Power Plant Reservoir Research Articles

Consideration of changes in the local climate in the region of the reservoir and lower pool of hydroelectric stations

The positive and negative effects of large hydroelectric power plant reservoirs located in various physiographic zones of the Soviet Union on the local climate were characterized. These effects occur due to an increase in the volume of the water mass having a greater heat capacity and an increase of the area of the water surface compared with the river in an unregulated state. Comparisons were drawn between reservoirs in mountainous and plain territories and in northern and southern zones of the country. Warming and humidity trends along with extensions of frost-free periods into the colder seasons were assessed. The creation of large reservoirs in the southern zone of the Asian part of the country was determined to make the desert and steppe territories suitable for animal habitation. The impact of favorable climatic conditions on recreational development was also assessed.

Archaeological Survey and Backhoe Testing for Flume No. 3 Right-of-Way at Coleto Creek Reservoir, Goliad County, Texas

During August 1983, archaeological survey and testing were conducted at Flume No.3 for the Coleto Creek power plant reservoir in Goliad County, Texas. The work included survey of the entire Flume No.3 route, testing one site (41 GD 30B) located at the flume outlet on Coleto Creek, survey and testing of an alternate fl ume route downstream, and testi ng at another site designated 41 GD 31. The right-of-way survey revealed a historic site (41 GD 48) in the proposed spoil area; no further work is recommended at this site. Testing at 41 GD 30B provided necessary additional information on the site's area and depth. It was judged that the flume outflow could damage the integrity of the site, and that the site should be avoided or the impact mitigated. Survey and testing of the alternate, downstream flume route indicated this route provides the best alternative for reservoir outflow since no cultural resources were found on the surface and a possible buried component at 41 GD 31 would probably be too deeply buried to be affected.

Expansion Planning of Hydrothermal Power Systems, Optimizing the Multiple Uses of the Water from Hydroelectric Power Plant Reservoirs, via Conversational Multi-Objective Algorithms

Often the development of hydroelectricity has an overwhelming role in the utilization planning of regional water resources. For such situation, it is proposed in this paper to approach the power system expansion problem on a two objective basis. The first one is the cost minimization of the power supply, while the second one is the maximization of the overall net benefit accruing from the multi-purpose regional water usage. The nature of the problem is such that conversational multi-objective methods are particularly attractive for its solution. The joint optimization of the two objectives is carried out with the help of two powerfull alternative conversational techniques: the Surrogate Worth Trade-off Method and the Interactive Sequential Goal Programming Method. Applications to the generation system of a Brazilian power supply utility indicate the former method as the best for this class of problems. The expansion plans are provided by a “global” (it performs the expansion and operation steps simultaneously) generation planning model using linear programming.

Preliminary studies of the reservoir capacity and the generating potential of the Baca Geothermal Field, New Mexico

A 50‐MWe geothermal power plant is being considered for the Baca site in the Valleys Caldera, New Mexico, as a joint venture of the Department of Energy (DOE) and Union Oil Company of California. To date, over 20 wells have been drilled on the prospect, and the data from these wells indicate the presence of a high‐temperature, liquid‐dominated reservoir. In this paper, data from the open literature on the physical characteristics of the field are used to estimate the amount of hot water in place (reservoir capacity) and the length of time the reservoir can supply steam for a 50‐MWe power plant (reservoir longevity). The reservoir capacity is estimated to be 1012 kg of hot fluid by volumetric calculations using existing geological, geophysical, and well data. The criteria used are described and the sensitivity of the results discussed. The longevity of the field is studied using a two‐phase numerical simulator (SHAFT79). A number of cases are simulated based upon different boundary conditions and upon injection and production criteria. The results obtained from the simulation studies indicate that it is questionable that the Baca field can supply enough steam for a 50‐MWe power plant for 30 years. Although the estimated reservoir reserves greatly exceed those needed for a 50‐MWe power plant, the low transmissivity of the reservoir would cause localized boiling and rapid pressure decline during exploitation. It is therefore apparent that the conventional zero‐dimensional (lumped parameter models) cannot be used to evaluate the generating capacities of low‐permeability fields such as the Baca field.

Effect of a deep-water outfall from a power-plant reservoir on water quality in the lower pool

Effect of a deep-water outfall from a power-plant reservoir on water quality in the lower pool

Positive results of the reorganization of farming in regions with large reservoirs

1. When the farms which must be abandoned when the reservoir is constructed are completely restored with the costs charged to the construction of the U st-Ilimsk hydroelectric power plant, the agricultural production will have a better organizational and economical basis. This will enable the farming enterprises to produce with less loss of time and provide the means to solve the new problems confronting agriculture as the region is more and more industrialized. 2. This situation is characteristic of reservoirs that are to be built in thinly populated regions where the agricultural holdings are situated in river valleys. Such regions are, for example, the catchment areas of the Boguchany and Nizhne-Ob' hydroelectric power plant reservoirs. 3. To be able to determine the efficiency of hydraulic construction with reliable security it is necessary to compare the plans of reorganization of farming under the existing conditions and under the conditions following reservoir construction. 4. To eliminate the drawbacks in planning to provide the measures for restoring the agricultural production under the new conditions and for using the reservoirs in the interest of agriculture it is necessary to work out a general method of determining the loss inflicted on farming when reservoirs are built and a method of making up for this so that the agricultural production is restored and that the compensation investments for farming are profitable.

Artificial beach as an experimental type of reservoir bank protection

1. Observations over three years have shown that the artificial beach effectively protects the bank of the reservoir against erosion. 2. Owing to the concave shape of the beach shoreline, its individual sections are dissimilar with respect to stability. The straight section has the greatest stability. 3. The angles of inclination of the artificial beach, adopted on the basis of those on natural shoals, are most acceptable for such bank protection. 4. Under conditions of a steady regime of wave action on the reservoir, the stability of the underwater shoals depends not so much on the parameters of the waves as on certain nonwave factors, particularly the regime of water level fluctuations during the navigation season. 5. The artificial bank-protecting beach on the Novosibirsk Hydroelectric Power Plant reservoir is essentially experimental. Results of stability investigation indicate the need for broadening such works in order to select the optimal method of reinforcing banks when using the inshore zone of artificial bodies of water for national-economic purposes.