Powerhouse

Powerhouse
It is a special building among other in which all the hydromechanical and
electromechanical equipments are installed to produce electrical energy
continuously over the time.
Power house may be
• Surface type, Turbine and generator house above the ground level
• Semi underground (Turbine and generator house below the ground
level and machine hall is above the ground)
• Under ground-all the systems are below the ground level

Surface Powerhouse
• Constructed above the ground
• Less space restrictions
• Foundation analysis should be carefully examined
• Special foundation treatment (like pile,mat) is necessary if solid bed
rock is not available
Underground Powerhouse
Adopted under following conditions
 Physical surface hazards like rock slides,snow avalanches
etc are frequent in powerhouse location
 When cost of land is too expensive at the powerhouse
area
 Suitable foundation is not available for surface
powerhouse
 Underground Powerhouse
Advantages
Adopted under following conditions
• Flexibility in layout of powerhouse
• Economic (reduction in length of water conveyance and penstocks)
• Avoiding the bends,anchor blocks, support piers etc
• Natural conservation and land protection
• Defense requirement aspect

Disadvantages
• Expensive excavation
• Higher construction cost
• Additional cost due to ventilation and AC arrangement
• Higher lighting charges
 Powerplant Structure
i. Substructure
ii. Intermediate Structure
iii. Superstructure

Substructure
• Extends from foundation to the turbine level
• Houses Draft tube,tail water channel, other drainage pipes
• Transmits the load of the structure above it to the foundation strata
and is usually a massive construction which may also have a
basement floor accomodated in it.
Intermediate Structure
• Extends from the top of draft tube to generator floor
• Houses turbine, casing, galleries etc
• Has access through stairs or elevators
 Powerplant Structure
Superstructure
• Structure lying above the generator floor
• Consists of generators and governors, control room,exciters and the
auxiliary equipments needed for ventilation and cooling
• Consists of wall and roof with a main travelling granty crane at the
roof level
• Consists of offices and stores

Usually the powerhouse contains,

• Unit bay or the machine hall
• Service/erection/loading bay
• Control room
• Mechanical, electrical, stores, office room
 Powerhouse Dimensioning
Length of the machine hall-
Length of the machine hall depends upon the summation of length of
number of units and one service/repair bay. Usually the length of 1 unit
is fixed equal to Bα = (2.8~4.9) D1, where D1 is the diameter of the
turbine.
Width of the machine hall
Width of the power house is usually taken as width of one unit (diameter of
the generator casing + 2 width of the cooling system) and extra passage
from the wall (approximately equal to 2.5 m) as the passage for the
movement. Excessive width may cause the increase in the size of
the girder of the crane, supporting beam, column and the roof covering
provision.
Height of the machine hall
The height of the powerhouse depends upon the height clearance from
the ground to the lifting object through the crane, maximum size of the
plant machinery (Turbine or rotor of the generator), depth of the girder and
the crane system etc.
 Powerhouse Dimensioning
Loading Bay
• Space where the heavy vehicles can be loaded and unloaded, the
dismantled parts of the machine can be kept and where small
assembling of the equipments can be done.
• Should be of sufficient dimension to receive the large parts like the
rotor and runner
• The floor should have a width at least equal to the center distance
between the machines.

Control Bay
• It is the main room and controls other equipment like
runner,gates,valves,generators etc.
• It may be adjacent to the machine hall.
Factors affecting the location of powerhouse
• Location of spillway(When powerhouse is located
adjacent to the dam)
• Foundation conditions
• Valley width
• Accessibility to roads and communication
• Location of switchyard and transmission lines
Thank You