are assessed: 1) the hydrokinetic energy of the tailrace water flow and the potential energy associated to the unexploited head below Pelton units, 2) the thermal energy of the cooling system of the electric generators and 3) the chemical energy of the degassing methane. Considering the available technology, 5.0 TWh/y of heat could be generated by exploiting the thermal energy of the cooling system. 2.4 TWh/y of electricity could be generated by harnessing the hydrokinetic energy at the tailrace; this would correspond to thousands of micro hydropower plants 100 kW each), and would avoid new installations in natural freshwater systems. Degassing methane is relevant at the global scale, especially in tropical reservoirs. In Europe 5,950 tons/year of degassing methane could be theoretically captured, since minor methane emissions from reservoirs occur. R&D activities are ongoing to overcome the current technological limitations and high installation costs. Different novelties are included in this study: for the first time, a continental assessment is carried out on this topic, establishing methodologies that could be implemented at any regional scale. For each technology, a literature review is carried out to collect data and case studies. Data to estimate the number of units and the operating range of Francis, Kaplan and Pelton turbines in Europe, and equations to estimate the degassing methane emissions, are provided. These data can be used for similar large scale assessments.

Safe passage of American Eels through a novel hydropower turbine

AbstractObjectiveStudy the effects of downstream passage through a novel turbine designed for fish safety, the Restoration Hydro Turbine (RHT), on American Eels Anguilla rostrata in a recirculating turbine test facility.MethodsA 55‐cm‐diameter RHT was operated under 10 m of hydraulic head and 667 revolutions/min. In total, 131 eels were passed through the turbine and 43 eels were used as experimental controls (length = 33.9–65.5 cm). High‐speed video of passage through the runner region was captured for 89% of turbine‐passed eels, and injury and behavioral effects were recorded immediately before and after passage, as well as after a 48‐h holding period. A subset of 37 eels was additionally examined with X‐ray imaging for internal injuries.ResultThe 48‐h survival rate for both treatment and control groups was 100%, with no major internal or external injuries present after the holding period.ConclusionThis is a substantial improvement over eel survival rates through conventional Kaplan and Francis turbines, which may range from 40% to 95%, and suggests that hydropower turbines designed for safe downstream fish passage could be implemented without major impacts to eels.

Numerical analysis of cavitation hydrodynamics at different Kaplan runner solidity

The power developed by turbine is mainly affected by the runner design (including blade profile and runner solidity) and its rotational speed. However, the solidity of runner greatly affects the hydraulic efficiency as well as the cavitation performance of the turbine. Thus, the most crucial aspect of hydraulic turbine design is to ensure efficient and cavitation-free operation. The objective of proposed work is to analyze the effect of runner solidity on cavitation characteristics and hydrodynamic parameters to obtain the optimal number of runner blades for Kaplan turbine. The computational efficiency and value of critical cavitation factor at the rated operating condition are also compared with experimental results for validation and found to bear the close comparison. The critical analysis of various flow parameters for cavitating and non-cavitating analysis is also presented. The values of critical cavitation factor are found to be 0.58, 0.39, 0.26 and 0.18 for 3, 4, 5 and 6 number of runner blades, respectively. It is found that the critical cavitation factor decreases as the runner solidity increases. In addition to this, the effect of runner solidity on the location of cavitation is also investigated. The proposed work is very realistic and suited for the actual site conditions.

Application of an adaptive controller for controlling the rotational velocity of hydrogenerators taking into account the technological state of a Kaplan turbine

The impact of oil leakages in a turbine on the main power system parameters is investigated in reactive hydraulic turbines with adjustable-blade runners (Kaplan turbines) installed at Maynskaya, Nizhne-Bureiskaya and Vilyuyskaya hydroelectric power plants. The main theoretical relations and conclusions were obtained by the methods of mathematical simulation and integral calculations in the MATLAB software environment. A method is proposed for monitoring leakages in the housing of an adjustable-blade runner and smoothing the fluctuations of various parameters (amplitude, rotational velocity, phase angle, active power and generator current) of the power system in the case of oil leak-ages. The control is performed by means of a sensor installed in the runner, a fiber-optic cable and an optical-electrical converter located along the shaft from the runner blades to the oil receiver of the corresponding hydraulic unit. The performed analysis of the obtained mathematical model (frequency response and Nyquist plots were built) relative to the basic parameters of the electrical energy generated by a hydraulic unit showed that the proposed method of monitoring oil leakages contributes to an increase in the operational stability of a hydraulic unit. When constructing the model, the following parameters of the hydraulic unit were taken into account: rotational angle of runner blades and opening angle of hydraulic turbine guide vanes. The developed block diagram can be used to compare variations in the parameters both without oil leakage control and taking into account the automated control system proposed by the authors. It is shown that the obtained logarithmic Nyquist plot can be used to monitor variations in the amplitude, as well as its smoothening, both under normal conditions and taking into account oil leakages in the hydraulic turbine housing.

Numerical investigation of the stress state in the runner hub of a Kaplan turbine

In the context of global warming, Romania has assumed through European directives to increase the percentage of energy produced from renewable sources. In the last years, energy generated in hydropower plants had the largest contribution to the total renewable energy production. This is expected to continue in the forthcoming period, considering the seasonal nature of energy produced in photovoltaic and wind farms. Therefore, efforts are made to increase the installed power of hydropower plants and to reduce the downtime for maintenance and repairs. Increasing the installed power requires an accurate diagnosis of the components of hydro turbines. In Kaplan turbines one of the main components is the runner hub. The runner hub is subjected to a complex state of loading that depends on several factors, the most important being the runner opening and the operating mode. This paper presents a methodology for numerical analysis of the stress state of a six-bladed Kaplan runner hub. The algorithm for transposing to the hub the forces that act on the runner (hydrodynamic loads, mass and inertial forces, forces generated by the action of the servomotor) is described. The results of the numerical analysis are presented in the form of stress and displacement plots.

Failure investigation of a Kaplan turbine blade lever

The control mechanism of the Kaplan turbine is quite complex, and many of the failure cases of the control mechanism have been reported. The present work analyzed a failure case of the blade lever based on the multibody mechanics and fluid-structure interaction method. The flow characteristics in 49 operating conditions are simulated, and the pressure on the runner surface is applied on the FEM model. A dynamic stress isoline is proposed to carry out an in-depth analysis of the failure reason of the blade lever in full operating conditions. The fracture of the blade lever could be attributed to long time operation in high dynamic stress region, which leads to the accelerated fatigue damage. Results in this paper could be helpful for the design, operation and maintenance of the Kaplan turbine.

Modelling and optimisation of a Kaplan turbine — A comprehensive theoretical and CFD study

Undoubtedly, the whole world has been forced to increase the use of clean/renewable energy sources particularly due to the alarming environmental concerns that have been caused by fossil fuels based emissions/pollution and also with the predicted depletion of those fossil fuel reserves. Over the last few decades, the global fossil fuel consumption has increased significantly (i.e., 136,761 TWh in 2019 which is a 45% increase since 2000) with the rapid industrialisation of many economies and also with the increase of the energy intensiveness of the domestic lifestyle. Hence, switching to renewable energy sources is a current key global priority to restore the balance of nature. Of the renewable energy reserves, hydropower has been one of the major sources which date back to 1770s. The efficiency of hydropower turbines is highly affected by the performance of their runner wheel as it serves as the main unit that is responsible for extracting the energy from the flowing water. Hence, this research aims to investigate the design and optimisation approaches for a runner wheel of a Kaplan turbine. Initially, a detailed theoretical design was carried out for defining the main features of the runner and it gave a theoretical efficiency of around 94%. Usually, theoretical designs are based on numerous simplifying assumptions and hence these designs might provide an approximate solution only. This fact was established as the CFD model implemented for the exact same theoretical design achieved only an efficiency of 59.98%. Hence, CFD was used to further analyse and also to modify the theoretically proposed design where the effects of the inlet/outlet tangential velocities of the blades, pressure distribution across the runner, and the number of blades were evaluated and modified to improve the energy extraction capacity of the runner. The CFD results showed that the original theoretically designed runner could be optimised to reach an efficiency of 93.01% with carefully performed modifications. Overall, the inlet and outlet angles of the blades presented a significant impact on the Kaplan turbine's power generation performance. Eventually, a comprehensive comparison of the theoretical, CFD-theoretical and CFD-optimised designs are presented with possible recommendations for improving the power generation efficiency of a Kaplan turbine.

Cavitation detection in a Kaplan turbine based on multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis of vibration signals

Cavitation generally causes a decrease in efficiency and vibrations to a Kaplan turbine, but effectively identifying cavitation state is quite difficult. In this paper, a comprehensive test system consisting of a high-speed camera and a vibration testing system has been constructed based on a high-precision universal hydraulic machinery test stand. The vibration signals of the runner and the draft tube and cavitation images on the runner blade have been obtained for a Kaplan turbine under different cavitation states based on the system. In addition, the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) method has been introduced to analyse the obtained vibration signals, in order to investigate the influence of runner blade cavitation on turbine vibration. Results show that the vibration signals of both the runner and the draft tube have multifractal characteristics. The Hurst exponent, the scaling exponent and the multifractal spectrum by MF-DFA are strongly dependent on turbine cavitation state. It is found that cavitation states including the incipient cavitation of the turbine could be effectively identified by using characteristic parameters extracted from the multifractal spectrum obtained by the MF-DFA of vibration signals. This work provides an effective method for cavitation identification of Kaplan turbines.

Computational studies of hydraulic stressors for biological performance assessment in a hydropower plant with Kaplan turbine

Hydropower is currently one of the preeminent sources of renewable energy in the United States and globally. Hydropower plants also have detrimental impacts on the environment and ecology, including direct impacts to anadromous fish populations. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) – based Biological Performance Assessment (BioPA) toolset is used for biological evaluations of fish passage through hydropower plants. The hydraulic environment of a hydropower plant was evaluated using CFD coupled with discrete element method (DEM) simulations. The predicted flow field and particle collision rate were validated against the experimental data in a water flume that has an idealized hydroturbine distributor geometry. Flow simulations were conducted to evaluate the hydraulic stressors, such as nadir pressure, fluid shear, runner collision, in a physical scale in a hydropower plant with Kaplan turbine which are responsible for injury and mortality of fish in a downstream migration. The cumulative exposure probability for the nadir pressure and collision with turbine runner was found to decrease with increased discharge rate. The lowest discharge rate shows the higher value of cumulative shear exposure probability. The maximum value of collision velocity increases with increased discharge rate. We offer the conclusions that will help in understanding various hydraulic stressors for biological assessment for environmentally sustainable hydroturbine passage.

Benefits of battery hybridization in hydraulic turbines. Wear and tear evaluation in a Kaplan prototype

Kaplan turbines are nowadays used to provide Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR) to the grid due to their fast capacity to regulate their power maintaining high efficiency. However, this continuous power regulation increases the wear and tear of the regulation system considerably. To reduce the amount of movements in the regulation servomotors, and thus their wear and tear, a new technology is being investigated within the frame of the European project XFLEX Hydro. This new technology is based on hybridizing the hydro unit with a small size battery in parallel, this one being in charge of compensating the small frequency fluctuations in the grid by providing or absorbing power. In this paper, the benefits of the implementation of this new technology are evaluated. A Kaplan turbine prototype located in Vogelgrun, France, has been hybridized and different parameters have been monitored while the unit was working in hybrid mode and in normal standalone hydro mode. Wear and tear of the regulation system have been compared for both hybrid and standalone hydro modes. A reduction of about 25% in servomotors mileage and of 50% in fatigue damage have been obtained by hybridizing the unit.

Determination of the natural frequencies of a prototype Kaplan turbine

The natural frequencies of a turbine can be calculated from numerical methods. By comparing these natural frequencies with excitation sources, one can know the danger of a resonance and a possible failure in a component of the turbine. Therefore, it is often very important to have an accurate numerical model of the turbine to determine these natural frequencies. There are not many publications on the determination of the natural frequencies of reduced-scale models of Kaplan turbines. More papers exist for pump turbines or Francis turbines. For real Kaplan turbines, very few experiments can be found to determine mode shapes and natural frequencies. In this paper a Kaplan turbine of 37MW (maximum power), 12.5m (maximum head) and 50 m3/s (maximum flowrate) was tested. The turbine was equipped to determine the natural frequencies of the runner in air. For this purpose, one accelerometer in each blade of the runner was installed and a total of 16 impacts were done in each blade. Frequencies and mode shapes were obtained. In parallel, a numerical model was obtained. Numerical and experimental results were compared and an accurate numerical model is presented. With this numerical model the natural frequencies of the runner in water were calculated.

Hybridization in Kaplan turbines. Wear and tear assessment

In the current energy market, hydraulic turbines are increasingly demanded to work in Frequency containment reserve (FCR) mode to compensate the constant frequency fluctuations in the electrical grid. To do so, hydraulic turbines change their generating power continuously which implies to regulate the flow rate. Kaplan turbines are double regulated machines that change the position of both guide vanes and runner blades to regulate the flow rate maximizing their efficiency. Therefore, guide vanes and runner blades are continuously moving when they provide FCR, leading to high wear and tear of the regulation system components.Within the frame of the European project XFLEX Hydro, a new technology to reduce the wear and tear of the regulation system in FRC have been implemented. This technology consists in the hybridization of the unit with a battery system. In that way, the battery is the one in charge of providing part of the power fluctuations to the grid, reducing the movements of guide vanes and runner blades of the turbine. The battery system was successfully installed in August 2021 in one unit of the Vogelgrun powerplant, in France. Since that moment, the unit has been working in hybrid mode.A monitoring system was installed in the power plant in two different units, the one hybridized and another without hybrid system. Several sensors were installed and different parameters were measured simultaneously to calculate the wear and tear of the different components. In this paper, a comparison between the hybrid mode and the standard mode (non-hybrid) is performed in terms of mileage and wear and tear of the guide vanes and runner blades servomotors.