Diagram of hydroelectric dam

The worthiness for hydraulic head is used when you look at the hydroelectric energy equation to look for the offered energy of a hydroelectric system. It's one of the most significant elements within equation, represented by:

in which:

Note that the more expensive the top difference in the expression above, the more possible mechanical power the water inside reservoir features.

Classifications

You will find three main classifications of dames based on the hydraulic head differences: large, moderate, and reasonable. The faculties of the kinds are explained below.

Tall Head

Head variations of 100 meters or maybe more are believed large mind. In this particular plant, water travelling through turbine comes from a considerably higher level, which means that the device requires a smaller level of liquid to make an equivalent amount of energy. These systems usually also require smaller turbines while there is less water-flowing through turbine.

In addition to a smaller turbine, a longer penstock is needed to guide the water down from the high elevation reservoir. Generally, large hydroelectric installations are either high or medium head.

Moderate Mind

Moderate head systems generally speaking have mind differences when considering between 10 and 100 meters. The penstock in a medium head dam is slightly smaller than increased mind dam as there's less of an elevation fall. This type of dam relies both on a significant amount of water flowing and an important fall high of the water.

Low Mind

Low head dams are classified as systems with head distinctions of approximately 10 meters or less. These reasonable head hydro turbines are generally found in facilities such as run-of-the-river methods where there's a flowing lake with little level change.

These low head methods generally transport huge volumes of liquid and thus require bigger turbines to effectively transform water energy into electrical energy. In these installments, a big dam isn't needed to barricade liquid as there is little liquid storage space.