DEFINED

FEED MHPP Mamasa

CIVIL,MECHANICAL

1 DEFINED CIVIL
1.1 Hydrological data
The hydrological data is the most important data in a hydropower
project and all of the design depends on it. The data sets should have as
many years of registries as possible. The longer the data period, the more
accurate will be the results.
In ideal conditions there are two main data sets that must be
obtained before the design phase of the project:

Daily flows: Used to compute the flow duration curve (FDC) from which
the projects design flow is derived.

Maximum flood flows: Used to predict the maximum flood flow for a
given return period.
Usually the hydrological data is obtained from a gauging station.

However, in mini or micro hydropower projects, as they are located in

remote areas and have small catchment areas (watershed), often no
gauging stations are available. In the absence of hydrological data at the
site, two procedures should be considered:

Adapting data from the nearest watershed with similar hydrological

characteristics where a gauging station has been established and long
term hydrological data is available. The watershed with the gauging
station considered should have similar average annual temperature
and rainfall, geology, and land cover

The second procedure is to measure the river flows during various

seasons and specifically during low flow seasons. The more the
measurements the more reliable the data will be.

1.

Daily Flows

PT.ARYAGUNA INTI RANU

To adapt a data set from a selected gauging station to the

watershed of the project the procedure is based on transposition
method that uses the ratio between the areas of the watersheds. Thus,
being
Ags Area of the watershed of the selected gauging station
Qgs Flow measurement of the selected gauging station
Ap Area of the watershed of the project
Qp Calculated flow for the watershed of the project
This method is widely used and can produce results that can be
considered accurate. There are however other methods. For further
references the book MicroHydro Design Manual from Adam Harvey
should be consulted. Depending on the aim of the project and site
conditions local measurements should also be carried out. If the aim of the
project is to optimize it according to the available flows, then daily flows
are needed in order to get data that will allow to calibrate the flow
duration curve obtained from the transposition method. However, if the
aim of the project is to guarantee a constant supply of energy to a small
community, then the main hydrological input will be the minimum flow
and the project should be designed for that. The local measurements of
minimum flow should be carried out during the low flow season.
There are several methods to measure the flows at a site. For
further information on this subject the book MicroHydro Design Manual
from Adam Harvey should be consulted.
2.

Maximum flood flows

The availability of maximum flood flows measurements is lower

than of daily flows and this is often the case in remote areas like the
ones where usually mini or micro hydro projects are implemented. To
come up with an estimation of the maximum flood flow, the nearest
gauged river data should be used to estimate the flood factor. The ratio
of the maximum flood value recorded by least daily flow measured for
various years can be computed and the average of such ratios can be
used as flood factor. Flow and flood flow data make a time series which
means they can undergo through a frequency analysis. This will allow to
determine the recurrence interval of the hydrologic event of a given
magnitude x. The average interval of time within which the magnitude y
of the event will be equalled or exceeded once is known as return
period, and is designated by T. If a hydrologic event equal to or greater
than x occurs once in T years, the probability P(Xx) is equal to 1 in T
cases, or
This means that a return period will be the average time interval in
which a given flood flow is equal or exceeded. For example, if the flood
flow at a river station, for a 100 years return period, is 200 m3 /s, this
means that on average there will be at that river station a flood with a
flow of 200 m3 /s or more at every 100 years. Thus the concept of return
period can be used as a risk management procedure. The higher the
return period of the adopted design flood flow, the lower the risk of a flood
with a higher flow than the design one, and hence the lower the risk of
damaging the hydraulic structures at the intake area. In order to compute
the flows for a given or several return periods statistical methods have to
be applied to the flow data series so that the frequency analysis can be
computed. The most common methods are the following statistical
distributions:

Normal

Gumbel

Pearson III

LogPearson III
3

Each distribution will produce different results so the designer will

have to make a decision on which design flood flow to use based on all the
computed flows he gets. For further reference on this subject please check
the book Handbook of Applied Hydrology from Van Te Chow. Typically the
return period to adopt for the design of a hydropower scheme will depend
on the risk of human and material losses in its surroundings if the design
flood flow is exceeded. As micro hydro schemes are often located in
remote areas, thus the risk is low, the recommended return period for the
design of flood structures is 100 years. As these methods are estimations,
during visits to the site the engineers should look in the area for marks of
former floods and also ask the local residents about former floods. After
getting an approximate cross section, the corresponding water level
during the flood considered, and the rivers longitudinal slope at this
stretch, the flood flow for that cross section can be computed. The
computed value should then be compared with the estimated values. It
has to be noted that given that floods with higher return periods are not
frequent it will be difficult to find marks of those floods, thus the identified
flood levels will likely correspond to flood flows with return periods of
about 1 to 5 years. This should be taken into account when comparing
these in situ estimation values with the flood flow values obtained from
the statistical methods. If there are any hydrological studies for other
projects in the area they should also be used. As stated earlier, the more
hydrological data that can be gathered and used, the more accurate will
be the results.

1.2 Topographic survey

Topography of the project area should be obtained. It should include

the areas predicted for the following structures: weir and intake, canal,
forebay, penstock and powerhouse. Areas around this structures should
also be included so that during the development of the project the
designer can also have available information when designing for example
the flushing channel for the gravel trap or settling basin. It has to be noted
that the area around the intake and weir should be detailed so that there
is

enough

information

for

computing

flood

levels

upstream

and

downstream of the weir section.

1.3 Design Procedure

The design template spreadsheet MHPP Mamasa contains the
following sheets:

Weir & stilling basin

Water levels U/S & D/S

Intake

Intake Canal

Gravel trap

Side Spillway

Approach canal

Settling Basin

Settling Basin Flushing pipe

Headrace Canal

Forebay

Forebay Flushing pipe

Penstock design

Head losses calculation

Power calculations

Anchor blocks

Weir Stability

1.4 Execution of the design process

1.4.1 Hydro design
The design process should be carried out accordingly to the
following instructions:
1

Intake:

Set the design discharge (Qd).The intake design discharge (Qdin)

will then be 1.2 Qd. This is for safety and to account for the seepage
losses on the canal, from the intake to the forebay. The Qdin will be
the flow value used for the design of the upstream structures like
the canals.

Choose the position of the intake and set the river bed level BLu/s,
then set the clearance from river bed level (ClRBL) which should be
at least 0.30 m. This value is to account for bed load such as debris
and boulders carried by the river during the flood period. If
according to local conditions there is a high risk of the intake being
blocked during flood season then increase the clearance to a level
considered safe. However it has to be noted that the higher the
clearance the higher the construction costs with the intake and the
weir.

Set the flow velocity through the intake. This value should be
between 1.0 and 1.5 m/s for stone masonry and not more than 3.0
m/s for concrete intakes. It has to be noted that a higher velocity
will lead to smaller intakes but make them more prone to attract
debris.

Set the width (w) of the intake. The height of the intake will be
automatically calculated accordingly to the area that resulted from
the velocity assumed for the flow at the intake.
6

From the governing equation of flow through submerged intakes,

the difference between the water levels upstream and downstream
the intake, (h) required to allow the design flow to pass through
the intake orifice is computed. Note that the downstream water
level will be based on the intake canal geometry (or other structures
such as gravel trap). Thus, the design and calculation process will be
iterative.

Intake Canal:

Set the Manning coefficient accordingly to the surface material of

the canal.

Set slope of the vertical canal walls (m) to zero. Set a slope for the
canal. Compute goal seek by setting dif Q to zero by changing h. If
the water depth in the canal is not at least 5 cm higher than the
height of the intake orifice then set a new slope and do goal seek
again. Repeat the process as many times as necessary until the
water depth in the canal is at least 5 cm higher than the height of
the intake orifice. This is to assure the orifice is submerged.

Check if the maximum size of particles to be transported in the

canal is higher than the minimum size of particles to be settled in
the gravel trap. If not increase the slope and check if the
submergence condition of the orifice is still verified.

Intake:

The water level downstream of the intake, hD/S, orifice is now the
level set previously in the intake canal. From this level it is
calculated the water level upstream the intake, hU/S. which will set
the normal water level, NWL. If the levels obtained are not suited for
site conditions, try different canal widths.

Weir & Stilling basin:

Set the maximum flood discharge (Q maxflood) and the normal flood
discharge (Qnormflood) accordingly to the values obtained from a
hydrological study.
7

Set the length of the weir crest, L. This value should be set
accordingly to the local conditions on the area were the weir will be
placed, which usually is a few meters downstream the intake.

Set the weir discharge coefficient. This value is dependent on the

shape of the weir.

After the referred variables are set, the water depth over the weir
crest for both of the flood flows (hpf and hnf) is calculated by using
the equation for discharge over a weir. These values are outputs
that will be used as inputs for the calculation of the flow going
through the intake in flood conditions.

Set the freeboard for the floodwalls. This value should be at least
0.3 m and its choice will depend on the quality of the hydrological
study. If the designer is not confident about the maximum peak
flood discharge then he should increase the freeboard. After the
freeboard is set the height of the flood walls is calculated.

Water level downstream

Choose a cross section downstream of the intake (about 20 to 30 m)

Set

the

Manning

coefficient

accordingly

to

the

river

bed

characteristics

Pick a point some meters upstream the selected cross section and
other a few meter downstream and compute the longitudinal slope
of the river. Input the value in cell Slope.

From the cross section profile get the slope from the river banks (m
left bank and m right bank)

Set the width of the river canal on that cross section, b.

Run goal seek by setting cell dif Q to zero by changing h. This will
compute the uniform water depth for the approximate cross section
of the river.

Weir & Stilling basin

Go to the line River regime downstream. If the critical depth is

greater than the uniform depth (hc>hu) then the river regime is
supercritical and no hydraulic jump will occur. In this case go to step
XX. If (hc< <hu) then the regime in the river for flood conditions is
subcritical hence there will be a hydraulic jump downstream the
weir and a stilling basin must be provided.

Set the depth of stilling basin bed level from downstream bed level,
, to zero. This means that for the calculations of the hydraulic jump
it is considered that the bed level of the stilling basin is the same as
that of the river in the section immediately downstream.

For the calculation of the hydraulic jump, the first step is to consider
that between the weir crest and the bottom of the weir the total
energy of the flow will remain constant because rapidly varied flow
will occur. The water depth at the end of the weir is computed in
accordance to this principle. For this in the table named Energy
conservation at weir the cell dif E, using goal seek, must be set to
zero by changing D1 which is the water depth at the end of the weir.

After the calculation of D1 all of the calculations of the hydraulic

jump are automatic and the designer can go directly to check if the
water level at the river, TWL, is compatible with the water level in
the stiling basin downstream the hydraulic jump, TWLsb. The criteria
TWLTWLsb< 0.01D2 must be verified. If this condition is not
satisfied, then the hydraulic jump will move downstream and thus
outside of the stilling basin. This is a situation to be avoided
because outside the stilling basin severe damage to the river bed
will occur (scouring) which can undermine the stilling basin. To
avoid this, the solution is to set the bed level of the stilling basin at
a lower level than the river bed level. Go back to the cell depth of
stilling basin bed level from downstream bed level, , and set on
value (try starting for example with 0.5).

Repeat the iterative process at the table Energy conservation at

weir and check again the condition TWLTWLsb< 0.01D2. If it is still
not being verified, change again the value of and repeat the
process. Do as many iterations as necessary until the condition TWL
TWLsb< 0.01D2 is satisfied.

The length of the stilling basin will be computed according to the

values in the table Natural Jump Length.

The height of the walls of the stilling basin will also be computed
automatically after the value of the water depth after the hydraulic
jump, D2, is calculated. The equation considers a freeboard of 25%
D2.

Gravel trap

The design discharge for the gravel trap is the flow in the intake
canal that results from a flood with a return period of 5 years. This
will ensure that the gravel trap is oversized for normal operation
conditions, which will help to prevent malfunction during regular
flood periods due to the lack of flushing according to the time
interval considered during the design.

Set the minimum size of particles to be settled in the gravel trap

(usually 2 mm size is considered)

According to the Rouse graph (which is in the spreadsheet) set the

fall velocity of the particles for the selected size.

Set the width of the gravel trap. This value should be 2 to 5 times
the width of the intake canal.

10

Set the safety factor, SF. This is an oversizing factor for the design of
the gravel trap and its main purpose is to account for the turbulence
in the flow which will decrease the efficiency of the settling process.
In comparison to a settling basin a gravel trap is usually a smaller
structure in length because the settling velocity of particles is
higher, thus they need a shorter distance from the beginning of
structure to settle. As a result of this, for the same volume of
particles to store between flushing, a gravel trap will need a bigger
collection depth. However this value should be kept in a reasonable
range to prevent an excess of excavation. Increasing the safety
factor is a way to solve this problem because as the size of the
gravel trap increases the collection depth decreases.

Check if the ratio L\W is ok. This ratio should be between 1.5 and
2.0, however it is not a problem if it gets a little higher or smaller
than the range. If the gravel trap is made smaller than the flushing
frequency will be higher and if it is made larger than the flushing
frequency can be decreased.

Check if the horizontal flow velocity, vp, is less or equal to the limit
velocity, vlimit, if not increase the width of the gravel trap. x Set the
angle of the walls at the entrance and exit transitions. The entrance
should be smoother, thus with a smaller angle (around 20 degrees),
in order to avoid turbulence in the flow. At the exit this criteria is not
so strict and decision will also depend on the alignment of the canal
if there is room for a smoother and longer transition or not).

11

Set the river carrying load of gravel. This kind of data is very rare, so
usually depending on the characteristics of the river the designer
can assume a value between 0.5 and 2.0 kg/m3 . x Set the flushing
time. In ideal conditions this time should be equal to the flushing
frequency of the settling basin in order to make easier and simpler
the operation of the scheme. However this is not always possible
because it would lead to a high collection depth. It has also to be
noted that the design flushing frequency is for flood season which
means that during the remaining year when the river carrying load
is much lower the flushing frequency will decrease.

Set the density of gravel. Usually the value of 2600 kg/m3 is

considered.

From the previous inputs the dimensions and depths of the gravel
trap are defined. The settling depth is considered equal to the depth
of the flow in the intake canal. The freeboard is considered to be the
same used in the intake canal (0.30 m).

Side spillway

The design discharge, Qd, is linked to the spreadsheet of the intake

The minor flood discharge, Qminor flood, is computed considering

that it is equal to 1.15 Qd. This will be the flow used to design the
spillway as it is considered to be an unfavorable situation for the
design of the intake. This happens because a small excess to the
design flow will produce a low head of water over the spillway crest
leading to a higher length of the crest than in a major excess over
the design flow where the head over the crest will be higher and
require a shorter crest length required.

The height of the spillway crest is considered to be equal to the

normal water depth in the canal, which mean that any excess of
flow will be spilled.

12

Set the discharging coefficient, C, accordingly to the profile of the

weir crest to be used.

Set the safety factor, SF. This is to account for the approximations
considered in the design of the spillway. Usually it is used 1.5 but
this value can go up to 2. The designer must have in mind that the
higher the safety factor the higher the length of the crest.

Approach canal

The Manning coefficient is linked to the to the intake canal sheet

because it is assumed that all of the canals are built with the same
material.

The flow is the design flow and is linked to the intake sheet

Set the slope of the canal. If possible make it equal to the one of the
intake canal (this is for easy of construction).

Set the width of the canal. The approach canal will not have to
convey flood flow (since flood flows are spilled from the side spillway
upstream), but only the design flows and thus the canal can be
narrowed. Choose a width, b, which makes the height of the canal
walls (including the freeboard), hwalls, about double its size.

Use goal seek to set the cell dif Q to zero by changing h. If the
height of the canal walls (including the freeboard), hwalls, is not
about two times the size of the width of the canal, b, change the
width of the canal and repeat the goal seek.

Check if the maximum size of particles to be transported in the

canal is greater than the minimum size of particles that were settled
in the gravel trap. This is to assure that there will not be settling of
sediments before the settling basin. If this is not verified increase
the slope of the canal and repeat the previous steps.

10 Settling

Basin

The settling basin is designed for the intake design discharge and
this value is linked to the intake sheet.

13

Set the minimum size of particles to be settled in the settling basin

(usually it is considered this size to be 0.2 mm)

According to the Rouse graph (which is in the spreadsheet) set the

fall velocity of the particles for the selected size.

Set the width of the settling basin. This value should be 2 to 5 times
the width of the approach canal.

Set the safety factor, SF. This is an oversizing factor for the design of
the settling basin and its main purpose is to account for the
turbulence in the flow which will decrease the efficiency of the
settling process. Usually the safety factor, SF, ranges between 1 and
2. x Check if the ratio L\W is ok. This ratio should be between 4
and 10, however it is not a problem if it gets a little higher or
smaller than the range. As in the case of gravel trap only the
flushing frequency will have to be changed.

Check if the horizontal flow velocity, vp, is less or equal to the limit
velocity, vlimit, if not increase the width of the settling basin.

Set the angle of the walls at the entrance and exit transitions. These
transitions should be smooth and have an angle that makes the
length of the transition at least equal to the width of the settling
basin.

Set the river carrying load of sand. This kind of data is usually hard
to get, so depending on the characteristics of the river the designer
can assume a value between 0,5 and 2,0 kg/m3 . 10 Renewable
Energy Guidelines Nov. 2013 Volume 11 Micro/Mini Hydropower
Design Aspects

14

Set the flushing time. In ideal conditions this time should be equal to
the flushing frequency of the gravel trap in order to make easier and
simpler the operation of the scheme. However this is not always
possible because the smaller dimensions of the gravel trap reduce
its storage capacity, thus leading to higher flushing frequencies. It
has also to be noted that the design flushing frequency is for flood
season, when the river carries a high sediment load, which means
that during the remaining year when the sediment load is much
lower, the emptying frequency will decrease.

Set the density of sand. Usually the value of 2600 kg/m3 is

considered.

From the previous inputs the dimensions and depths of the settling
basin are defined. The settling depth is considered equal to the
depth of the flow in the approach canal. The freeboard is considered
to be the same used in the approach canal (0.30 m).

Note that if the collection tank has sloped side walls the computed
Dcollection is not the real depth to be used. In this case the designer
should decide on the longitudinal slope of the settling basin bottom
and then set the collection depths at the beginning and end of the
settling/collection area in a way that the volume for sediment
storage is at least equal to Volsand.

11 Settling

basin Flushing pipe

Set the depth of flushing (vertical distance between the bottom of

the gravel trap and the end of the flushing pipe). If there is no
flushing pipe and the flushing system is a gate and downstream a
flushing canal, then set this value to zero. x Set the orifice
coefficient (usually 1.9).

Equation 1 accounts for the situation when the basin is full and its
volume and the incoming flow will be totally flushed. Equation 2
accounts for the situation when the basin is already empty and only
the incoming flow will be flushed.

15

The diameter of the pipe is automatically computed. If hflush was

set to zero then only equation 1 will have a result.

If the flushing system to adopt has a pipe then its diameter will be
dflushing. If the system is a gate and a downstream flushing canal
then the gate will be sized based on the area of the orifice. For this,
set the width and the height will be automatically calculated.

12 Headrace

canal

The Manning coefficient is linked to the to the intake canal sheet

because it is assumed that all of the canals are built with the same
material.

The flow is the design discharge and is linked to the intake sheet

Set the slope of the canal. If possible make it equal to the one of the
intake canal (this is for easy of construction).

Set the width of the canal. Choose a width, b, which make the height
of the canal walls (including the freeboard), hwalls, about double its
size.

Use goal seek to set the cell dif Q to zero by changing h. If the
height of the canal walls (including the freeboard), hwalls, is not
about two times the size of the width of the canal, b, change the
width of the canal and repeat the goal seek.

Check if the maximum size of particles to be transported in the

canal is greater than the minimum size of particles that were settled
in the settling. This is to assure that the particles that failed to settle
in the settling basin will not settle in the bed of the canal. If this is
not verified increase the slope of the canal and repeat the previous
steps. Note that sometimes this will not be possible because of
topography or location of forebay and in such cases the particles
deposited along the headrace canal will have to be manually
cleaned after the flood seasons.

13

Penstock design

16

The design discharge of the penstock is the design discharge of the

hydropower scheme. This cell is linked to the intake sheet.

Set the length of the penstock, Lp.

Set the design head for the penstock, Hp, which is equal to the
gross head of the scheme.

Set the ultimate tensile strength of the penstock material. The most
common material is mild steel and the value for steel is 3.5x108
N/m2 . Note that steels with higher ultimate tensile strength are also
available in the market but are not generally used in micro/mini
hydropower plants. However, if the grade of the steel is known (e.g.,
test certificates are available) then this value should be used in the
calculations.

Set a diameter for the penstock (in mm).

Check the flow velocity in the penstock for the chosen diameter.
This value should be in the following ranges: 23 m/s for low head,
34 m/s for medium head and 45 m/s for high head schemes (head
(H): low H < 50 m; medium 50 H 250, high H > 250). It has also
to be noted that the smaller the diameter of the penstock the higher
will be the continuous head losses and the lower the net head.

If the head loss is excessively high, then repeat the calculations

using larger pipe diameter. The head loss should be generally
between 5% 10% of the gross head. Note that a full financial
analysis can also be performed to come up with desired head loss
value.

The minimum thickness, tmin, is automatically calculated according

to the material of the penstock.

The effective thickness, teff, is assumed to be equal to the minimum

thickness.

Set the thickness to allow for corrosion (typically 1 mm).

17

Set the surge head factor. This will depend on the selected turbine.
For Pelton and CrossFlow 10 20%, and for Francis turbines 3040%.
x Check the safety factor, SF. If the value is less than 3.5 then
increase the effective thickness, teff, until it the SF is at least 3.5.

14 Forebay

The design discharge for power generation is linked to the intake

sheet and the diameter of the pipe and the velocity of the flow in
the penstock linked to the penstock design sheet.

Set the width of the forebay. As a thumb rule, to start the design, it
can be assumed that the length of the forebay will be 2 to 2.5 times
this size. However according to the required volume of water above
the penstock and to meet the site conditions the designer may have
to change this ratio.

Set the clearance of the penstock from the bottom of the forebay.
This is to avoid that particles and sediments settled in the forebay
get in the penstock. The minimum clearance is 0.30 m. 0.50 m is a
common and reasonable value to use.

The minimum submergence of the penstock is automatically

calculated because it depends only on the diameter of the pipe and
flow velocity.

For the design of the forebay it is considered that it should be

available (to cope with the flow variations in the turbine during
normal operation conditions) a buffer volume equivalent to 15
seconds of supply at the design flow. This is also automatically
calculated as well as its corresponding depth of water.

Set the discharger coefficient of the spillway. This depends on the

shape of the crest and spillway.

18

Set the depth of water over the crest of the spillway. Have in mind
that the higher the water depth the smaller will be the crest length
of the spillway. The spillway is designed to spill all the design flow in
case the powerhouse is shut down and no flow is going through the
penstock.

Set the freeboard for the spillway. This is a safety margin in case
higher flows than the design flow arrive to the forebay. Consider a
value that is half the water depth over the weir crest. This will
increase, if necessary, in 50% of the discharge capacity of the
spillway.

The length of the spillway is automatically calculated using the

previous input data and the weir equation. It has to be noted that
this value must be smaller than the length of the forebay.

Set the angle of the transition walls at the entrance of the penstock.
This transition must be smooth so mild angles are recommended
(around 20%). However to fit site conditions the values can be
adjusted.

For the final placing of the forebay the designer has to set the
normal water level (NWL) in meters above sea level. If there is no
need to gain extra head with this, then the NWL can be set at the
same level of the water level in the head race canal just before the
forebay. This means that the bed level of the forebay will be set by
subtracting the normal depth (hnorm) to the NWL. So, Fbl=NWL
hnorm and according to this set the forebay bed level. x Note that
the crest of the spillway will be placed 0.05 m above the NWL so
that small changes in the flow or fluctuations or turbulence in the
water surface (like wind) do not cause an immediate spilling.

After inputting all the previous mentioned values the water levels in
the forebay and its dimensions are automatically calculated.

15 Head

loss calculation

19

The input data for penstock and flow characteristics is linked to

other sheets.

According to the material of the penstock set the roughness, k. (for

steel k=1.5x104 m). x Use goal seek to set the cell Colebrook
White, CW, to zero by changing the cell f. With this the continuous
head loss is automatically calculated.

Set the thickness of the trash rack bars, t (typically 1 to 2 cm).

Set the distance between bars, s (this value will depend on the
selected turbine and the specifications of the manufacturer. In a
preliminary design consider this value around 2 or 3 cm. Note that
the smaller the spacing between bars the more protected the
turbine will be, but the head loss will increase as well as the
clogging and the consequently the cleaning frequency).

Set the angle of the trash rack with the horizontal, , typically it is
used 72 degrees which is equivalent to a slope of 1:3 (H:V).

Set the cross section shape factor, , accordingly to the shape of the
bar cross section. x After all the mentioned inputs the head loss in
the trash rack is calculated

Set the entrance factor, ke, factor accordingly to the shape of the
transition between the forebay and the penstock. The head loss is
calculated after this values is set.

For the head loss in a bend, set the angle of the bend, , and the
bend factor, (use the table for bends on the right as reference),
the head loss is then computed. Add as many bends as necessary. If
the bend has two components (horizontal and vertical) then
calculate them separately accordingly to the bending angles.

For the head loss due to contraction (reduction of the pipe size at
the joint between the penstock and the turbine) set the diameter of
the smaller pipe, D2 (usually this value depends on the dimensions
of the turbine, but in a preliminary phase can be considered 0.4 m
for low power Francis turbines.
20

Set the loss factor, ke. For this type of transition ke=0.05. The head
loss is then calculated.

All of the losses are resumed in point 3 and the total head loss is
calculated.

The net head, Hnet is then calculated:Hnet=Hgrosshtot.

As stated earlier, if the head loss is too high repeat the calculations
assuming a larger pipe diameter.

16

Tailrace canal

The Manning coefficient is linked to the to the intake canal sheet

because it is assumed that all of the canals are built with the same
material.

The flow is the design discharge and is linked to the Penstock Design
sheet.

Set the slope of the canal. If the tailrace canal is stepped then set
the slope to zero.

If the canal is made of steps then it is assumed that the flow will be
critical, hence the water depth will be equal to the critical depth.

Set the width of the canal. Choose a width, b, which make the height
of the canal walls (including the freeboard), hwalls, about double its
size.

If the canal has a slope then use goal seek to set the cell dif Q to
zero by changing h. If the height of the canal walls (including the
freeboard), hwalls, is not about two times the size of the width of
the canal, b, change the width of the canal and repeat the goal
seek.

Note that for safety if the flow regime in the tailrace canal is
supercritical the first 50 meters of the tailrace canal should always
have the height of the vertical walls determined by the critical
depth.

17 River

water level at tailrace

21

Define a cross section on the river at the end of the tailrace.

Set

the

Manning

coefficient

accordingly

to

the

river

bed

characteristics

Pick a point some meters upstream the selected cross section and
other a few meter downstream and compute the longitudinal slope
of the river. Input the value in cell Slope.

From the cross section profile get the slope from the river banks (m
left bank and m right bank)

Set the width of the river canal on that cross section, b.

Run goal seek by setting cell dif Q to zero by changing h. This will
compute the uniform water depth for the approximate cross section
of the river.

The computed river water level will be used to decide the location of
the end of the tailrace canal.

18 Power

calculations

Set the basic data inputs: density of water and gravity acceleration.

The design discharge and net head are linked to respectively the
penstock design and head loss calculations sheets.

Set the efficiency of the turbine. For a preliminary phase of the

study (before the turbine manufacturer is selected and the
characteristics of the turbine defined) use 0.85 for Francis 0.75 for
Pelton turbines and 0.65 for Crossflow.

1.4.2 Simplified structural design

The simplified structural design includes two procedures: verifying
the stability of the weir and of the anchor blocks.
It has to be noted that anchor blocks should be placed at:

Connections of the penstock to other structures (Forebay)

Expansion joints

Bends (vertical in plan and/or profile)

22

Changes in the diameter of the penstock

Anchor blocks

Input the basic data: density of water, specific weight of water,

specific weight of concrete, specific weight of soil and soil friction
angle. The soil friction angle, , should be obtained from samples at
the site, however when this data is not available a value between 25
and 30 degrees can be assumed. The friction angle between soil and
concrete is considered to be 2/3 of the soil friction angle.

Set the dimensions of each of the anchor blocks. Add as many

columns corresponding to anchor blocks as necessary. The volume
and weight of the anchor blocks are automatically computed.

Input the hydraulic data: set the water head in the penstock for
each of the anchor blocks (the surge head will be automatically
computed accordingly to the type of turbine that was set in the
sheet Penstock Design; set the upstream diameter of the
penstock, D1, (this can be understood as the diameter of the
penstock that goes in the anchor block); set the plan and profile
angles of the upstream penstock (1h and 1v), set the downstream
diameter of the penstock, D2, (this can be understood as the
diameter of the penstock that goes out of the anchor block); set the
plan and profile angles of the downstream penstock (2h and 2v).

After inputting the previous data all of the hydraulic forces are
automatically computed using the Euler Theorem.

Check the safety factors for sliding and overturning. These factors
must be at least equal to 3. Note also that the resultant force should
be in the middle third of the base for stability against overturning. If
these conditions are not verified then go back to the dimensions of
the anchor blocks and change them. Usually the solution will be to
increase the anchor block dimensions, and if this does not work or
the final dimensions of the anchor block are too big, then consider
changing the alignment of the penstock (in plan and/or profile)
23

For the bearing capacity: set the depth of the base of the foundation
(this depth is measured in relation to the final ground level above
the anchor block foundation). In accordance to the friction angle of
the soil, , input the bearing capacity factors Nq and N (obtain
these values from the table that is in the spreadsheet template on
the right of the calculation for bearing capacity).

Check the safety factor for the bearing capacity. This value must be
equal or greater than 3. If not then change de dimensions of the
anchor block in a way that the maximum bearing load is reduced
(increase the length and width, and decrease the height).

Weir

Set the specific weights of water, soil, saturated soil, and weir. Set
also the friction angle of the soil,. The soil characteristics should be
obtained from samples collected at the site, however if this data is
not available values of 17 kN/m3 for the specific weight of the soil,
19 kN/m3 for the saturated specific weight of the soil, and between
25 and 30 degrees for the friction angle should be considered.

According to the shape of the weir divide its cross section in simple
geometric figures and input the areas of each one of them as well as
the length of their base.

Set the factor for calculating the horizontal coordinate of the center
of gravity, CGfactor, for each of the internal shapes of the weir.

Set the depth for the high flood level (hf). This depth is measured
from the point where the upstream weir apron intersects the ground
level.

Set the height between the turning point (the point in the
downstream extremity of the weir body that is in contact with the
foundation) and the upstream river bed level.

After the previous input data all of the loads are automatically
calculated.

24

Check the safety factors for sliding and overturning. These factors
must be at least equal to 3. Note also that the resultant force should
be in the middle third of the base for stability against overturning. If
these conditions are not verified then go back to the dimensions of
the weir and change them. If the problem is safety against sliding
then increase the weight of the weir and increase the contact
surface between the weir and the foundation soil. If the problem is
in the safety against the overturning then increase the length of the
weir, B, and particularly increase the length and cross section area
of the upstream section of the weir (by upstream section of the weir
shall be understood the section of the weir upstream the crest).

For the bearing capacity: set the depth of the base of the foundation
(this depth is measured in relation to the final river bed level above
the weir foundation; if the river slope is too high and the depth of
the foundation cannot be considered the same upstream and
downstream the use an average value). In accordance to the friction
angle of the soil, , input the bearing capacity factors Nq and N
(obtain these values from the table that is in the spreadsheet
template on the right of the calculation for bearing capacity).

Check the safety factor for the bearing capacity. This value must be
equal or greater than 3. If not then change de dimensions of the
weir in a way that the maximum bearing load is reduced (increase
the length).

1.4.3 Guidelines for powerhouse layout

The design of the powerhouse layout should take into account the
following:

The powerhouse should be safe from not only annual floods but also
rare flood events. Discussions should be held with the local
community members to ensure that flood waters have not reached
the proposed powerhouse site within at least the past 20 years.

25

if possible the powerhouse should be located on the ground level to

minimize excavation works.

The proposed location should be accessible throughout the year.

The powerhouse should be located close to the community that it
serves, provided that the penstock alignment and other parameters
are feasible and economical. This will reduce the transmission line
cost, and if agroprocessing units are also installed in the
powerhouse, the community will not have to carry their grain for a
long distance.

For each turbine a plan area of 10 m x 8 m is required.

The clear height of the building should be at least 3 m.

A control room is required. It should have an area that is enough to

accommodate the control panels (typical dimensions are 1 m width
by 0.6 m depth and requiring a minimum backspace of 0.8 m, also
note that for each turbine are required about 3 to 4 control panels),
and a desk for the operator as well as a storage area for documents
and operation manuals. The control room should also have a window
that allows the operator a direct view to the machinery.

A toilet room is required.

There should be a clear spacing of at least 1 m around each item of
equipment that has moving parts (such as the generator, turbine
and the belt drive)

Adequate windows should be provided for lighting and ventilation.

Note that the door and windows need to be located such that they
do not obstruct access to the equipment. This requires coordinating
the locations of the equipment, windows and the door.

26