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Hydro power plants can be classified by many different aspects, This classification is a according to the working of hydro power plants ,For Example they can by classified be the source of the water itself and by their construction or their turbine.

This classification helps us to understand variety of aspect of hydro power plants ,also understand how some types are connected to each other.

River Power Plants
Run-Of-River plants that’s what they called in some countries ,In this type of plants the natural and powerful flow and Elevation drop of the rivers is what it used through these kind of hydro plants to generate electricity.

Hydro-Electric Power Plant at Night - HDR


River Power Plants are two types :

1-Plants Which are fed directly by a river.

2-Plants which are fed by diversion canal.

A diversion means the the plants aren’t fed by the whole river but that part of a river which  separated in a canal, This canal’s job is to feed the water from a river to the hydro power plants.

Because of the limitation of diversion canal it’s incapable of feeding hydro power plants of water as much as water the first type as the first type is fed from the river itself  , so second type generates less electricity compered to first type.

The Operation Mode Of The River Power Plants
The operation mode can abbreviated There Are 3 different aspects :


Second, in this one the river power plants has a weir with slack flow ,As the water an be stored in a small tank , there are two different reason why water should be stored :


2-To have water reserves.

Third, It can be found in Small river power plants, It lacks both the weir and Slack flow, as Those small river power plants like water wheels don’t need a weir or a slack flow because they runs be the streaming water of a river.

Types Of Turbines That used In the river power plants
The Turbines that are used in the first two operating modes are

Kaplan Turbines

Propeller Turbines

Francis Turbines

Those Kind of turbines are ideal for a Small heights of falls and huge mass of water Then pressure becomes relatively Low.

Capacity Of The River Power Plants
The capacity of the river power plants can range from a few kilowatts to many hundred megawatts That’s depending on the height of the water fall and the volume of the water.

Advantages And Disadvantage Of The River Power Plants

The disadvantage of the river power plants is that the fact that the river power plants are highly depend on water falls so maybe the power is generated doesn’t match with the power demand.


Introduction to Hydro Energy Systems: Basics, Technology and Operation (Green Energy and Technology) (Hardcover)

The authors have tried to strike a balance between a short book chapter and a very detailed book for subject experts. There are three prime reasons behind for doing so: first, the field is quite interdisciplinary and requires simplified presentation for a person from non-parent discipline. The second reason for this short-version of a full book is that both the authors have seen students and technically oriented people, who were searching for this type of book on hydro energy. The third reason and motivation was considering engineers who are starting their career in hydro energy sector. This book is targeted to present a good starting background and basic understanding for such professionals.
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