ANALYSIS OF FISH FRIENDLY KAPLAN TURBINE FOR SHP

Abstract

Small hydro power project development has been, for the last decade, one of the sectors in the energy field that has been very active. Where the preceding decades saw a fair number of large hydroelectric developments. One of the main environmental challenges of small hydropower development is related to fish passage both upstream and downstream. These migrations are ecological imperatives for populations of anadromous fish. Technologies for upstream passage are more advanced than for downstream passage but both need more work and evaluation. Upstream passage failure tends to result from less than optimal design criteria based on physical, hydrologic, and behavioural information, or lack of adequate attention to operation and maintenance of facilities. Downstream fish passage technology is complicated by the limited swimming ability of many down migrating juvenile species and unfavourable hydrologic conditions. There is no single solution for designing up and downstream passageways. Downstream passage_ of fish and protective measures to reduce turbine mortality are the areas most in need of research. Recent developments in the design of advanced, environmentally friendly turbines indicated that there is a real potential for reducing some of the most common adverse impacts of hydropower. In the present study an attempt has been made to design and analysis a low head fish friendly turbine. In this the mortality rate of fishes after design modification were also studied. The modification of design was done on the runner diameter of the Kaplan turbine and its effect was analyzed on the Hub and tip ratio, Flow velocity, Efficiency, Peripheral velocity at hub and tip, twist angle and mortality rate of the aquatic species. The cost of the modified fish friendly Kaplan turbine was also estimated. The comparative study of per unit generation cost of plant using conventional and modified fish friendly Kaplan turbine was carried out. With the modification in conventional Kaplan turbine the efficiency of the system decreases due to which the project cost increase. With the increase in project cost generation cost also increases. With the modification in the conventional Kaplan turbine the mortality rate decreases by an amount of 50%.